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?

Media coverage heightens pressure on Liberty's Ergun Caner

Accusations that Ergun Caner fabricated parts of his background hit newspapers across the country this week increasing the likelihood that the president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary will have to resign.

For months, Liberty University administrators stood by Caner as bloggers questioned statements he made about his background. Then newspaper reporters started calling, and last week school officials decided to investigate.

If questions from reporters prompted an investigation, one would think the recent articles would force the school to show Caner the door.

GetReligion highlights stories about Caner by Associated Press, The Tennessean and The News & Advance in Lynchburg, Va., where Liberty is located.

The AP story was picked up by papers ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle to the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.

The GetReligion post correctly notes the importance of a paragraph in The Tennessean story that says several Southern Baptist leaders who have supported Caner in the past declined to comment. One of those who wouldn't talk is former Southern Baptist Convention president Paige Patterson.

Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, has close ties to Caner and his brother, Emir.

Any chance Southwestern will have an opening for Caner on its staff?

Media inquiries prompt Liberty to investigate Caner

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."