Huh? Caner out as dean, still a professor

Liberty University decided to end one contract with Ergun Caner because of his "self-contradictory" statements, and offer him another.

Liberty announced June 25 that Caner would not be dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary after June 30, according to a report in the Lynchburg News and Advance. Whereupon the school offered to let him stay on the faculty, and he accepted.

The university's statement said Caner made "factual statements that are self-contradictory." It also said the school's investigation found "discrepancies related to matters such as dates, names and places of residence."

A post on the SBC Today blog managed to somehow focus right on the phrase in the announcement which says there is no evidence Caner was not a Muslim, thus allowing the blogger to conclude that Caner was "exonerated."

In fitting response, Wade Burleson says, "Huh?"

Liberty's decision to keep Caner on its faculty is not surprising given the way school officials have reacted to accusations against him. At one point, a school official said the discrepancies were neither an ethical nor a moral issue.

Again: Huh?

Media inquiries eventually prompted the university to investigate. Those questions led to stories in newspapers across the country.

The statement from Liberty said Caner "apologized for the discrepancies and misstatements."

Will another round of newspaper (not blog) articles move the school to explain why it has different standards for "discrepancies and misstatements" by deans and professors?

Unless Liberty plans to leave us all with a resounding: Huh?