Thief-to-Thief: A Christian View of Piracy :: Deeper Devotion

Thief-to-Thief: A Christian View of Piracy

By Jeremy Smith, October 20, 2003

There’s a lot of confusion these days about copyrights, sharing digital media, and the like. The laws are constantly being challenged and changed, and no one seems to know for sure what’s legal and what’s not. But some things are clear. One of those is that piracy is legally and morally wrong. What’s piracy? Piracy is “the copying of works without the permission of the rights holders and outside the scope of ‘fair use’ rights” (more). Basically, piracy means copying music, movies, or software for purposes other than your personal use (such as making a backup or transferring a CD to MP3’s for your iPod). It also includes the use of works copied by someone else.

File Sharing

This brings us to file sharing, which has brought piracy to a whole new level. It’s ironic that they call it file sharing. So kind, so generous…it would make your mother proud, right? In most cases…wrong. Let’s not beat around the bush, here. “File sharing,” in the way it is most commonly used today, is really “file stealing.” When you rip your latest CD purchase, put it up on Kazaa, and “share” it with the world, you’re giving people something that you don’t have the right to give them. You might argue that copying a digital file isn’t really stealing, since the original file hasn’t been moved at all, but you are denying the creator of that digital work the right they have to make a profit on that work.

Now, I’m not saying that file sharing is inherently bad. In fact, peer-to-peer file sharing is a great way to share music you write and record, funny video’s you make with your friends (make sure your friends know you’re sharing the video’s, or you might get sued), and just about anything else you create that you want to spread around. But the key here is that you create the works you share-giving others the freedom to pass it along as well. (If you’re interested, check out creativecommons.org for more information on sharing and licensing your own creative work.)

If you are a Christian and you are “sharing” files that you don’t own, hopefully you are experiencing some inner conflict. That inner conflict is most likely the Holy Spirit prompting you to come clean. (If you haven’t had any inner conflict, either you are ignoring the issue altogether or you don’t care-both of which are bigger issues.) In any case, something you believe is keeping you from stopping, and it’s probably one, or a combination, of the following.

The Excuses

You don’t have the money to buy all the music, movies, or software you want or need.
You tell yourself that you are just sampling, with the intent to buy later.
You don’t think the law is very clear, so you think it’s not your responsibility to know it.
You don’t think you’ll get caught.
You know lots of people, including Christians, do it.
You think the music, movie and software industries are greedy and don’t deserve payment.
You believe the artists and creators aren’t affected.

All of these are excuses. Many of them seem like good arguments, but let’s see how they stack up against the truth.

The Truth

God promises to provide all your needs. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) If you aren’t content with the music, movies, and software the Lord has blessed you with, you need to pray and examine yourself for the reason why.
Telling yourself you are just sampling, with the intent to buy later, is as good an excuse as eating a box of cereal at the grocery store and deciding if you’ll pay for it a few weeks later.
Since piracy is stealing, it is against God’s law. “You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) And since piracy is illegal, it is against our country’s laws. And breaking the laws of our country is also against God’s law. “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” (1 Peter 2:13-15)
If you’ve paid attention to the news lately, you’ve probably noticed that the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has filed suits not only against major offenders of music sharing, but also against 12-year old girls. So, if you think there’s safety in numbers (or age), think again.
Just because file sharing is common doesn’t mean it’s suddenly acceptable behavior. As Christians, we cannot take our cues from other people, whether they are Christians or not. Plenty of Christians speed, gossip, and get divorced. Does that mean those things are okay?
The music, movie and software industries may or may not be greedy. Most likely, it’s not that simple. Certainly some people (maybe lots, maybe only a few) in these industries are greedy. But there are plenty of computer programmers, sound mixers, technicians, makeup artists, grips, and gaffers who are just trying to make a living, and those are the people you are stealing from.
The artists and creators behind the music, movies, and software you like are always affected when you steal from them. They have every right to expect that their creations are paid for, and you do a disservice to them when you “share” their work.

