I lol’ed at reason no. 2. hahaha

I used to tell myself THAT EXACT SAME THING. But your reason for why it’s wrong is what I discovered also.

There’s also alot of free, great Open Source applications out there, that I discovered since I’ve stopped pirating.

I use Ubuntu Linux(it is very user friendly now), Blender 3d, Gimp, Open Office and others.

God requires holiness of us as Christians, in every area of our lives.

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

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.

Feel free to take a look.

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2347/125/

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….