"Am I alone in finding it offensive that these people who lay claim to being leaders in the church think that the rest of us are so stupid that we cannot see this for the patronizing dishonesty that it is?" (source)
The short answer? No, he is not alone in finding it offensive. I find it incredibly offensive.
The longer answer though, is one that it seems very few people really care about, or wish to read about. I say "seems" but I admit my perception on that may be incorrect. From where I sit however, it does seem like there are far more professing Christians willing to make excuses for Ergun Caner's lies than to call them what they are. I like the way Carl Trueman put it in this post:
"Most normal people would regard a cock and bull story concocted about growing up in Turkey and having a background in jihadi culture, if not actually true, then as being a pack of lies put forward for personal gain by playing on American evangelical fears about Islam."
Yep, one would think most normal people would, but the more blind defense of and loyalty towards Caner that I read about and hear about, the more I wonder if that's actually true. Or, and the question should be obvious... maybe these folks are not normal people? I don't say that with malice toward them at all, but you really have to wonder what's going on in the morality and logic department of professing Christians when they excuse a pack of lies, and defend the one lying. Let's be honest here, this isn't a sign of "normal" or right, for someone with a Christian worldview.
It has been said time and time again and I will repeat it here once more: this is an issue of honesty and integrity. We (the church in general) must not stand for it, tolerate it, excuse it or try to sweep it under the rug, simply because the source of the lies is one of "us". I still hold out hope that Caner will come forward with a confession of the truth from his own lips, and genuine repentance. As a professing Christian, there is no other acceptable solution. Of course that will have serious implications both personal and professional, but that should never stand in the way of doing the right thing before a holy God that you say you love.
[The following was seen on the net - Nora]
ReplyDeleteLiberty University & Libertines
Speaking of evangelical scandals and Liberty University in the same breath, readers can Google “Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal” (line-by-line proof that THE Jerry Falwell’s 1981 “Fundamentalist Phenomenon” book was a huge plagiarism of George Dollar’s 1973 “History of Fundamentalism in America”!). Also Google “Thomas Ice (Bloopers).” Ice is a prof at LU whose “Ph.D” was “obtained” from a tiny Texas school that was fined by the state of Texas for illegally issuing degrees! When “Dr.” Ice reproduced in 1989 Margaret Macdonald’s short “pre-tribulation rapture” revelation of 1830 (Margaret originated this 180-year-old escapist endtime view which has made millionaires of Lindsey, LaHaye etc.!), he somehow left out 49 words when copying it - the same 49 words LaHaye left out in the same sections when a book of his reproduced it three years later! (LaHaye has been one of LU’s biggest donors.) Ice, BTW, also had the same distinctive copying errors Lindsey had when he had reproduced MM’s revelation in his 1983 book! Since Liberty University is one of the top promoters of the same fringe-British-originated pretrib rapture fantasy, interested readers can also Google “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” “Pretrib Rapture Secrecy,” “Letter from Mrs. Billy Graham,” and “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty” (documented plagiarism and other dishonesty since 1830 by some of the best known names in evangelicalism) - all uncovered by the author of the bestselling book “The Rapture Plot.” (Evangelicals should take some tranquilizers before reading the above!)
I read this article last week. Trueman always has a very direct, concise way of speaking the truth.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly that we should not stand for a lack of integrity or more of Caner's deceit. For those who have a hard time disengaging their loyalties with Caner, I think it is more a matter of hero-worship than a lack of normalcy. The hero worship of Christian celebrities is one of the worst things in evangelicalism right now. Putting these "famous" people up on a pedestal is the first mistake.