Plagiarism As It Is

In June 1996, Canon Press published Southern Slavery As It Was, by Douglas Wilson & Steve Wilkins (edited by Pastor Doug Wilson of Christ Church, Moscow). As you can see below, the booklet contained 24 instances of plagiarism where the authors failed to credit Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery, by William Fogel & Stanley L. Engerman (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1974). Click each thumbnail to enlarge the images. Res ipsa loquitur.

“Godly controversialists are required to work with greater precision, not less.” — Douglas Wilson

“The greater the controversy, and the more important the issue, the greater the necessity for accuracy.” — Douglas Wilson

“The problem with the pamphlet was that Wesley did not write substantial portions of it.” — Douglas Wilson

“In the course of approximately ten pages, Wesley used numerous sections taken verbatim from Samuel Johnson’s Taxation No Tyranny.” — Douglas Wilson

“In the first edition of Calm Address, Wesley did not indicate in any way that he had borrowed text from Johnson — Wesley represented the work as his own.” — Douglas Wilson

“This laid him open to the just charge of plagiarism, and those charges were not long in coming.” — Douglas Wilson

“In a preface to the second edition, Wesley acknowledged his indebtedness to the other pamphlet, but this was too late.” — Douglas Wilson

“A plagiarist does not cease to be a plagiarist because he admits the obvious after he has been caught.” — Douglas Wilson

“Now, what would we call this if we did not know the names of the principal individuals involved?” — Douglas Wilson

“We would identify it by its proper name — plagiarism — and recognize it as a species of theft.” — Douglas Wilson

“Should we refuse to call it by its proper name because the reputation of Wesley is such that such charges will only recoil on those who make them?” — Douglas Wilson

“That has a name too — cowardice.” — Douglas Wilson

“When the world recently learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a plagiarist, those who had a vested interest in keeping him up on his pedestal immediately began talking about feet of clay, the human condition, and we all struggle, do we not?” — Douglas Wilson

“In other words, Dr. King was a scoundrel, but we will admit no evidence that supports the claim and treat as a scoundrel anyone who dares to present the evidence.” — Douglas Wilson

“When confronted, against our will, with indisputable evidence that our hero was not foremost among the saints, the automatic response is to interpret it as evidence that King had a ‘weakness’ or a ‘failing.’” — Douglas Wilson

“But never is it called by its Biblical name — sin.” — Douglas Wilson

“The qualifications for fellowship are different than those of leadership.” — Douglas Wilson

“In Titus 1, and 1 Timothy 3, God’s requirements for leadership are strict — and clear.” — Douglas Wilson

“According to those requirements, John Wesley was not qualified to be a leader of God’s people; he was not ‘blameless’ in the text’s sense.” — Douglas Wilson

“He stole the words of another and did not acknowledge that he had done so.” — Douglas Wilson

“As mentioned above, he acknowledged his debt to Samuel Johnson in the second edition, but even then he did not acknowledge that he had done any wrong in the silence of the first edition.” — Douglas Wilson

“If you want to read an indictment of American academia, as if you needed one, then I recommend Plagiarism and the Culture War.” — Douglas Wilson

In it, Theodore Pappas documents the wholesale plagiarism committed by Martin Luther King, Jr. in his doctoral work, not to mention the varied and wondrous contortions of the academic establishment as they sought to studiously ignore this indisputable fact.” — Douglas Wilson

“If you are in any doubt about how advanced our public corruption is, just write a letter to your local paper on how MLK was a plagiarist, and see what happens.” — Douglas Wilson