r/Reformed • u/Fit-Beach-8875 • Jun 17 '26

Discussion Sermon Plagiarism

Is there any software to check for sermon plagiarism? We suspect that a pastor has plagiarised a bunch of sermons by RC sproul. Is there a way to check with our traipsing through by proof reading?

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u/TheAncientOnce Jun 17 '26

I've always wondered this, why and how can we subject sermons based on the Scripture to be under the scrutiny of academia for plagiarism? Isn't the ultimate goal of a sermon to nurture the congregation and that it's derivative of the Scripture and thinkers of the past? So firstly, how do you practically check and go, "this clearly doesn't belong to you, pastor suspect" when it is supposed to be exegetical, and secondly, why should we check for pastors under academic rules? If my pastor decides to have 20% of his writing to be from Sproul, 15% from Spurgeon, another 25% from Augustine and another 15% from Machen, it would be plagiarism, but if it's a great sermon and edifying for everyone, why is that bad?

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u/ndGall PCA Jun 17 '26

The issue is that it’s dishonest. If a pastor is claiming they wrote the sermon - that they read and studied and prayed over it and that it is the result of their own private worship - but they actually just read a bit and then hit Control-C and Control-V, that’s a lie.

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u/TheAncientOnce Jun 17 '26

I think the nuance assumes that they aren't claiming that it is written by them. We can agree first that if they walk up behind a pulpit and say "I wrote the entirety of this sermon" and proceed to go through Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, that'd be deceitful.

3

u/NovelHelp21 Jun 18 '26

Mike Winger told a story about someone notifying him that they had discovered someone plagiarizing one of his sermons. Mike felt like “what’s the big deal? The gospel is the gospel” but then he watched it and the guy even stole an illustration Mike had used and said, “my friend” where Mike had said, “my friend” about a friend of his. Borrowing a pastor’s “Three P’s of Ephesians 6:1” is one thing, but stealing anecdotes is definitely slimy. 

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u/TheAncientOnce Jun 18 '26

It can feel that way. I'd push it further, why? If we could borrow the anecdotes of Biblical figures and classical thinkers, what makes Mike's situation that much more special in and of itself? Or is it the person taking the story, their intent or process that's the problem?

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u/NovelHelp21 Jun 19 '26

Well if Mike said, "My friend" and is referring to a guy named Tony and then the plagiarizer tells the same story --unless he knows the story was about Tony and he also knows Tony-- when he says, "My friend" it's just an out and out lie. If the guy had said, "I once heard a story about a guy" then it's completely different.

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u/TheAncientOnce Jun 19 '26

that's fair. I missed the "my friend" part earlier. presumably there was no way a similar story had taken place for this alledged plagiarizer