Caner's Autobiography

Caner's Autobiography

"My full name is Ergun Michael Mehmet Giovanni Caner. I know, go ahead and laugh. I was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and raised in Europe, and came to America ... ." (1:35) (UPDATE: partial clip from this can be found here)

"Until I was 15 years old, I was in the Islamic Youth Jihad. So, until I came to America, until I found Jesus Christ as Lord, I was trained to do that which was done on 11 September, as were thousands and as are to this day, thousands." (beginning around 13:00 in the clip below)

"Until I was 15 years old, I thought every single one of you hated me. See, I'd been taught my entire life that Christians were hateful, vengeful - that you'd have nothing from me but death - and that we were at war. We came to America through Brooklyn, NY, that's where I learned English. (laughter from crowd) Yup yup. Settled in Columbus, OH. Do you know how I found Jesus? I found Jesus while I was still a devout Muslim - devout Muslim - I was a PK [preacher's kid] for lack of a better term. I had a "drug" problem: my father drug me to the mosque every time the doors were open. I followed the five pillars of Islam. But do you know that the Muslims who follow the five pillars of Islam here in Jacksonville are still taught that if you die at the end of your life with more bad deeds than good deeds, you still go to hell. It doesn't matter how many rakats you say. It doesn't matter how many times you face Mecca and say "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim hamdullah al-Rahman al-Rahim." It doesn't matter how many times you fasted during Ramadan. Because if the angel on your left hand shoulder writes down more bad than the angel on your right should writes down good, you still go to hell. Hear this. Only one thing erases the bad: martyrdom in jihad. Do you see the irony? Those men flying those planes thought that they would purchase forgiveness by shedding their own blood. Now let me tell you how I met Christ. It wasn't through the eloquence of a preacher and it wasn't through the beauty of a sanctuary. It was through a high school friend who invited me to church. He invited me to revival. He didn't care that I was wearing my כִּיפּוֹת (sp?), my hat. He didn't care that I spoke a different language and that my English was poor. He didn't care the fact that I looked differently [sic] or sounded differently or ate different foods than him. All he knew is that Jesus saves and that I needed salvation. He invited me to revival. I thought he said "re-Bible" and so I wanted a Bible and so I went. And I walked into that little country church and they loved me to the cross. They didn't look at me because I was different. They didn't mock me because I didn't know the songs. They didn't call me Towelhead or Sand-nigger. That's what I got outside the church. But in that church they loved me the way Christ loved them. For while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And on Thursday night of that revival when I head that grace would erase the scales - that Jesus would pay a debt that he didn't owe - for me 'cause I couldn't pay - man, I found Jesus. I tackled my preacher. I said, "I want to get saved!" You know what he did? He said, "Weel, brother Arrogant," he never could say my name, he said "Brother Ergun, pray right here," and I received Jesus Christ. That night we went to an Afterglow. Afterglow is when we go to Denny's. Do you know what my first act was as a new believer in Jesus? I had me the biggest piece of ham they offered on that menu! Yes sir! I'm a ham-eatin' man, baby. I went home, I told my mother and father, "Mama, Papa, I'm saved, I don't have to fear the scales!" On Friday, I went back to the mosque, assuming that they needed to know about that grace too. They did not receive that message. My father disowned me that day, November the 4th, 1982. A year later, though my English was poor, though I could not speak as clearly as others, I surrendered to the ministry - I felt God calling me to preach. Now, I don't know how you do it here, Dr. Vines, but in our little country church, my little pastor said, "Well bless God, brother Arrogant comes forward this morning to surrender to preach, he'll be preaching his first sermon tonight." It lasted seven minutes. Heaven, Hell, Jesus, Devil, lets sing 642 verses of "Just as I Am," but let me tell you something - both of my younger brothers found Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Yes sir! My Lord! Now my youngest brother teaches at Southeastern Seminary, my middle brother is a lay deacon in his church in Indianapolis, Indiana, I get to teach at Griswell College in Dallas, TX, somebody stuck around! 1991 my mama called me on the phone and on Easter Sunday she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. And my little church let me baptize her. They flew me all the way out to Columbus, OH, and I got to baptize my mother as a sister in Jesus and in 1995, at almost the age of 100, my grandmother - not speaking any English - stood with her walker and professed Jesus as Lord! Why? Because somebody stuck around." (from 18:40 to 24:33 in the clip below)

"My brother or my sister, if you in this room, within the sound of my voice, I tell you, that though I was in jihad, you were at war as well. Cause you are either at war with God or God wants to win, not kill, but you convert you." (29:10 in the clip below)

(UPDATE: I'm not sure what's going on with the video above. Obviously, it was working when I watched it, but it seems to be gone now.)

"The definition of a fraud is somebody that looks like something but is actually something else." (introductory words in clip linked below)

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