I thought Paul McCain had repented of his plagiarism, because he recently published another person's blog post and gave credit (and the link) at the top of the copy.
But this morning I saw a commemoration of Constantine and his mother Helena. This is how the McCain post begins:
Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus served as Roman Emperor from AD 306 to 337. During his reign the persecution of Christians was forbidden by the Edict of Milan in 313, and ultimately the faith gained full imperial support.
I put those words into Google's search and got this from Aardvark Alley:
Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus served as Roman Emperor from AD 306 to 337. During his reign the persecution of Christians was forbidden by the Edict of Milan in 313. Ultimately, the faith gained full imperial support.
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| Constantine called himself Equal to the Apostles. |
The only difference is that Aardvark has a Wikipedia link for the Edict of Milan. McCain's does not. McCain altered one sentence slightly.
Both posts have the same collects, McCain's are at the top, AA's at the bottom. I could not find the source for the collects. Perhaps AA created them himself.
For Methodius, McCain gave a mention of AA at the bottom of the post (but no link), disguising the fact that it was 100% copied. The citation should be at the top, thus:
From Aardvark Alley:
We Pray
O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who raises up earthly rulers to work Your will in this life, You called Constantine...
Bethany, WELS, Appleton
When the pastor of Bethany (WELS) in Appleton was caught posting a Swindoll (!) meditation as his own, the minister published an apology and erased the plagiarism, excusing it as due his heavy workload. The apology disappeared almost as fast as the Swindoll robbery.
Comment from the second IL post -
Michael Schottey said...
It is ironic, and sad, that the response of the pastor was not to leave his apology as is. Rather, he misused the commands of our Lord to try and slander those who pointed out his sin.
Perhaps less time reading Chuck Swindoll and more time reading the Large Catechism is in order.
Bethany in Appleton is also host to a Church and Change conference, a gathering of unrepentant plagiarists who are offended by Luther quotations.
McCain and his boss at Concordia Publishing House make a total of $500,000 a year, according to public records.
The lack of remorse exhibited by McCain is a certain sign of his special status with Synod President Harrison.
Previously I thought of McCain as Harrison's campaign manager, but that was too modest a role for him. Synod Presidents are figureheads who represent a faction within the denomination. They are selected before they are elected.
John Moldstad represents the WELS disciples in the Little Sect on the Prairie (aka ELS).
Mark Schroeder is the public relations director for WELS Church and Change, smoothing the way for Mark Jeske, who could not get elected dog-catcher in that sect.
Mark Hanson is the Lavender Mafia frontman in ELCA.
The LCMS reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode where it is revealed at the end - the puppet is the human and the "ventriloquist" is the dummy.
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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Shop and Compare: Which Blog Is the Original?":
Ichabod,
This morning as I was leaving the breakfast table, my thoughts focused upon your latest posting about plagiarism. I don't know Paul McCain from Adam, but all of a sudden, the thought of plagiarizing had me thinking, the following:
My thought:
"Plagiarizing as a practice by pastors, is a clear indication that the Holy Spirit has been either ignored, or kicked to the curb. Not to depend upon the Word and the Spirit, is an act of killing one's faith. After all, did not Jesus promise His [then] disciples and future disciples that His Holy Spirit would guide them into all the truth?"
When one does not rely on the Promised One, than that is evidence in itself, that personal faith is a dying ember. But, I suppose that faith’s dying embers don’t matter when one believes in UOJ – universal objective justification – that all will come out [okay] in the wash of eternity……
Nathan M. Bickel - emeritus pastor
www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org
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Here is Paul McCain's epic fail - the total recall of The Book of Concord.
