Liberty University officials will investigate allegations that the president of the school's seminary fabricated much of his life history, a decision they say they made only after members of the "mainstream media" inquired (not, alas, Wade Burleson, FBC Jax Watchdog and/or other bloggers).
Ergun Caner, the president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, faces questions regarding discrepancies in statements he has made about his background. A resolution being circulated would ask the Southern Baptist Convention to distance itself from him.
The investigation signals a change for Liberty, which had previously stood by Caner, saying he had done nothing "theologically inappropriate" and the issue was neither ethical nor moral.
University Provost Ron Godwin is forming the committee to conduct a "official inquiry" into the allegations with plans to finish by the end of next month, according to a statement on the university web site.
“Liberty does not initiate personnel evaluations based upon accusations from Internet blogs,” Liberty chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said. “However, In light of the fact that several newspapers have raised questions, we felt it necessary to initiate a formal inquiry.”
The announcement did not identify the newspapers. The statement was released a short while after Alternet, a news magazine and online journalism site, posted a story about Caner.
After the Caner investigation is complete, Liberty officials might want to launch a "formal inquiry" into how many people get their news from online sources. They might start with this study that found that the internet is now the third most popular news platform, behind local television news and national television news. Or merely confess that in dissing bloggers, Liberty "doth protest too much."
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