Subject: Women pastors... |
Bible Note: Dear John, Over the years we notice that some forum participants prefer to use the words of others rather than invest the time, energy, and effort in composing their own. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. For example, bringing a particularly well written quote from someone with greater authority, ability, or knowledge than our own can often be edifying to us all. Of course, when we fail to attribute to the rightful owner the words we use, it becomes a different matter. This is what is called plagiarism -- which is just a fancy word for stealing. Its a bit worse than that, however, because it is also an effort to elicit admiration for prowess of intellect, creativity, and industry that rightly belongs to someone else. Consequently, this sort of behavior is rooted in violations of at least two and perhaps three of the Ten Commandments; i.e., it is sin. Nothing rooted in sin will bring benefit, either to ourselves or to those around us. Indeed, underhanded behavior only detracts from the argument. It brings doubt to our character, as well as the character of the organizations to which we belong. It demonstrates an allegiance to the spirit of the age, not to the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, failure to properly annotate is an explicit violation of the agreement we have signed when we created our account on the forum. Indeed, every time we post we click a button that says "I Agree." Our gracious host has specific legal requirements by which they can operate. The terms by which we quote are part and parcel of those requirements. Please, in the future, show greater respect for the Lord, the Lockman Foundation, and your fellow forum members by employing the highest possible standards of veracity. Better not to post at all if it is done on any other basis. In Him, Doc |