Ergun Caner

When Everyday Pastors Tell “Whoppers” Like Ergun Caner and Ed Young Jr

Fri, Jul 01 2011

"Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened." Winston Churchill Hubble Telescope in 1998 Introducing a New Service: Tracking Urban Legends in the Pulpit Years ago, I heard Ed Young Jr tell a moving story of how he witnessed to a clerk in a tie shop. He shared with his audience "his" clever way to share the Gospel. After the service, in the “shake Ed’s hand” line, I heard the man in front of me tell Ed that he liked the way Ed told that story better than the way Bill Hybels told it. Ed quickly moved him on. I ran after this man, who would become a good family friend, and he told me that the story was one that Bill Hybels frequently told, right down to the tie shop. He also said that Bill Hybels, through the Willowcreek Association, provided sermons for use in other churches. I felt deceived. From that time forward, I listened for any use of this “technique” in church. Most readers know the sad story of the lies of Ergun Caner. Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Fri, Jul 01 2011.

Ergun Caner Answers Call of Arlington Baptist College

Fri, May 27 2011

By deb

Ergun Caner Answers Call of Arlington Baptist College

No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. -Abraham Lincoln courtesy of Wikipedia Thirteen months ago we featured our very first post on Ergun Caner entitled “A Liar for a Seminary President?” You can read our concerns here. As the Caner debacle clearly demonstates, the internet has forever changed the information highway as we know it. Bloggers are garnering the attention of the media, as shown in our post “Are Caner and Liberty Just Jive Talkin’?” Here’s an excerpt from that article: “Who knew there would come a day when some internet sleuths called “bloggers” (a relatively obscure bunch) would cause such a ruckus within Christendom? Yesterday, Christianity Today posted an article entitled ‘Bloggers Target Seminary President’ on the Web.” In response, Liberty University formed an investigative committee to examine the serious charges against Caner. A subsequent CT article stated the following: "Apparently, Liberty University's trustees consider Caner's misleading statements to be serious enough to undermine his ability to serve as seminary dean. They are removing him from that role while allowing him to remain on the faculty." You can read it here. On May 17, 2011, Arlington Baptist Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Fri, May 27 2011.

Spiritual Abuse: The Public Speaks Back and the Church Just Whines

Fri, Mar 04 2011

By dee

"In the midst of a world of light and love, of song and feast and dance, [Lucifer] could find nothing to think of more interesting than his own prestige." CS Lewis A Preface to Paradise Lost freefoto.com Pain. That is what surprised me. So many people have experienced unrelenting pain that began at the hands of callous pastors and Christian leaders. Naively, many of those hurt had once thought that the church would be a loving family that would love and support each other in the pursuit of the faith. And many churches encouraged this sort of thought process. “ Come to church, find Jesus, and find a family.” Some groups even refer to themselves as a “family.” However, because sin is always present, both in the members AND the leaders/pastors, this ideal has been shattered for many. For some, church becomes the first place in which new Christians experience heartache. Years ago, I had no idea that churches could cause such pain. But, experience and personal reports have convinced me that it not only exists but it can be as bad as some reports indicate. What convinced me? It is Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Fri, Mar 04 2011.

TWW’s Top Ten for 2010

Thu, Dec 30 2010

By deb

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1-NIV) As we bid adieu to 2010, we want to highlight what we consider to be our TOP TEN posts. Each of these articles garnered considerable commentary, and we are extremely grateful to our fantastic readers. It’s your loyalty that motivates us to “dig deep” into important spiritual matters and then share our findings and opinions with you. We will work our way up to the #1 post for 2010 and then throw in a few “honorable mentions”. Here we go… 10. Sisterhood of the Stay-At-Home Daughters-link This is a HOT BUTTON issue here at TWW. Just today we discovered important information and new websites (to us) on this topic, and you can rest assured that we will be investigating this trend further in the New Year. 9. Al Mohler: Intellectual Visionary or Pseudo-Intellectual Legalist?- link Al Mohler has been in the spotlight since the “New Calvinists” came into vogue, most recently appearing on the Continue reading →

Written by: deb on Thu, Dec 30 2010.

The Incredible Story of the Son of Hamas: Ergun Caner-Step Aside

Fri, Nov 26 2010

By dee

Book Review of Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef A New York Times and Amazon Bestseller amazon link During the Ergun Caner debacle and the NYC Mosque brouhaha, a story was brewing that was overlooked by the much of the media. I happened to be listening to Fox News one day and heard an interview with Mosab Hassan Yousef, a young man who grew up in Ramallah, in the West Bank, as the son of one of the founders of Hamas, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. Here is a link to the entire interview. During the interview, it was mentioned that this former terrorist became a spy for Shin Bet, the Israeli version of the CIA, and converted to Christianity. I immediately downloaded his book, Son of Hamas, onto my Kindle and finally got around to reading it about a month ago. I couldn’t put the book down. Yousef weaves his love for his father and his family throughout his critical look at his former faith and politics, bringing a unique perspective to the complex issues of that region. 11/27/10 update: We received some great information from Ron Brackin, the ghost writer for Son of Hamas. He Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Fri, Nov 26 2010.