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Q&A:Plagiarism: Difference between revisions
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Our refutation of the charge of plagiarism in the Bible is found below. However, even if we were unable to refute this claim, it is completely irrelevant to the issue of whether William Branham was guilty of plagiarism. Each individual accusation must be dealt with separately and considered on its own merits. | Our refutation of the charge of plagiarism in the Bible is found below. However, even if we were unable to refute this claim, it is completely irrelevant to the issue of whether William Branham was guilty of plagiarism. Each individual accusation must be dealt with separately and considered on its own merits. | ||
The fact remains that William Branham said he received the following sermons from God while it can be clearly shown that he plagiarized them from others (the source of the plagiarism is listed in parentheses): | |||
#1957 sermon entitled "The Eagle in her Nest" (C.L. Franklin) | |||
#1960 sermon series on the seven church ages and the related book, "An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages" (Clarence Larkin) | |||
#1961 sermon entitled "Revelation Chapter 4" (Clarence Larkin) | |||
#1961 sermon series on the seventy weeks of Daniel (Clarence Larkin) | |||
#1963 sermon series on the seven seals (Clarence Larkin) | |||
#1964 sermon entitled "The Future Home Of The Heavenly Bridegroom And The Earthly Bride" (Clarence Larkin) | |||
#1965 sermon entitled "Christ is Revealed in His Own Word" ((Clarence Larkin) | |||
#1965 sermon entitled "A Thinking Man's Filter" (Billy Graham) | |||
=The Biblical Sin of Plagiarism= | =The Biblical Sin of Plagiarism= | ||
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'''Nowhere does Luke violate the principle that God outlined in Jeremiah 23:30.''' | '''Nowhere does Luke violate the principle that God outlined in Jeremiah 23:30.''' | ||
==Matthew 23:23== | |||
Matthew the apostle was a former tax collector who may well have kept records of Jesus’ ministry. Tax collectors were well versed in keeping records. We also understand that the Gospel of Matthew, like all of the Gospels in the New Testament, is an anonymous document.<ref>Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1–13, vol. 33A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1993), lxxvi.</ref> However, the first of the canonical gospels was widely ascribed by the early church to be Matthew, the apostle of Jesus (named in Mt 9:9; 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:15; Acts 1:13).<ref>W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, vol. 1, International Critical Commentary (London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 8.</ref> | |||
The original manuscripts of the books of the New Testament are referred to as "autographs" (or autographa). However, none of the original autographs are available today. They were most likely destroyed in the violent persecutions of the early church.<ref>James B. Williams and Randolph Shaylor, eds., From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man: A Layman’s Guide to How We Got Our Bible (Greenville, SC; Belfast, Northern Ireland: Ambassador-Emerald International, 1999), 183.</ref> Everything we have today are handwritten copies of the original books. | |||
Other than this, we have no real knowledge of how the Gospel of Matthew was written or put together. Did Matthew use an amanuensis, a scribe who wrote what Matthew dictated? From their letters, we know that both Paul and Peter used amnuenses.<ref>Harry Y. Gamble, “Amanuensis,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 172.</ref> | |||
Certainly, if Matthew used his own experiences with Jesus, then a charge of plagiarism cannot be levied against him. | |||
It is also important to note that the "sin" of plagiarism as described in Jeremiah 23:30 cannot be levied against Matthew or any of the Gospel writers as they are not ascribing the words to themselves, they are simply recounting the story of Jesus as they best recall it from everything they saw and heard. | |||
Based on the above, we do not think the charge of plagiarism from a biblical perspective can be made against any of the Gospel writers. | |||
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