>Tim Bulkeley and I are having a dialogue about the issue of copyright, theft, and the ministry. My initial post, “You Shall Not Steal Thy Brother’s Song,” first prompted Tim’s comment (available on my blog) and then his post on “Copyright, theft and ministry.” My post also prompted a comment from Peter Kirk, which can be read on my blog.
Tim, Peter, and I agree that the violation of the copyright laws is wrong. Peter does not believe that the breach of copyright laws is a violation of the commandment “You shall not steal,” but rather it is “a wrong to one’s neighbour which should be pursued through civil courts.”
In my response to Peter, I wrote:
Christians today have a higher standard. The tenth commandment is clear: “You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). A song written by a Christian musician is his property and under current laws it is protected under intellectual property rights. To take by stealth what belongs to another person is theft. Christians should respect the rights and property of another Christian.
We are dealing with a gray area of the law but I believe the law is on the side of the owner of the song.
I believe that churches and Christian musicians should avoid the improper use of copyrighted music and do the right thing and pay royalties. If a song was written by a Christian musician, that musician has the rights afforded him by the copyright laws.
Tim’s post deals with the excessive profits made by the record companies. I agree with him on this issue. The music industry makes exorbitant profit with their products. In my response to Tim, I wrote:
“The industry is a big business and they are in the business of making money. If people don’t like that they are making a lot of money, then they should stop buying from them.”
It is sad but true that the commercialization of some aspects of Christianity has hurt the church. To a certain extent, the church today has become a big business.
The church has been affected by a culture of fame and wealth. Christian music has become a big business that promotes a popular brand of Christian music that at times, does little to promote the gospel.
If the music industry thrives in our society it is because Christians choose to patronize the industry. Christian musicians produce what the Christian audience desires. To a certain extent, they are selling the gospel, as Tim wrote. But let’s face it: if the singers and the record companies are making a lot of money it is because, to some extent, people like what they hear.
Many Christian musicians have become “stars” and the industry is making a lot of money. However, their success does not give any church or any Christian musician the right to use illegally the work of another Christian musician.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Copyright Laws, Intellectual Property, Music Industry,
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
>Vern Poythress has an interesting take in his essay Copyrights and Copying: Why the Laws Should Be Changed’…I think it is wrong to engage in copying when it violates the existing laws. But we need to ask about whether the laws themselves are just. And when we do that, words like “property” and “theft” and “piracy” simply beg the question.’ Well worth the read!Cris
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>Cris, thanks for the link. I had already posted along similar lines, although without going quite as far as Poythress. I have now commented on my own post with this link.
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>Chris,Thank you for the tip on this article. I will read it and maybe provide a response.Claude Mariottini
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>Peter,Thank you for your thoughtful post in response to my post on this topic. I will read the article suggested by Chris and maybe I will offer a response in a few days.Claude Mariottini
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>Dear Dr,It is true as long as the work is theirs. Do you accept that the work you do for Christ is through Holy Spirit or your own original work? If you work for a company, the company claims copyright for your work, not you. If they work for Christ, why do they lie to Holy Spirit?Can any of them accept that it is "their own original work" (as per worldly copyright laws) and not of the Holy Spirit?Why do you support these liars.. who lie not to men but to God?
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>Felix,Copyright laws may be unfair and without merit, but these laws are the laws of the land.A Christian writer who makes his or her living by writing and publishing deserves the protection of their work through copyright laws.Some Christian writers may afford to give out their work for free others many not. A pastor works for God but he also deserves to protect the books he has written by using copyright laws.Claude Mariottini
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>Dear Dr,Copyright laws may be unfair and without merit, but these laws are the laws of the land.True, the law of the land requires it to be their own original work and not someone else's. So whose work it is and who can copyright it? If they accept that all work done by them are empowered by Holy Spirit, how you can claim copyright as their "own original work"? If your company employed you to do a work, the work is copyrighted by the company – not you. How can comeone claim copyright when working for Christ? It is to me like an employee copyrighting a company's secret in his own name rather than the company's. Are they doing gospel work for themselves or for God?A Christian writer who makes his or her living by writing and publishing deserves the protection of their work through copyright laws.Bible never said anywhere to make a living by writing and publishing God's work. 1Co 9:14 reads, to live by the gospel which they preach (You can see how much today's translators had covered the truth). Refer Christ's explanation for this at Luk 10:3-7. So, the work of a Christian writer is "his own original work" or "the work of Holy Spirit". Are we supposed to follow men's work or God's work? If they say it is "their own" as per the copyright law, then they preach another gospel and another Jesus.Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (Heb 6:1-2). Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Mat 19:21).How many churches preach this? They don't because, they are not interested in "perfection" but "money" and "luxury of the world".Some Christian writers may afford to give out their work for free others many not. A pastor works for God but he also deserves to protect the books he has written by using copyright laws.It shows how much the so called "Christian writers" trust worldly money and not God. God never said anywhere to make ourselves affordable to preach the gospel. If a pastor works for God, the work he does is his own or the work of Holy Spirit?I had written some e-Books which can be found in the below website: http://www.churchsw.orgYou can refer to "Wages for Gospel work" where I had explained well.In Christ,Felix Jeyareuben
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>Actually, the exact link is:http://www.churchsw.org/content/gospel-electronic-bookswhere you can refer to "Wages for Gospel work"
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