Truthfulness in Testimonies

The Testimony

If a Christian is quizzed as to the most important event in their life one would expect them to reply that it was when God saved them. The Christian testimony is important as it testifies to God’s saving power and how he has changed our lives. The testimony reveals what God has done and what God is continuing to do in our lives. By their very nature testimonies should not contain anything that is not true as they then cease to be an accurate reflections of reality.

Ergun Caner is one of the most well known American evangelicals and his testimony has been heard by thousands in the US. His brother Emir is reasonably well known too and has a similar testimony to Ergun. It is worth exploring their testimonies as Ergun's testimony has contained what he and his employer Liberty University has called mistatements. Emir's testimony does not seem to have been questioned as much by fellow Christians. Why do I even mention Emir then? Ergun and Emir co-authored a book Unveiling Islam published by Kregel in which brief testimonies appear and I believe its integrity is under question.

Ergun Caner (left), Emir Caner (right)

A brief Caner biography

Ergun Michael Caner, the son of a Turk and his Swedish wife moved to the US along with his parents and brother Erdem. Soon afterwards a brother Emir was born in 1970. The Caner boy’s father Acar was a Muslim and his wife Monica was a convert to Islam. Soon after the family’s arrival the marital relationship broke down and Ergun’s mother rejected Islam reportedly for a more Universalist hippie lifestyle. Ergun and his brothers were brought up in Ohio at their mother’s home with their maternal grandmother a Swedish Lutheran pluralist being involved in a significant proportion of their care.

In the 1980s Ergun became a Christian, followed soon afterwards by Erdem and Emir. Their grandmother and mother also became Christians. However Acar rejected Christ and when he was dying he called his sons to his home and presented them with Korans. Ergun and Emir went on to pastor several churches before opting for professorships in seminaries.

In 2001 signed a contract to write a book entitled Unveiling Islam which dealt with the false religion of Islam. This was also the year that terrorists attacked the US on 9/11. The Caners suddenly found themselves being requested to speak on Islam as former Muslims who were now Christians. They were seen as experts and went around the US telling their testimonies and conversion stories. A number of years later people discovered discrepancies in Ergun’s testimony. All was not as it seemed.

Ergun has been a Christian since the 1980s. Ergun’s two brothers (Erdem and Emir) are also Christians. Ergun seems to have some difficulties in remembering exactly when he was saved. Emir and him have apparently disagreed on their dates of salvation. They are not the only Christians to be in this position. Of more concern is that they disagree beyond mere dates on Emir’s salvation.

1) The Prestonwood Sermon (rebroadcast by Focus on the Family)
In 2001 Ergun related his testimony in Prestonwood. According to this immediately when he was saved he tried to share the gospel at the Mosque. However, the Muslims rejected that message and his father disowned him.

"On Friday night, after I’d been to revival four days, after I’d gotten saved, after Jesus had forgiven me and released me from fear of the scales, when Jesus did for me what I could not do for myself I figured everyone in the mosque wanted to hear about this too [laughter] That was not the case. That night, November 4, 1982 my father faced Mecca, as was his custom and began his prayer time and my father disowned me. My hero, my father."
Ergun Caner: Focus on the Family April 26, 2010: Ergun Caner's Prestonwood sermon (17:00 )

However Ergun goes on to tell the congregation that he felt the call to preach about a year later. His two brothers attended his very first sermon and even thought it was very short they both ‘stepped out’ and were saved.

"A year later still young in Christ, still with very bad English, I came forward in my little country church that loved me and I surrendered to preach and said God is calling me to preach. And I don’t know how they do it here at Prestonworld [sic] but [laughter] in our church which was very mixed, very mixed bless God, my pastor stood up there and I came down the aisle and surrendered to the Gospel ministry and he said "Well bless God, he’ll be preaching his first sermon tonight." You guys ever heard a first sermon? I went up there with about that many notes, about 4 hours of preparation and lasted seven minutes. You know. I was like, "Jesus - uh - Devil - uh - lets sing 842 verses of 'Just as I am.'" But you see, at the invitation, both of my younger brothers stepped out. Both my younger brothers got saved [applause]. "
Ergun Caner: Focus on the Family April 26, 2010: Ergun Caner's Prestonwood sermon (17:42)

2) The Connection Magazine Interview
Ergun Caner was interviewed by Rusty Roberson and that interview subsequently appeared in Connection Magazine in September 2002 a year on from the 9-11 attacks. In it Ergun’s involvement in the leading of his own brother to Christ is mentioned.

