To Burn or Not to Burn

By Jess Norton

Everyone wonders whether or not it is ethical or Christian to share music by burning copies of CDs that they do not own or by illegally downloading music from the Internet.

Even if you disagree with the laws, we as Christians are commanded by the Bible to submit to the laws of the land that God has established. This is made clear in the first two verses of Romans 13, which say, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” If the law of man is set in place through the authority of God then for us to go against such a law is clearly un-Christian. It is not only an offense to the state but to God as well. Human laws bind the Christian.

We should also consider whether or not the Bible says anything else concerning the subject. The Seventh Commandment admonishes men not to steal. So we should also consider if making copies of CDs or pirating music from the Internet is really stealing. Suppose that you have been working very hard for five years to build an invention that is all your own. You are about to get a patent on it and begin to gain an income from all of your very hard work. Someone comes along and copies your pattern without your knowing it and passes the pattern around so that everyone can have their own version of your invention without paying for it. That would not only upset you, but it would also hurt you financially. It would mean that you had wasted the time that you had given to the project expecting to gain a profit from it. The future income that you anticipated was taken from you. It is in a sense as if the people who stole your invention stole from your future. They took what was yours from you before you even got to enjoy it.

Music is very much like an invention because every time it is played, it is slightly different. Even if sheet music is used, there can be many quite different interpretations of the same piece of music. Each recording that musicians make is their own invention. No one else can play it quite like they do. Their style and abilities are unique to them, just as any invention is the physical outflow of the inventor’s unique thoughts. This can be seen in the various bands that have their own distinctive sound and in various singers who have a style like no one else does. For example, no one sounds quite like Frank Sinatra or like Elvis or The Beatles.While they can be imitated, they can never be replaced because they are each special and have a sound that is particular to them and to no one else. Musicians practice and work very hard to develop their own style and skill. They are working with the hopes of gaining a profit.

Besides all of this, the musician is quite the individual and cannot really be replaced by anyone else, because no one else can play quite like he or she does. Music is much more dependent upon personality and individuality than most other kinds of work. It truly is stealing to take the music a musician has produced without paying for it knowing that he or she has worked and prepared with the hope that wages will be earned in return for work accomplished.

Many people make the argument that it is okay to illegally distribute music because professional musicians do not really need the money. That very same logic could be used to justify robbing a bank since banks do not really seem to need all of that money and no individual would be hurt by the robbery. Nonetheless, it is wrong. The appeal of stealing music lies in that it is easy to do. There are often no consequences to pay, and it usually goes unnoticed. But just because you don’t get caught doesn’t mean that you are not doing wrong.

As cliché as it might sound, God is watching. Not only that, but when a Christian borrows CDs from his friends and burns them, he is making a confession to that friend. He is saying, “I serve God and obey Him in so far as it does not inconvenience me or keep me from having what I want.” At that point, your friend may wonder why you would even bother to be a Christian if you are not at least going to make the attempt to act like one.

That’s at least three strikes against the practice of sharing music. First of all, it is against the law of the land. Consequently, it is also against God’s Law because according to St. Paul, it was God that instituted such laws through men.

Second of all, it does in fact seem to be stealing because a musician is working with an expectation of being paid for his music just as a person who works in a store works for wages. In Dr. Luther’s explanation of the Seventh Commandment, he writes, “We should not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.” It is good to note that he never mentions how rich the neighbor is, but only that we ought to be honest toward him and protect his interests.

Finally, the third strike against sharing music is that you make a public confession that may hinder others from coming into the Church because they do not see you honoring God in your life. The evidence seems conclusive. We as Christians should make every effort to see to it that all of the music we own was obtained through legal means, both out of a concern for pleasing God and out of a desire to set a godly example to those around us.

Jess L. Norton is a Master of Arts Student at Concordia Theological Seminary studying Historical Theology and intends to teach theology after he has received his degree. He may be reached at JLN83@aol.com.

Illustration based on Adam and Eve. Dürer in America: His Graphic Work, Charles W.Talbot, editor. (New York: Macmillan, 1971) with apologies to the artist.