What You Can Do

So, what’s a Christian to do? First, stop pirating. “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28) If that means uninstalling Kazaa or your other peer-to-peer software, so be it. Second, it’s time to get creative. Here are some ideas:

Short on cash? Get your music, movies, and software used. Go to thrift stores and used music stores, look online, or try CD swapping. (Make sure that you don’t keep a copy when you swap-that’s the same as piracy.) This may mean that you have to hold off for a little while on getting the newest music and movies, but in my experience, they hit the used racks pretty quick anyway. You just have to be on the lookout.
No cash? There’s still Internet radio. If you have a decent connection, there are a ton of streams out there you can listen to. As for movies, do you have to have a copy of Shawshank Redemption? Do you know how many people have that movie? Just borrow it.
If you must have the latest in music, try iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes/) or something similar. 99 cents a song isn’t so bad if you didn’t want the whole album to begin with.
Look for the freebies. There are free and legal MP3’s out there-I have quite a few, myself. You can also find a lot of band sites with whole songs free for the stream. (Now, don’t rip the stream…that’s stealing, too.)

If you have a ton of music, movies, or software, it’s going to be hard to part with. And if you’ve enjoyed the ease with which you’ve collected your favorite media up to this point, you’ll probably hate stopping. But, the truth remains: pirating dishonors God, hurts your walk with Jesus, and damages your witness with others. As a Christian, nothing should be worth that to you.

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22 Responses to “Thief-to-Thief: A Christian View of Piracy”

hellobilly Says:
October 21st, 2003 at 9:16 am
What shall one do with pirated stuff? Throw them away? Destroy them? Or give them to other people? Or just keep them in the closet or some drawer?
jeremy Says:
October 22nd, 2003 at 8:20 am
If it was me, I'd throw it away–if you still have it but aren't using it, then you still have posession. You might not realize all that you have (that's been my experience), but as you come across it, just delete it or throw it out.
cloakingdevice Says:
November 12th, 2003 at 9:49 pm
1. There is no "right" to profit from one's work. In fact, there is no right to profit from anything.

2. Copying does not deprive anyone of the use of the original, therefore it is problematic to equate it with stealing.

3. Copyrights and patents are legal devices that enable authors to profit from their work, and thereby encourage them to create new works that _hopefully_ enriches society. The ethical and objections to infringing copyright is far weaker than what the article suggests.
Anonymous Says:
March 31st, 2004 at 6:27 am
What about third world countries who are constantly being oppressed economically by the first world economies? U didnt argue that in your article. The fact that there is no balancing mechanism puts us in a VERY difficult situation. Take China for example. The country where piracy is arguably the highest in the world at the moment. 1 USD translates to 8.28710 chinese yuan renminbi!!! That would mean your .99 usd a song isnt so cheap after conversion. You are only arguing from the perspective of an American which has a higher buying power in the US and in more than 90% of the world!
A note to cloaking device: would appreciate link(s) to related resources on the ethical perspective and objections to infringement of copyright that you speak mentioned. God Bless
piracy&christian Says:
July 21st, 2005 at 11:37 am
Hi
I have made a homepage about Piracy & Christians. I been through it myself, so I decide to help others. It gives information about why it is wrong, but also shows free alternatives to piracy. I hope you'll check it out and that somebody outhere find it usefull. If you are christian and have some illegal software or mp3 on your computer I'm sure you'll find the page to great use. http://www.piracy.christian.nu

God Bless You!

Best wishes
Jonas
Moral Pirate Says:
November 2nd, 2007 at 1:26 am
You quote many verses from the bible in your article , but the one you conveniently leave out is that ” The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil! ” You claim that ” The music, movie and software industries may or may not be greedy” and then go on to say “Certainly some people (maybe lots, maybe only a few) in these industries are greedy. ” Are you aware that even “a few” makes the companies and the industries they belong to greedy? I would be very surprised if you can point out one single company within the movie, music or sofware industry whose goal is NOT to maximise profits.

Being a christian, you know that evil exists and it’s quite clear that you think file sharing is evil and immoral, but lets put it in perspective here. What is that compared to the love of money of these multi billion dollar companies many of which are still turning a profit, despite file sharing and “piracy”, who you yourself have pointed out would go so far as to litigate against a 12 year old girl for unjustfied amounts in compensation. Do you think THAT is morally right? Do you not think thats taking it abit too far? If that action is not at least in part motivated by greed and the love of money which according to your doctrine is THE ROOT OF ALL KINDS OF EVIL, Then what is? As a christian, you obviously realise that evil exists in this world, and thats not going to change, so the least you can do, IF you are gonna take sides, is to side with the “lesser” evil.