Roberson writes: “[Ergun] Caner is a committed, born-again Christian, as well as a professor of theology and church history at Criswell College in Dallas, Texas. But he was raised in a strict Muslim home in Ohio and was a devout worshiper of Allah until age 17, when he was led to Christ through the witness of one of his high school friends. Caner in turn led to Christ his own brother, Emir, who today is a professor of church history at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.”
Ergun interviewed: Recalling 9-11: ‘Former Muslim, Speaks Out Against "Oprahization"’ Connection Magazine September 2002

So Ergun has just told us of his role in his brothers' conversions. However TurretinFan's blog on May 26, 2010 noted some contradictions. Notice the Pastor's Perspective interview below and the Value Voters Summit 2009 have Ergun claiming he had no involvement in his brothers' conversions.

3) The Pastor's Perspective Program
Brian Broedersen: "Now how was it that your brothers came to faith?
Was it through your witness to them or ..."
Ergun: "No, it was through the work of others. It was through the work of others.
I was disowned. And I find out that my brothers had become Christians - I'm in college. And so it is what I hammer a lot, about the anonymous, the silent, behind-the-scenes, in the shadows kind of Christians who literally do the work that guys like ourselves cannot do. They speak to the hearts of people. And both my brothers had their own issues with Islam."
Ergun Caner: Pastor's Perspective program Jan 22, 2010 (13:05)

4) The 2009 Value Voters Summit
In a 2009 video Ergun confirms this: "A year later I'm in college, I find out both my brothers got saved."
Ergun Caner: 2009 Value Voters Summit (Scroll to the Ergun Caner video 16:00)

So it is quite clear from the above that Ergun has told two incompatible versions of his brothers's testimony. How should we try to resolve this? Well the obvious answer would be to see what his brothers have to say. Fortunately for us Emir is a public figure and his testimony appears in a book Unveiling Islam. Presumably both brothers (Ergun and Emir) agree with the account written there as they co-authored it.

5) The Unveiling Islam book
Their book Unveiling Islam states:
"Ergun's brothers, however, listened. Erdem accepted Christ in the basement of their home. Ergun then invited Emir to a revival service the following year. There, for the first time in his life, Emir heard that God loved him and desired to have a personal relationship with him. Though he had been to church before, this was the first time he could recall hearing a preacher speak openly and honestly about the exclusivity of the gospel. Only through the blood of Jesus, spilt on the cross, can someone be saved. Yet the preacher also spoke compassionately about God's desire to save everyone. Although there was only one way, the path was open for all who would believe. On November 4, 1982, Emir was born again. In 1982, Ergun surrendered to the gospel ministry. It was the last time he saw our father for seventeen years. Acar disowned his sons, although it could have been worse: according to hadith 9.57, all three of brothers should have been killed."
Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner: Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2002, 19.

Unfortunately the Unveiling Islam account just further confuses the reader. We are told Erdem becomes a Christian at home. It is unclear if Ergun had direct involvement in Erdem's conversion although that may be hinted at in the words "Ergun's brothers, however, listened." Emir's conversion comes some time after Erdem's conversion and is a result of Ergun inviting him to church. Note even though Emir had been to church before it was the first occasion he heard a clear gospel message in a church.

6) The Salem Baptist Church Sermon 2010
Preaching in Salem Baptist church in 2010 Emir Caner tells his own testimony, "I get to share with you a privilege to me this morning a bit of my testimony of how someone intervened and in my life shared the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though it’s more than twenty-five years ago it’s as if it happened yesterday that a guy that today is a bi-vocational pastor shared Christ with me, invited me to everything that a Southern Baptist church had. This young man invited me to a lock-in. It’s in the New Testament look under the word Hell; you will find the word lock-in. Invited me to a revival I didn’t know what a revival was and it was on a Thursday night. I sat down on the pew and for the very first time in my life I heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved. I never want to forget that, I want it to be fresh in my life and I want to remember how God saved me and sustains me and as Paul says "He who has begun a good work in me will complete it.""
Emir Caner: "Who do you say that I am?" Salem Baptist Church, Sunday 28 February 2010.

