By Dr. Darrell Horn

"Literary theft."  Simply stated, "Plagiarism occurs when a writer duplicates another writer's language or ideas and then calls the work his or her own. Copyright laws protect writers' words as their legal property. To avoid the charge of plagiarism, writers take care to credit those from whom they borrow and quote"[i] in speech or written form.

Why do some Christian leaders, pastors, and authors commit plagiarism? Good question when we all know better. Not everyone does it, just a few.  Most of us were taught about plagiarism in our high school English class.  In my high school, everyone wrote term papers during his or her junior and senior years.  We were taught the importance of proper footnoting and citing of sources.  The dreaded annual 'term papers' provided a great opportunity for our teachers to instruct us in the ways of intellectual honesty.  The same rules applied when we arrived on our perspective campuses for undergraduate and graduate studies.

Yet some Christian leaders, pastors, and authors disregard the need for intellectual integrity. Unintentional mistakes occur and will from time to time.  I'm not referring to such instances. I am talking though about some believers who knowingly commit this lapse of ethical conduct.  Such a dishonest act is further compounded when the plagiarizing believer makes a profit by selling books and other materials with portions of another's work.

According to plagiarism.org there are several ways in which this occurs.  The first list consists of plagiarism when an author does not cite his or her sources.  The second list consists of plagiarism when an author's sources are not properly cited.

Sources un-cited:

• The Ghost Writer - The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.
• The Photocopy - The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.
• The Potluck Paper - The writer tries to disguise plagiarism by copying from several different sources, tweaking the sentences to make them fit together while retaining most of the original phrasing.
• The Poor Disguise - Although the writer has retained the essential content of the source, he or she has altered the paper's appearance slightly by changing key words and phrases.
• The Labor of Laziness - The writer takes the time to paraphrase most of the paper from other sources and make it all fit together, instead of spending the same effort on original work.
• The Self-Stealer - The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic institutions. [ii]

Sources not properly cited:

• The Forgotten Footnote - The writer mentions an author's name for a source, but neglects to include specific information on the location of the material referenced. This often masks other forms of plagiarism by obscuring source locations.
• The Misinformer - The writer provides inaccurate information regarding the sources, making it impossible to find them.
• The Too-Perfect Paraphrase - The writer properly cites a source, but neglects to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or close to it. Although attributing the basic ideas to the source, the writer is falsely claiming original presentation and interpretation of the information.
• The Resourceful Citer - The writer properly cites all sources, paraphrasing and using quotations appropriately. The catch? The paper contains almost no original work! It is sometimes difficult to spot this form of plagiarism because it looks like any other well-researched document.
• The Perfect Crime - Well, we all know it doesn't exist. In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as his or her own analysis of the cited material.[iii]

Beyond the personal integrity issues, the academic and legal ramifications associated with plagiarism are two other serious concerns.  In relation to the legal repercussions plagiarism.org says, "If . . . the plagiarism involves money, prizes, or job placement, it constitutes a crime punishable in court. . . . Most cases of plagiarism are considered misdemeanors, punishable by fines of anywhere between $100 and $50,000 -- and up to one year in jail.  Plagiarism can also be considered a felony under certain state and federal laws.  For example, if a plagiarist copies and earns more than $2,500 from copyrighted material, he or she may face up to $250,000 in fines and up to ten years in jail."[iv]

In an academic setting, one school states as a part of its requirements that "unless credit is explicitly given to sources, the student is asserting that the words and/or the thoughts are the student's own original work. Falling short of these standards is academic dishonesty...The institution may take disciplinary action should any ethical standard of an academic and/or personal nature be violated. In the case of academic dishonesty... breaches of this standard will result in the failure of the assignment along with further possible disciplinary measures as outlined."[v]

With today's technological abilities and Internet access, any article, book, or other material can be evaluated by a number of programs.  Turnitin[vi] is one such program and "is the leading academic plagiarism detector, utilized by teachers and students to avoid plagiarism and ensure academic integrity."[vii] Plagiarism is much harder to disguise now than in previous years.

How can Exodus 20:15 be so easily overlooked by some who are members of the body of Christ?  Unintentional mistakes do occur and will from time to time.  I'm not referring to such instances.  But I do believe a Christian violates 'thou shalt not steal" by intentionally and knowingly plagiarizing another's literary property.

Paul reminds us, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus"[viii] and "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."[ix]

May God help us to be a people of integrity who honor Him and our fellow man.

[i] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism

[ii] http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_types_of_plagiarism.html

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] http://www.swbts.edu/catalog/page.cfm?id=118&open=13_area

[vi] Turnitin is a registered trademark

[vii] http://www.Turnitin.com

[viii] Colossians 3:17

[ix] 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Darrell joined the San Felipe Baptist Association as the Executive Director on November 1, 2004, after serving with the International Mission Board for 9 years in Venezuela and Mexico City. He has served as a pastor and other positions prior to IMB appointment. He and Karen have three girls, two boys, one son in-law, two daughter in-laws, and three grandchildren. Darrell earned a BA and a BS from Oklahoma Baptist University, a MDivBl and a Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he currently teaches as an adjunct mission professor on the Houston campus.