However, I would also challenge your argument that “NON PROFIT” piracy or file sharing is “stealing” and that the ramifactions are the same. Moreover, I would argue that such file sharing and media distribution whereby monetary profits are not gained by the consumers doing the sharing exists to offset this corporate greed.
Moral Pirate Says:
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:35 am
You mention that file sharing is really “file stealing” and that “piracy is stealing.”

But HOW can it be stealing when the owner/creator of the product still has possession of the product and still has control over what he wants to do with that product?

You then weaken your argument by stating ” You might argue that copying a digital file isn’t really stealing, since the original file hasn’t been moved at all, but you are denying the creator of that digital work the right they have to make a profit on that work. ”

But are ALL profits DESERVED? By stating the above, You are implicitly conceding that piracy is NOT stealing and are in effect arguing for greed and in fact encouraging it! File sharing may very well deny the owner of the work additional potential profits, but your argument paints a picture that they are complete victims when in reality, these artists or owners of their creative work are more than likely already multi millionaires! File sharing also generates a publicity for artists that they otherwise might not get, which can in turn indirectly generate more sales for the artist, and though you have focused on the negative effects of file sharing on an artist, this is one POSITIVE effect that should not be over looked or understated.

Furthermore, I put to you that many christians who engage in file sharing do so with generosity in their heart with no INTENTION of profiting from their actions! Their actions also serve the purpose of offsetting undeserved profits, greed and thereby ” the love of money ” which according to the bible is ” The root of all kinds of evil! ”

In many affluent developed countries, piracy and file sharing is considered illegal, but since when has legality and morality been the same thing? Case in point, Some countries have legalised same sex marriages, but I doubt you consider that legalisation moral from a christian perspective.

So are all forms of piracy immoral, despite being illegal in most countries? The answer is an emphatic NO.

Thank you for reading and appreciating another point of view

Peace.
Paxton Says:
November 5th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Thank you for your article. I personally have always agreed that file sharing is wrong, but I find it very difficult to make myself not download music. This is something I need to work on.

I liked the part where the article said “If you aren’t content with the music, movies, and software the Lord has blessed you with, you need to pray and examine yourself for the reason why.” I wonder how i can go about doing this.

It is amazing all the controversy this has create, eve among Christians. People simply don’t like being told they can steal music.
Paxton Says:
November 5th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
One other thought…. Maybe if a large portion of the music industry is greedy, then we probably shouldn’t be listening to their music to begin with. Helping these people out by giving them air time and our attention is equally wrong. That’s the real problem Americans need to deal with. I don’t think stealing from other morally wrong people justifies anything.
maspick Says:
November 6th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
To those of you arguing that the (assumed) greed of copyright owners justifies the unauthorized copying of their material, I ask the following question: If Jesus was physically in your presence, would you copy that file?

In the 20th chapter of Luke, verses 19-26, Jesus laid it out for us about how to approach the laws of this world. Further, Paul, writing to the church in Rome (Romans 13:1-6), tells us to obey our earthly authorities as established by God (the ultimate authority). That’s God’s spin on the deal.
RAZA Says:
November 6th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Hey I just wanted to point out that I am good friends with the person “moral pirate”. And just so you all know - he is not a Christian.

When the blind lead the blind they both fall into the ditch.
Mark Says:
November 15th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Brother in Christ..