7) The Eastside Baptist Church Sermon 2009
In a 2009 sermon at Eastside Baptist church (coincidentally deleted after it appeared on Squirrel's blog) entitled “The God who draws near” Emir Caner mentions the first time he heard the truth about Christ.

“Yet there was an obnoxious teenager who wouldn’t stop sharing Jesus with me. He invited me to everything a Southern Baptist church had. Invited me to a lock-in. Never heard of a lock-in. It is in the New Testament, under the word hell. Invited me to everything, finally invited me to a Thursday night revival meeting. It was there for the first time I heard about the Jesus of history, of scripture, of life and death. I heard about he who is the wonderful Counsellor.”
Emir Caner: “The God who draws near” September 20, 2009 [now deleted]. (13:55)

And they could not match and meet that perfect standard of God. They didn’t need another prophet to warn them, they needed a saviour to deliver them. That’s the message I needed to hear when I walked into that Stelzer Road Baptist Church in Columbus Ohio, a Southern Baptist church in Columbus.
Emir Caner: “The God who draws near” September 20, 2009 [now deleted]. (23:35)

The other half of the human equation was my pastor. Clarence Miller was a bold preacher from an odd background. An ex-moonshiner, who got saved. His wife, he met in Japan after World War II. She was Buddhist. She was led to Christ by a seven year old girl who one day looked up to her and said “Jesus loves you, do you love him?” And God in his good sense of humour in this little church where he might as well have on top of it “Yankee keep out” put three Muslim Yankees in the middle of it. And they literally loved us and then I got to hear that. He was not only bold, he was old fashioned. You know what I’m talking about. You can tell an old-fashioned preacher by the way he looks and by the way he speaks. By the way he looks, he had the nicest leisure suit you’d ever seen: Green with red stitching and all of the comb-over hair do. You could put a coffee cup on top and it would stick. He wore half zip up boots with white tube socks on. But he didn’t say you had to be born again, he said "bort again.” He could spit to the fourth row. It was an amazing thing to watch this man. But he had everything necessary to lead me to faith in Christ because he looked me in the eye and said “What do you think about Jesus?” So many a Muslim will tell you we respect Jesus. Listen no one can respect Jesus, not a Muslim, not a Buddhist, not a Hindu, not a Pagan, no one. You either worship him for he said he is God or you reject him. Those are the only two options. And it reminded me Jesus Christ didn’t come to make a bad man good: he came to make a dead man alive. And that was the message I needed to hear preached. I came forward and placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.Emir Caner: “The God who draws near” September 20, 2009 [now deleted]. (25:58)

8) The From Allah to Christ video
Emir Caner (pre-beard) gives another account of his conversion in an undated video:
"God brought a Christian in my path and it wasn’t a Christian who knew about Islam. He didn’t know the Surahs. He didn’t know the five pillars of Islam or six essential beliefs of Islam. He really didn’t know how devout our family was in Islam. All he knew was that Jesus Christ was the son of God, Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, I was lost, I was a Muslim and I needed Jesus Christ, not as a prophet but as my Saviour. And the one thing that he had that Christians desperately need today was not a theology , it was an attitude, an attitude of persistence. He knew that Jesus was the only way to Heaven, and if I did not call on the name of the Lord I would never be saved and I would eternally be damned and he would do anything to share that with me.

And so he went to a local church in the area and in that Baptist church he invited me to revivals. I had no idea what that was. He invited me to Afterglows, these events after church and I had no idea what that was and after inviting myself and my two older brothers - within one year’s time all three of us took up his invitation and went to that little church. It was in a rural place and never ran more than eighty people. The pastor, Clarence never had a Bible education. He’d two days and he left and went to pastor. But the youth as well as my pastor had everything that was needed to lead me to Christ. The pastor was bold in his preaching, he didn’t beat around the bush. He didn’t try to find the similarities between Islam and Christianity as if the similarities would amalgamate into a good faith. "
Emir Caner: From Allah to Christ. Dr.Emir's Journey to find True God -P1 (3:17)

