I really need to fire my secretary. Well, that’s me, actually. I am home for barely a week before heading to Greenville, then home for only two days before heading to Leavenworth, Kansas! Talk about a busy start to March. In any case, I am looking ahead to the debate with Robert Price at the CRI National Conference in May in Florida. I have placed some needed resources on the Ministry Resource List, and trust some of our faithful supporters will assist me in my preparation for this debate.
Tomorrow on the DL we will be trying to incorporate a whole bunch of new technology…which probably means disaster. However, we are scheduled to be able to start taking Skype calls tomorrow! I think the Skype address is Dividing_Line. I think. I’ll verify that at the beginning of the program, which we hope to start at its normal time, 11am MST.
It is a rather sad thing to observe all the wild-eyed chest-pounding going on on the blogosphere in a vain attempt to deflect attention from the unanswered questions facing Ergun Caner. All my dear brothers in the Lord have joined together to throw dust and dirt in the air rather than acknowledge that there are some serious issues to be faced by Liberty University in Lynchburg. The questions I posted last week, that have yet to be answered, will not be going away anytime soon, and they may only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the “on the fly” creations Ergun Caner has been using to puff his resume for quite some time. I am thankful for those who have contacted me who understand the simple necessity of addressing Dr. Caner’s claims—a necessity that flows from basic Christian standards of honesty and integrity, and a necessity that flows from the reality of apologetic ministry, not just among Muslims, but all who need to hear a reasoned defense of the faith. But it is very troubling to see especially the young people who have become so enamored with the image Dr. Caner projects that they will lash out at anyone who would question it. Hero worship is a shameful thing in the Christian church. Here is an e-mail that was forwarded to me this morning:
Mr. White,
As a Southern Baptist I am very angry with what you are doing right
now. Dr. Ergun Caner is an incredible scholar and man of God. Why do
you incessantly attack him all the time?I have personally benefited from Dr. Caner’s ministry and believe he
is an intellectual giant who is doing a great service to the SBC.Please stop attacking fellow christians and stick to debating Mormons
and Muslims.
It is very sad to see this kind of thinking. Not only is the gentleman deceived (“incessantly attacking him all the time”), but he does not seemingly understand that to debate the Mormons and Muslims you need to be consistently truthful. Otherwise, you are not actually ministering to them in a Christian fashion. And this is all about truthfulness and honesty. No, none of those star-struck with Ergun Caner’s persona have even attempted to address the actual substantive issues that are right out in the open. They do not seem to be concerned at all about such things. It’s all about popularity and numbers, and if we haven’t learned by now how dangerous that is in the church, we need to re-learn that lesson quickly.
