I imagine things are tough for Ergun Caner these days. The reality of his past, of his many lies and exaggerations, is becoming more widely known, despite the efforts of his enablers (Norman Geisler leading the list). Everywhere he goes, if he appears in public, he has to be thinking, “Will someone bring it up? Will someone ask about Hadith 2425? Will I be faced by a knowledgeable, prepared critic?” It’s tough being unrepentant while proclaiming yourself “vindicated” and innocent and exonerated and the like, when you know full well none of that is true. And then to have your sinful lawsuit dismissed with prejudice on solid, obvious legal grounds—well, I am sure he thinks about all of this every single day as he goes to his very small, struggling school and recalls the thrill he had when standing in front of thousands of adoring young people at Liberty. That was all back then, before the truth came out, before the wheels fell off.
Last week’s legal decision dismissing Caner’s sinful (and likewise unrepented of) lawsuit might yet prompt another late night “Tweesplosion,” as we have seen from Caner in the past. In the last such explosion, we noted the deep seated animosity Caner has toward me personally. For all the bluster of his defenders, it is Caner who is constantly in attack mode. For someone who regularly plays the victim card, he is actually the one who should be called on the carpet by his adoring supporters for his constant nastiness.
Caner knows he could never face me in debate. We saw that in 2006. It truly must gall him to know that he has never, despite all his bluster, produced any kind of meaningful apologetic scholarship with reference to Islam, and could never hold his own in the debate hall with the likes of Shabir Ally or Yusuf Ismail. So, he gives vent to his anger by attacking me and my scholarship. Oh, not by pointing out failures from debates or published books. No, that would require the very kind of work and study that Ergun Caner has shown himself either unwilling to do, or incapable of doing. He prefers personal attack. I have had many, many people send me email quotes, DM’s from Twitter, etc., where Caner has repeatedly alleged that my degrees are fraudulent “mail order” degrees. Of course, he’s been challenged to deal with the published materials that have been produced as part of my studies, the reality of an MA from Fuller Seminary, the years spent in study through Columbia Evangelical, etc., but we should never expect Caner to stand behind his words. He has no concept of what that means. He is a one-shot type guy: make the accusation, run, hide.
I was just forwarded another example of this kind of behavior from Caner, and generally that is indicative of a possible “Caner melt down” in the near future. I’m sure his front man, Peter Lumpkins, is fairly busy trying to spin Caner’s legal failure at the moment, hoping that the students at BP won’t be watching those videos that are now available on line, and then asking him the questions he knows Caner will never answer. It’s tough being Lumpy. But keep an eye out—Caner might just put on his Warrior costume and take to the net to rev up his dwindling little flock of fans. And if he does, you can be sure of one thing: dishonesty, deception, and an utter disregard for the truth, will be front and center.
