It can be said that the copyright issue within the Christian community in China has for a long time been in a gray area. For various reasons, pirated books and other copyrighted audio-visual products are very popular among them. Also, because the church circle is relatively small and closed, although many people know that certain materials are pirated, they do not show much concern and turn a blind eye to it.
Brother Tim, a minister in a northern church, has studied thoroughly copyright issues in the Chinese Christian community. In his view, the most important solution is to enhance the copyright awareness of Christians.
A decade-long project ruined by piracy
A group once planned a set of books on Bible commentary, the content of which was good. However, just as the colleagues were hoping high for the future, the reality gave them a blow. They found that someone had “published” this same set of exegesis first. To be precise, the series had already been printed before them. The reason was that the other party, who did not have any copyright, got from the group the content of the series in traditional Chinese characters and simply converted them into simplified Chinese and printed them out.
An operation as such was draw-dropping to the ministry institution. The team toiled for more than a decade, including efforts in translating, planning, and communicating. Eventually, as they were about to complete the last step, their fruit was stolen. The person in charge of the institution was furious and finally got in touch with the other party. However, what was so unexpected was the verbal reply from the other party that made the leader dumbfounded: By doing so, we gave many people a chance to read this set of books. The other party was giving all kinds of reasons for piracy but never mentioned a word about copyright.
Apart from pirating merchants, quite a few people in the Christian community have such a supportive attitude towards piracy. Many of them know that piracy is wrong, but they still support it. Why? They think that through piracy, many Christians can get materials that were not accessible before. The usual excuses are: “Almost no one could see them before, but now almost everyone can, provided it is pirated. So what is wrong with piracy?” or “How can the word of God reach us if it is not in this way?” Many people will say similar words. It seems that illegal things can be done if it is in the name of faith. If they are accused of piracy, they will first argue and defend their deeds, and in the end, they will often say that they have worked so hard, but the people who do nothing accuse their work.
Watch out! Most Christians may be on the side of piracy
Brother Tim said that, in fact, for the vast majority of ordinary Christians, it is easy to stand by piracy. Because most of them are potential or actual beneficiaries of piracy. Many Christians buy Christian books or other types of copyrighted products such as audio-visuals, and some of these products are inevitably pirated ones by third parties. Among the vast majority, some of them have bought pirated products for various reasons. Even if some Christians have not buy pirated products so far, it does not mean that they will not buy them in the future. To some extent, human nature is selfish. Then, many Christians will raise the issue of whether piracy is right or wrong to an issue of stance.
Brother Tim has been in a second-hand book exchange chat group for a period of time. He found that many books in the group are pirated. He expressed his views on pirated books to the group members and clearly pointed out that it was wrong to buy them. Unexpectedly, many in the group reacted fiercely and thought that there was nothing wrong with buying pirated books. “If there are copyrighted books to sell, then why should we buy pirated ones?” Brother Tim pointed out that many copyrighted books can be purchased. If you cannot buy printed books, you can buy electronic versions. Many books have copyrighted electronic versions. However, many of them reacted more intensely: “Why is the price so high?” or “Reading e-books is not good for your eyes. If you want to protect your eyes, you still have to read printed books.”
The price of some copyrighted Christian books is indeed relatively high. However, there is a practical reason. The first is that copyrighted books have to go through more procedures, meaning more cost. Secondly, Christianity in China is relatively unpopular and niche, which leads to low sales and high costs. No one will like high prices. Yet, there is a reason for it, and we need to understand it.
Piracy means stealing
Brother Tim thinks that the issue of pirated and other copyrighted materials is by nature theological; that is, the essence of piracy is stealing. “It’s like I want one million Yuan, which I don’t have, so can’t I steal it? Piracy is the same as this. You can’t say because I don’t have it, so I’ll rob or steal it, everything belongs to God anyway. However, please wake up to the fact that you are not God at all, okay? God didn’t give you that much.”
For some Christians, it seems that everything can be done as long as it is in the name of faith and God, and Brother Tim thinks it is wrong. “This is a cognitive problem. It seems quite reasonable to pirate in the name of faith, but in fact, this understanding is self-centered. In other words, it depends on the needs of ‘I’. Because my needs are not met, so I can meet my needs by pirating or buying pirated books.” Therefore, Brother Tim thinks that supporting piracy and thinking that piracy is justified is wrong. It is a confusing mindset. “But in reality, not to mention ordinary Christians, even many pastors and preachers don’t have a clear understanding of this problem. When they encounter piracy issues, they only turn a blind eye.”
Pirated books are not advisable, is it ok to listen to pirated audio?
The answer is no.
Copyright is also termed “intellectual property." It refers to the rights enjoyed by the author or others (including legal persons) on certain works according to law. This includes the use of works in the form of publication, reproduction, broadcasting, performance, exhibition, film, translation, or adaptation through legal channels. Anyone without copyright or authorization has no right to use the works in the above forms or as such. Changing a book from text to audio is illegal or suspected of piracy. It is also illegal to listen to the audio of a book without copyright or authorization.
Another brother who is familiar with Brother Tim once sent an audio link to a reading group. After opening the link, Brother Tim found that the audio was delivered as part of a book. They were recommending this good book recently. That brother said that it was much more convenient for everyone to listen than to read. Afterward, Brother Tim told him that although the idea was out of love, such an approach might involve infringement, so he could not do it because the copyright owner did not authorize him. After learning that, the brother might not do it again in the future. Many people are engaged in piracy largely because they do not even know that downloading free e-books and listening to audiobooks on the Internet are all piracy.
Christians’ copyright awareness needs to be improved urgently
The brother in the above case was originally out of kindness, and his church was recommending the book. He accidentally found that the content was made into audio. What he did not know was that although it was not him who made the audio, and he only forwarded the link of the audio, he had infringed the copyright of others by both forwarding the link and listening to the audio. Had Brother Tim not explained it, he would not have known so.
There are also Christians who regard books as treasures. After buying or getting them through other channels, they scan them to make e-books in PDF format and forward them everywhere. They think that in this way, others do not need to buy anymore, that they are acting in love, and that God will be pleased with this practice.
In terms of copyright awareness, many Christians are not even as good as that of many non-believers. In comparison, many non-believers have more social experiences and wider contacts, knowing that copyright should be respected and piracy is a proper illegal act. However, the Christian community’s awareness of copyright is very low or even completely absent, and after making mistakes, they will defend and excuse themselves in the name of faith. However, God never takes the initiative to use human mistakes and sins to achieve God’s will.
“Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” (The Book of Proverbs 29:18) Here, revelation refers more to the meaning of law. As the saying goes, nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards. Brother Tim thinks that the copyright awareness of Christians in China needs to be improved urgently, and the church and pastors are duty-bound to do so. Teaching believers to have such awareness and respect for copyright is a kind of herding. Pasturing is more than things about the soul and spirituality. How to make believers live correctly in this world is also a very important and urgent part of pastoral care.
(Originally published by the Christian Times, the article has been edited under permission.)
- Translated by Charlie Li
