Thursday, August 26, 2010

Elmer Towns on Ergun Caner

According to the News & Advance:
“The punishment was commensurate with the problem, so we’re ready to move on,” Towns said about Caner. “I really don’t want to talk about him. I want to look toward the future.”
(source)
Those who were previously touting the way Liberty handled the Caner situation as "exonerating" Caner - are they going to stick with that?

-TurretinFan

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's just a minor little trifle and thing. The new Dean who was the former Dean first says he doesn't want to talk about him and then he later talks about him.

Ok.

These men are sporting and sore.

The only part of the message from the article in there I wholeheartedly embrace in the Name of the Lord is the comment about redemption seeing the sum of the Gospel is the redeeming value of our souls to our place in Him on earth and later on when we too pass, in Him in Heaven:

"...Despite the controversy surrounding how Caner represented his Muslim background, Towns and Falwell said that Liberty remains a home for Caner."

Strong Tower said...

What I cannot figure out is why LU cannot find a more suitable replacement. My guess is that they weren't looking. My guess also is that the officials included Elmer Towns in appointing Elmer Towns and most likely the Board was directed by Elmer Towns to appoint Elmer Towns. I have a feeling that there was no candidate search and Elmer's large frame is merely meant to hold the seat open until Caner is fully restored to it. Otherwise, why not someone from LU's teaching staff? Was there no assistant dean? No one in the wings? No one else qualified? Then why not go outside? The whole thing stinks.

Yes, the slip of the tongue is telling. It was punishment, at least that is what it appears to be, plain and simple, for lying. But they never thought he would get caught in the first place. As a supposed erudite scholar, are we to believe that Towns knew nothing of the falsehoods? He had no knowledge of Islam, none? He could not discern the discrepancies? By what fiat did he hire Ergun, then?The proponents of exoneration will remain silent, because to comment on the decision as punishment would expose their sychophantic support of Ergun as fact. Elmer Towns has been for decades one of the leaders in the Church Growth Movement, allied with everything that is abhorrent in it, e.g., his friend and partner in crime in that realm, C. Peter Wagner, et cetera. His dabbling in the mysticism of that movement is well documented, by Towns own publications. He even published his own spiritual gifts survey to be used in relationship to it. Of his necessary compliments to growth is the visionary leader, ergo, Ergun. Charismatic leadership, not necessarily qualified leadership, is foundational to the CGM. Accountability is secondary, growth is the main thing, to parrot a title by Elmer.

What most characterizes Elmer is his methodological pragmatism, certainly not his exegetical expertise. Which accounts for his own form of Methodism's perfectionism. But judging the size of Caner, Falwell and even Towns, his books on fasting weren't their favorite reads. Manipulation of God through techniques for personal gain has been Elmer's calling card all along. The reality, profits from books and publications has been his meal ticket. All this accounts for Ergun's appearance as a revivalist and the compromise of Scripture in pursuit of the value in increasing the numbers of givers and buyers. There is no way that Elmer is going to sacrifice his child, LU, for his step-child Ergun. It pays too well. But the fact remains, Ergun is large factor in the center-ring antics of the exploitive methods championed by Towns and Falwell. To turn Ergun out without at least the appearance of some form of reconcilliation would be an admission that the whole scheme behind LU is a fraud. We can look for one of two outcomes: the silent slipping out the back door in a voluntary change of career venue, which is highly unlikely since Ergun was hand-picked by his mentor Jerry Sr., and because Caner holds the goods on LU's knowledge of his history and methods- nothing more vengeful than a lover scorned; or, we will eventually see the concocted story that Caner has been through a retorative reconcilliation process and upon its completion was fully forgiven. Then "punishment" will take on the a new nuance in the by-line as restoration. Caner will be presented as remorseful, contrite, repentant and even more humble than before. And the peeps will eat the cotton candy with relish without regard to the previous rot caused by it.

Anonymous said...

ST

based on what I just read you wrote above, I would be happy to apply an application to the elevated status of Dean replacementaire if Elmer doesn't succeed through the winter? I have been through some of those harsh winters back there in Virginia! Just send me your curriculum vitae and I will get to it?

Besides, I think you are onto something here that is highly relevant to their own internal discourse about Ergun, yet, sadly, you have posted it in a place of no use to them!

With the knowledge we hold, factual knowledge of his lies and half-truth/lies and his outright confusing languages, my guess is these guys are scared to death that he might turn his persuasion skills on them, seeing he has done such a good job of representing Islamic fundamentalists for so long! I wonder if they might believe he could backslide and become a worse jihadist than before? Might that scare them? It is that or they believe he lied?

I know, I know, this is bunch of foolish now, so I better stop before I get a knock on the door!

Strong Tower said...

nat,

http://aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4147

I think Dr. White puts it well... let the punishment fit the...

Just imagine if Caner came out and told the whole truth...

Or, as you intimate, what if he was to make things up about LU's complicity in the same vein as he represented himself or Islam, whoa... unholy jihad, Liberty Man. How might they defend conversations that took place off record, behind closed doors? I mean, he said, she said, and Caner's the top draw, not Falwell Jr., or Towns. His currency, as we noticed with his defenders, far exceeds theirs. That's the problem when you create a monster, he might just destroy the lab.

In other words, they better not pull the choke chain too tight.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I listened to that this morning. White is just so black and white on this matter of facts, maybe I should apply his application instead? :)

Yeah to this: In other words, they better not pull the choke chain too tight.

But, if they could only drink some of his father-in-law's cough medicine, it wouldn't be as painful?