Ergun Caner on the Pastor's Perspective Show Compared to Other Testimonies and Evidence

On January 22, 2010, the Pastor's Perspective aired the show that can be found at the following link (source)(found among the other Pastor's Perspective shows here). This is the source of Dr. Caner's infamous comparison of the Jerry Springer Show with formal debates (link to Dr. White's response to that comparison).

---

• "Twenty-seven years later I'm still amazed at His grace." (around 1:50) (suggests conversion took place somewhere between 1/23/1982 and 1/22/1983)

(compare his claim to have been saved at 18 => November 3, 1966 + 18 => November 3, 1984)

---

• "I am neither Persian nor Arab - I'm Turkish, so we're Anatolian" (around 2:50)

Confirming:

Lecture: The Gospel According to Oprah (mp3) dated 2/8/2010 according to SermonAudio.com

"In Turkey, we have Persian, Arab, and Anatolian, I'm Anatolian, and in the Anatolian world the man is not in the birth room, the man is in another room." (around 12:15 into the sermon)

Compare:

The vast majority of the e-mails, numbering over six hundred, were from grateful Americans, many soldiers, who felt that their voices were not being heard. Mothers and fathers of soldiers who felt grateful that an article would run, supporting our troops from someone like me, a Persian Turkish immigrant and former Muslim.

(source - Article by Ergun Caner)

(Also compare this Zola Levitt Episode titled, “Dr. Ergun Caner: An Arab-Christian,”)

• "They won't dilute. Islam is Islam - and that was me coming to America: a fiery young man - all three of us, the three sons from our mother - all three of us devout Muslims - our father just this hero to us and when I converted - disowned by my family - completely disowned - father cut me out of the pictures - a year later both of my brothers became believers." (around 10:10)

(Compare with the evidence that Caner came to America as a toddler.)

---

• "We decided that we would write under our own name." (around 10:40)

Compare this discussion (link). I think, though, that Caner's point is just that he didn't hide from the Muslim persecutors. In this regard, his courage is to be praised. I would classify this as a simple misstatement, if "Mehmet" is not his real name.

---

• "After I lost, you know I lost my family, what else can you lose? I lost my family, my culture, my language, my people, I knew nothing." (around 12:45)

As far as we can tell, Dr. Caner lost only his non-custodial father (see appeals court decision of 2/6/1979 mentioning the custody issue). While this is a significant and tragic loss, it appears that Dr. Caner is exaggerating.

---

• Question to Ergun: "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." (around 13:05)

Confirming this:

"A year later I'm in college, I find out both my brothers got saved." (2009 Value Voters Summit, around 16:11 - scroll down to the correct video)

But Compare:

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.

(Unveiling Islam, page 19)

And again:

You guys ever hear 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 - the 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.

(Prestonwood Sermon at around 18 minutes 30 seconds)

- TurretinFan

H.T. Thanks to BruinEric for bringing this mp3 to my attention.