There are many struggles as a Christian this day in age indeed we are left with the holy spirit to help interpret and guide us. But nonetheless, I respectfully take issue with some assumptions and if I may.. rather high brow.. tone the author takes.. We are not to “grey” gods laws but neither are we to declare to know how gods law applies to MAN’s law in every case. And that’s where you are in error. Corporate law, mans law, even country law are not one the same with God’s as you would imply. Give Caesar his due to but to say to break Country law is breaking God’s law is an untrue and un scriptural statement. Was it gods law then to suffer Black’s during United States slavery or Gods law to break business plantation law by Giving Blacks a wage?.. More the same Corporate Law is not one the same as God’s law. FYI, “Piracy” and “theft” are in fact terms born out of the coporations and courts themselves They are the ones that first used and promoted those terms just as I would call someone a Racist for wanting to say secure our countrie’s borders. They are words used for effect to make their own definition. Just because I or company use a word makes it so. For all works belong to god ultimately and to claim ownership over a recipe, a depiction, a copy of an idea is not God’s law. I would be with you on the argument of defrauding and profiting off others works but you walk a fine line in arguing “piracy” or just the act of possessing a copy of another’s creation is against God’s law.. and I think you step over that line.
Brother, worry more about getting right with GOD then “getting others right”.. as this is what Jesus taught.. for “is not thine own house unclean wherefore thou proclaim another unclean, surely it is better the servant to be the caretaker of ones own house then it is to suffer thy neighbor’s bed”
Peace..
RAZA Says:
November 15th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
The fact is the bible teaches that -

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

People who are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”, are the ones who are listening to, watching or playing with secular music, movies or games.

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

Christians are not to love the world.

If you are pirating this stuff you should *first* be questioning whether you should even be having that stuff. If on the other hand you are pirating Christian music, movies or games, then don’t you know that you are taking from Jesus, for

“He [Jesus] will answer them, `Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ” Matthew 25:45

so to take what belongs to a Christian is to take from Jesus Christ Himself. If you think that the Christians who created those music, movies or games do not deserve to be paid then might I remind you that -

“For the Scripture says, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’ ” 1 Timothy 5:18

That is their job, they deserve the money they earn from it. And people do not have a moral “right” to take that away.

Someone who pirates something that they do not think is worth buying should instead - go without. There is no “instrinsic right” for a person to have that music, movie or game.

I agree with this guy that we must make sure our own house is clean. However the scriptures clearly teach that we are to encourage one another [fellow Christians] to do what is right etc.

God says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

God Bless.

God Bless
Munkybran Says:
November 20th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
“If you are a Christian and you are “sharing” files that you don’t own, hopefully you are experiencing some inner conflict. That inner conflict is most likely the Holy Spirit prompting you to come clean. (If you haven’t had any inner conflict, either you are ignoring the issue altogether or you don’t care-both of which are bigger issues.) In any case, something you believe is keeping you from stopping, and it’s probably one, or a combination, of the following.”

I’m sorry, I can’t take this seriously.

If I’m not hearing that little voice, does that mean that doG has abandoned me? Or that I’m using excuses to cover up his voice? Maybe he should try harder.

You ever find it funny that only believers can hear his voice? The funny part to me is the one where fundamentalist christian children are in my friend’s office, complaining about voices telling them to do things.

It’s something my doctor friend likes to call ‘Schizophrenia’.

He’s never met more screwed up kids than those who come from a fundamentalist parent.

If you spend your life expecting to hear voices from doG, eventually, you will hear voices. Voices that your mind has fabricated. You want to impress doG with your loyalty, don’t you? Imagine the confusion you might feel if you thought doG was in your head, telling you to do nonsensical things. ‘Pour the orange juice’ and ‘Cross the street’.

I’ve heard many professed Christians say the old line ‘God must be willing me to go somewhere else.’ after being fired. It’s like you’re covering up failure with faith!

Think twice before you skip to direct insults and threats of hell. Remember, the lord works in mysterious ways.

And Raza, we’re all blind. Perhaps two blind people are better than one.

“When the blind lead the blind they both fall into the ditch.”
Moral Pirate Says:
November 21st, 2007 at 2:39 pm
First of all, I just want to commend Mark for the comments he made. You make some great points and are a fine example of a thinking christian who is not afraid to challenge and question the status quo and the “popular”
christian opinion when it comes to this issue.

The fact is, there are many verses in the bible that are contradictory and inconsistent and do not stand the test of logic/reason and any christian with some semblance of intellectual honesty will recognise and acknowledge
that.

Even now, we see the various christians who have made comments, each pulling verses from the moral grab bag that is the bible to justify his own stance. But the bottom line is this, To label all forms of “piracy” immoral is blatently incorrect for the reasons I have given in my previous posts. And To those who claim that ” piracy is stealing “, please explain HOW it can be stealing when the owner/creator of the product still has possession of the product and still has control over what he wants to do with that product?

