Hi this is Harold Samson. I have QBittorent running while I type this. Yes, I pirate media, such as ebooks for learning knowledge. Piracy is not a sin. Let me explain why.
Piracy = Copyright or patent infringement.
Piracy is when you listen to a copyrighted song online. Or if you watch a copyrighted video on the Internet. That’s streaming.
Piracy can also be done via downloading. Did you like that Bible video? Oh, it’s copyrighted. But you want to archive it! So, you use a free Youtube downloader online to get the .mp4 file. Or if someone has a good Christian discussion, you want to get that audio so you can listen to it somewhere without a Wi-Fi connection. So, you convert it to a .mp3 and put it on a USB.
A sin is defined as something which breaks God’s law.
Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.
https://biblehub.com/exodus/20-15.htm
steal. תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ (tḡə·nōḇ) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 1589: To thieve, to deceive
Content Created: December 18 2022, 12:55:17 AM
Modified: July 20 2022, 9:15:45 PM
Updated: June 7 2023, 7:15 PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft Wikipedia definition = Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it.
[There’s also the interpretation that this is referring to specifically manstealing, kidnapping, and not so much property crime. So stealing would not be inherently sinful, it would be the manstealing under that framework. Still, piracy would not be sinful here either]
When someone has a book they’re selling physically on a store shelf, and I take it without paying for it, that’s theft, because I deprived not only the owner from having it in their inventory, but also a potential paying customer who would have wanted to purchase it legitimately. Here, this stealing is a sin, this theft breaks the commandment of God.
Piracy however, does not deprive the rightful owner of the product.
If someone is selling an ebook on Amazon about Christian Universalism and I go to a piracy site and download a free ebook .pdf or .epub of the file and save it on my computer without paying for it, that’s piracy. However, that’s not stealing, because the seller did not lose anything. They still have the same ebook file they’re selling online. It’s like taking a screenshot of a website, I did not steal the website, I just have a picture of it, a copy of it.
With technology, we can make essentially an infinite number of copies of any book (as long as you have the storage space). But with DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology, when you purchase something online, something you don’t get offline access to it. Sometimes they require an Internet connection! What if the servers stop working, then that’s lost. Piracy preserves the content, archives knowledge for future generations, and allows those who are poor to still learn about Christian Universal Salvation. We must not limit access to knowledge to only the rich my friends!
Since I’m not hypocritical here, all of the content on this website is absolutely free for you to use. Copy and paste any of my stuff here anywhere you want, I don’t care about credit personally.
Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
https://www.biblehub.com/ephesians/4-28.htm
has been stealing κλέπτων (kleptōn) Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 2813: To steal. A primary verb; to filch.
Klepto like kleptomaniac, one with the inability to resist stealing items. Kleptomania ( Greek: Κλεπτομανία).
Filch is a synonym for steal which is a synonym for theft.
Notice how it says “share with anyone in need”. Piracy is literally sharing to people in need! The people of this world have a need for knowledge like with Christian Universalism. Some books online require spending money to access them, which prevents the knowledge from being shared. Piracy is not theft because we are sharing the content with others.
Two of my friends, who I’ve talked to many times online, all three of us Christians had accounts on a forum that distributes pirated video games!
Now, below is a collection of useful material I have found from other Christians online who also, like myself, support piracy and do not see it as a sin.