Overcoming Plagiarism in Preaching and Teaching
It is not hard to avoid plagiarism. All that you have to do is acknowledge the source whenever you quote, paraphrase or use the ideas expressed by another. But, of course, life almost always throws us complex situations where it is not clear how to apply a general principle such as this. Hence, it will be helpful to spell out some specific guidelines.
1. General acknowledgements do not suffice. It is not enough, for example, for a pastor simply to say to his congregation, “Once in a while, I use the ideas or words of other theologians. I don’t tell you every time I do it because I have reminded you from time to time not to think that everything I say originated with me.” Instead, each instance of quoting, paraphrasing or using another’s ideas must be accompanied by attribution to the source.
2. Detailed bibliographic data is not necessary. It is not necessary to give detailed information as to the page number, publisher of the book, date of publication and so forth when attributing a source in a sermon. It is helpful to do this in papers, but even then the absolutely necessary thing is to name the person from whom you got the idea or quote, and if possible the specific book or lecture or article.
3. Common knowledge does not need to have its source cited. “Common knowledge” does not necessarily mean that everyone in your audience knows the information. What is it then? The Purdue University English Department suggests helpful criteria. You have “common knowledge” when (1) “you find the same information undocumented in at least five other sources”; (2) “You think it is information that your readers will already know”; (3)”You think a person could easily find the information with general reference sources” (source). Hence, “Jonathan Edwards was born in 1703” is common knowledge. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” is not common knowledge.
4. If the original source simply cannot be found, it is acceptable to say, “As someone has once said … ” (Most sources, however, can be found. For online searches, www.google.com is indispensable. You might also try the new “Search Inside the Book” feature at Amazon.)
5. Restatements, in your own words, of the positions of general movements do not necessarily require citation. For example, it is OK to say, “Calvinism holds X” without detailing the history of the movement or even discussing its historical origins in general. However, a restatement of the Calvinist position that follows the structure or outline or unique wording of someone else’s prior work on Calvinism would require citation.
6. The preaching of another’s sermon is usually a bad idea, but is not plagiarism if the original author is clearly cited.
7. To base the structure of your sermon on someone else’s sermon, but to use your own words, is plagiarism. The author on whose work you are basing the structure of your sermon would need to be cited.
