Plagiarism Of Other Bible Teachers

I have read enough of the headlines on the internet recently to know accusations of plagiarism led to the resignation of the President of Harvard. I don’t know if she was actually guilty, but the incident does demonstrate the seriousness of the offense.

I am thinking some gospel preachers might need to rethink how they represent some of the material they use in their presentations. I’ve heard some say in effect “everybody uses Bible material from others without giving credit.” That is just not accurate. Many are creative enough, and study the Bible enough (II Tim 2:15) to come up with their own material, and are honest enough to give credit to others when they do borrow their material. These last two traits are essential to being qualified to teach God’s word anyway (James 3:1).

Here is the definition of “plagiarism” at dictionary.com – “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author.” Let’s talk about the word “authorization” in that definition first. If we replicate an author’s copyrighted material without authorization, aren’t we in effect stealing from them (Eph 4:28)? I am pretty sure the laws of our land would consider such the stealing of intellectual material – “to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment” (dictionary.com).

Now let’s consider another phrase from that definition – “the representation of that author’s work as one’s own.” If we use another Bible teacher’s material without giving due credit, aren’t we expecting the audience to assume we designed that material (based upon the scriptures of course). If that is not what we intended, then why not state our source? Isn’t it being dishonest (I Pet 2:12) to not give proper credit, receiving praise for the hard work of others? Didn’t the apostle Paul make sure he didn’t take credit for or boast in other men’s labors (II Cor. 10:15, rh)? Shouldn’t we emulate him in this regard (Phil. 4:9)? If we regularly use other’s material without giving proper credit, we might need to examine our heart – are we doing things to please men (John 12:42-43) instead of God? Are we worried too much about what people think of us as opposed to what God thinks of us (Gal 1:10)? Perhaps we are ashamed to be associated with the one we are plagiarizing from (II Tim 4:16)?

Stealing and dishonesty are sins. Just because other gospel preachers tell you plagiarism of Bible material is okay, don’t fall for it (Eph 5:6, Matt 15:14). If the President of Harvard was censured for it, so should supported preachers who do what she allegedly did (II John 10-11, Rom 2:21). God is much stricter in these type matters than the rules of any university (Matt 12:36 “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”, John 12:48).

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