On Feb. 3, Ergun Caner, president of the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, in Lynchburg, Va., focused attention on a Southern Baptist controversy when he called Jerry Rankin, the president of the denomination\u2019s International Mission Board, a liar. Dr. Caner has since apologized for his language, but he still maintains that the \u201cCamel Method,\u201d\u009d a strategy Dr. Rankin endorses for preaching Christianity to Muslims, is deceitful.<\/p>\n
Instead of talking about the Jesus of the New Testament, missionaries using the Camel Method point Muslims to the Koran, where in the third chapter, or sura, an infant named Isa \u201d\u201d Arabic for Jesus \u201d\u201d is born. Missionaries have found that by starting with the Koran\u2019s Jesus story, they can make inroads with Muslims who reject the Bible out of hand. But according to Dr. Caner, whose attack on Dr. Rankin came in a weekly Southern Baptist podcast, the idea that the Koran can contain the seeds of Christian faith is \u201can absolute, fundamental deception.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
David Garrison, a missionary who edited a book on the Camel Method by Kevin Greeson, the method\u2019s developer, defends the use of the Koran as a path to Jesus. \u201cYou aren\u2019t criticizing Muhammad or any other prophets,\u201d\u009d Dr. Garrison said, \u201cjust raising Jesus up.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n