The fact of the matter is that piracy is really the act of copying and no where does it say in the bible that copying is a sin. The bible does not have specific answers to everything and even christians need to occasionally apply the tool of reason, and through reason we can conclude that it is immoral to engage in ” the root of all kinds of evil ” (ie the love of money) by making copies and making monetary profits from someone else’s work.

I would also like to at this point demonstrate that the bible is not infallible by using a verse that RAZA quotes.

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

How many of you christians here are living examples that this verse CANNOT be true? Any christian who is a music lover and who has downloaded or shared a song over the internet with the best of intentions with genrosity in your heart, how many of you can put up your hands and say that you DON’T love God because you also love music, a “thing” of this world?

On top of that, in John 3:16, it states ” For God so LOVED THE WORLD , that He gave His only begotten Son…. ” So on one hand, God CAN love the world and yet we as human beings supposedly made in the image of god are NOT supposed to love the world and things that comprise this world? Why the double standard? This is but one example. There are double standards galore in the bible for what is acceptable for God and what is acceptable for humans, and yet many christians would claim that an
” ABSOLUTE ” Standard of morality exists. This is one of the biggest contradictions that exists in the bible!

And Munkybran, I have known RAZA as a friend for many years now and though he will probably deny it vigorously, he is more blind than he realises.

To all christians who read this, do not blindly follow the opinion of RAZA, or dogmatic verses in the bible that cannot hold up under logical scrutiny. Think and consider everything that has been said, see which points of view are the most rationally sound and then judge for yourself.
Glenn Ansley Says:
November 21st, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Hi Moral Pirate. Thanks for your discourse.
In all due respect, I have a hard time understanding why you would care to even post here. By your own admission, you are not a believer and you do not hold that the Bible is infallible. To this end, you really have no voice in the current discussion: Is it okay for Christians to share files with one another. Furthermore, your understanding of Scriptures is no more complete than any Christian who chooses to pick “proof verses” to make his or her point.

I am curious, what do you think John is referring to when he says “the world” in 1 John? What do you think he’s referring to as “the world” in the gospel of John? Do they mean the same thing to you? You speak so highly of logic, and yet it seems that you use it improperly. If you’d like, maybe I should compose an article on the logical nature of Christianity and we could move this discussion to there.
Moral Pirate Says:
November 21st, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Hi Glenn,

Thanks for your comments. I am posting here mainly because my Christian friend RAZA referred me to this site and upon reading Jeremy Smith’s article, I wanted to give Christians a different perspective by presenting what I feel is a valid argument, and to encourage discussion about the issue. Secondly, I did it because I’m quite tired of the flawed
” All piracy is stealing ” argument that seems to be the popular and
pre-dominant belief among christians, especially fundamentalists. Since I have posted here, You may have noticed that the comments section has come alive. Prior to my presence here, The comments section was virtually dead. To THAT end, I have succeeded with one of my initial goals.

In relation to me holding the belief that the bible is not infallible, Are you aware that there are many good Christians who love God, yet ALSO do not hold the belief that the bible is the infallible word of god? Just so that there is no misunderstanding between us, I am NOT an atheist who lacks belief in God, I am a freethinker whose opinions on God and religion are not based on tradition or rationally unjustified dogma

You claim that I have no voice in this discussion simply because I am not a christian. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware that this site was meant only for christians to express their views. Moreover my “voice” in this discussion is based on the validity and the strength of the arguments I present, not my religious persuasion. However, if my comments are not welcome, I will gladly stop posting here. I have said what I wanted to say and anything that I post from here on out would be in response to criticisms and comments directed at what I have expressed on this forum so far.

I had an inclination that the verse I quoted from John as a counter argument wouldn’t sit too well with many christians, and I concede that it’s probably not the best example. And more than likely, you will tell me that I should take things in context. Sure, but in my experience, ” Crying context ” has become the battle cry and the knee jerk reaction of many Christian apologists. I’ll gladly point out many other contradictions and logical inconsistencies the bible contains if you are open to further discussion.

In closing, I’ll be more than happy to read any article you compose about the logicical nature of christianity and continue the discussion with you there. And , if you or any other christian believes that my arguments posted thus far do NOT have a biblical basis or that they are not logical, I welcome and encourage you or anyone else to convincingly falsify them.