"Literally that youth worked on me for a full year and when I finally accepted the invitation I was ready. I had already considered those things for a few years when I walked into the church in November of 1982 and I heard the preacher preach. There wasn’t a question who Jesus is that he is the son of God."
Emir Caner: From Allah to Christ. Dr.Emir's Journey to find True God -P1 (6:00)

"Yeah when I walked into that church that night I knew, I knew because faith has to precede fact I knew that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and I walked forward."
Emir Caner: From Allah to Christ. Dr.Emir's Journey to find True God -P1 (6:50)

And so it was now more than twenty years ago in a revival service in a rural Baptist church out in the middle of nowhere with no more than fifty or sixty people there that this Muslim became a Christian."
Emir Caner: From Allah to Christ. Dr.Emir's Journey to find True God -P1 (8:00)

A Summary

1) Ergun preached for the first time and Erdem and Emir stepped out to be saved
Source: Ergun's Prestonwood Sermon, 2001

2) Ergun leads Emir to the Lord at an unknown location. Erdem is not mentioned.
Source: Ergun's magazine interview, 2002

3) Ergun (disowned and now at college) hears his brothers have become Christians through the work of others
Source: Ergun interviewed, 2010

4) Ergun (now at college) hears his brothers are saved
Source: Ergun's speech, 2009

5) Ergun's brothers listened. Erdem becomes a Christian in their basement around the same period Ergun is saved. Ergun invites Emir to a revival service the next year and he hears the Gospel for the first time and is saved. Emir has been to church prior to this occasion.
Source: Ergun and Emir's book, 2002

6) A young man invites Emir to a revival in a Church. Emir hears the Gospel for the first time and was saved.
Source: Emir's Salem Sermon, 2010

7) A persistent young man invites Emir to a revival in a Church. Emir hears the Gospel for the first time and was saved. Emir responded to an invitation made by Pastor Clarence Miller of Stelzer Road Baptist Church
Source: Emir Caner's Eastside Sermon, 2009

8) A youth invites Emir to church. The same youth invited all three brothers at some point and all three became Christians over a period of time. Pastor Clarence is the preacher when Emir goes forward at the invitation.
Source: Emir Caner's Allah to Christ video

Contradictions

There are several contradictory strands. Ergun says he was directly involved in his brothers' conversions (1) or was it just Emir's conversion (2)? However Ergun says in (3) and (4) he was not directly involved. In (6), (7) and (8) Emir says he came to church at the invitation of a young man and in (7) and (8) Emir says he responded to Pastor Clarence Miller. In (1) Emir and Erdem are saved at the same service but in (5) they are saved at times that are months apart

How do we resolve this? Did Ergun invite his brother to church or was it another young man or was it both? Who was preaching at Emir's conversion - Ergun or was it Pastor Clarence Miller? If Ergun was away from home how could he have preached? Did Ergun lead Emir to the Lord or was it Pastor Miller? How do we resolve Ergun's claims that his brothers were converted at the same service with the claims in the book that Erdem was saved at home some time before Emir?

A Christian Response

Should anyone care about the discrepancies?

I believe the Caner brothers should. First of all this affects the very issue of their conversions and conversions are deemed to be extremely important as we commence our walk with God. I can't understand how Ergun can misspeak on his role on two occasions (either he was or was not directly involved in Emir becoming a Christian). Emir's testimonies contradict what is in Unveiling Islam that Ergun led him to the Lord.

Kregel the publisher of Unveiling Islam deny that the discrepancies affect their book. Kregel Publications issued the following statement: "Dr. Caner’s story, as presented in his 2002 national bestseller Unveiling Islam (co-authored with his brother Emir), has been verified by numerous persons who knew the Caner brothers as teens and throughout their adult lives. Kregel Publications has found no credible evidence that contradicts the facts presented in Dr. Caner’s writings." I hope Kregel view conversions as important too and note that the book differs from the accounts shown above. I hope Kregel will remove the book and fix it before re-issuing it

To others who read this, this is not a day for Schadenfreude. That is not a godly response. Please pray that the truth will prevail and God will be glorified despite the stubborness of men to acknowledge exaggarations and lies.

I truthfully have not enjoyed working on this blog. Some say blogs like these hinder the Gospel proclaimation. Error and untruths such as are contained in these testimonies do not help the Gospel. However our God can and does forgive those who repent.

Please read all of Proverbs 12
Pro 12:17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.