Till then, from one human being to another, Take care….
Moral Pirate Says:
November 22nd, 2007 at 3:35 am
For those of you who still adhere to the belief that file sharing is morally wrong with only negative consequences, I’d like to point you to the findings of a study that shows how file sharing actually benefits the music industry!

Feel free to take a look.

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2347/125/
Glenn Ansley Says:
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Hey pirate, thanks for your response. You are more than welcomed to continue posting here. While this site is meant primarily for Christians, that is not why I said you have no voice (and non-believers are always welcome). I was just confused why you, as a non-believer, would even care what Christian’s believe about their own ethics concerning file sharing. In your last comment, you corrected me. I apologize, I thought you had said you were an atheist, but that was your roommate.

As to the current discussion and the validity of your argument, I don’t really feel that I need to respond to any of your accusations as Jeremy already answered them in his original post. Your other comments, such as the authority of US Laws, the infallibility of Scripture, etc are not relevant to the immediate topic of this post, although we do have articles on such things if you would like to discuss them.

You’re more than welcome to continue posting on deeper devotion.
Jax Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Hi,

My take on it is that if you are downloading something that just came out, that it is definitely wrong! The artist is definitely losing money in that case. It’s the same for movies as well. The kind of people who continually do this are the kind of people who don’t even buy CDs or DVDs and I find that wrong cause they think they can get anything for free. But I think that if you download something that is so rare, that you can’t get it, like an album released from the ’80s that had maybe only 5000 copies available, then I have a different take on that. But in general I don’t fully see it as stealing because you don’t actually have an authentic copy of the thing, you just have a downgraded version of it. And I think of how John The Baptist said share what you have with those less fortunate. But then you could argue if these people are really less fortunate. I still download, but they are usually rare stuff that is impossible to get a hold of unless you’ve got some connections, such as albums that were released in the ’80s only on vinyl and hard to get a hold of. The only guys making money from that are the people who are ripping the vinyls to CD anyway. Also, I download things you can’t even buy anyway, like classic TV Shows that don’t have any DVD release. I don’t know how that is wrong when you can’t even get a hold of it another way. And if I see some show I watched on TV that I wish I could tape but couldn’t, cause my vid player is broke, then I feel I can download it, because I did have the right to see it. If this is wrong, then why do they sell VCRs for legally? But I have to admit that because of things I’ve downloaded, I’ve discovered new artists and have gone out to buy their CDs. And these CDs can’t even be bought here most the time, as most of what I like I have to import. I do buy CDs and DVDs, always looking through the bargains. You’ll be surprised how many CDs and DVDs brand new are cheap to get these days. I guess it could be because of pirating that sales go down. My stance is that the downloading new stuff is definitely wrong because artists are relying on the sales of those albums. And if you don’t buy CDs or DVDs because you rely on downloads, then there seems to be something wrong there. If you download music, I say go out and buy something from that artist if you really care.

J
Matt Says:
April 29th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Good article and good purpose in your article. Do what your heart leads. I agree 100 percent with you. I didn’t take it as a criticism, but probably something you felt needed to be shared. People here are trying to make excuses or are telling you to “not criticize” or to worry about yourself. The bottom line is that their points are conviction for their own misdeeds. I recently gave my life back to Christ and one, of the many, things He has put on my heart was my collection of illegally downloaded music. It doesn’t matter if the music is fifty years old, or that a study says it benefits the music industry, or that it stimulates creativity, or that it’s a copy, or that the artist is greedy or “doesn’t deserve” profit. The fact of the matter is that the music belongs to them and so if you have their creation, you should have paid for it. My music collection is rather small by comparison now. I have switched to going to Amazon.com and downloading the files legally. My heart is at peace because of it. Thanks for the article.
Robert Says:
June 13th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
great article…so is it ok for me to copy and paste it and give it to the students in our church??

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Aug 31, 2008 @ 01:32 pm
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What Does the Bible Say About Sex?
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On Finding Wisdom

March 16, 2010

Comments: [2]

“What my dog told me about the end of the world.”

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How Will They Know?

April 5, 2007

This is a set of 5 devotions centered on the importance of missions and evangelism. How Will They Know is a great resource for short-term mission trips.
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