Can you say plagiarism?

by Mebaqqer2 19 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Mebaqqer2

  So I ran across this statement today in doing some research:

  Take, for instance, the stories and legends regarding the origin of man. Although details vary, the belief that man was made from the dust of the earth is widespread. One Greek legend says that Prometheus molded the first humans from clay and Athene breathed life into them. The Peruvian Indians used the term alpa camasca (animated earth) to describe the first man. A North American Indian tribe, the Mandan, believed that the 'Great Spirit' made two figures from clay and brought them to life by the breath of his mouth.
  -"Many Religions-Why?" Awake! (8 January 1984), 5-6

  Interested in finding out more, I ended up running into this:

  Among many peoples is found the teaching that man was made of the dust of the earth. The Greeks represent Prometheus as moulding from clay the first human beings, and giving them life by means of fire which he stole from heaven. The Peruvians called the first man Alpa Camasca, or 'animated earth.' The Mandans, a tribe of Indians of North America, believed that the Great Spirit formed two figures of clay, which he dried and animated by the breath of his mouth. To the one was given the name of the 'first man,' to the other, 'companion.'
  -Dobbins, Frank S., S. Wells Williams, and Isaac Hall. Story of the World's Worship (Chicago, Illinois: The Dominion Company, 1901), 64

  While I am sure there are many more such examples to be found, most ironic here is the fact that the statement in the Awake! article appears under the subheading "Independent or From One Source?" My money is on one source, namely Dobbins' book...

  Mebaqqer
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  satinka

  Let me see... which came first...1901 or 1984...? *scratches head*

  satinka
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  JRK

  no.

  JK
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  Leolaia

  Interesting find. It does seem to be an instance of dependence. The first thing is that we have three adjacent examples in the order of Prometheus - Peruvians - Mandans. A search in Google Books for "alpa camasca" + prometheus + mandans turns up only books by Frank Stockton Dobbins, aside from an earlier work (from 1871) by Francois Lenormant and Elisabeth Chevallier that may well have been the source for Dobbins (indeed, in both the Mandan example is followed by a Tahitian example). It is thus telling that only Dobbins and Lenormant/Chevallier use the same examples in the same paragraph, and in the same order, as the Awake! article.
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  Joliette

  The awake plagiarize a lot and I'm surprised they havent been seriously sued.

  The reason they dont cite their sources is because they have an agenda, or course.
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  jwfacts

  The Watchtower sets its own rules regarding source quotes and bibliographies (or lack of). The good thing about being a cult, and claiming God directs what the leaders provide, is that followers will believe what you say without the need to provide credible sources.
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  just n from bethel

  Awesome find. Marking for future reference.
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  cantleave

  Well lets be honest, the Awake! is no scholarly work, it's written bu uneducated muppets. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that paragraphs are plagerised from books they hope are generally forgotton about.
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  Juan Viejo2

  Let's face it. Deep research and study of anything, history or religion, or politics, or anythng - is not something that the Watchtower Society has been known for since Russell. I've seen many examples of items that are clearly plagiarized because of word sequencing or the use of an uncommon phrase only seen by one other author.

  By all means they can quote from other books, studies, and speeches. What would it hurt if they had simply stated that "Frank S. Dobbins, in his book, 'Story of the World's Worship' (1904) wrote..."

  But you see, the Watchtower doesn't really believe in copyright, nor do they understand "fair use" of another published work. They're the first ones to issue a DMA complaint against somebody for copying their work - even when it clearly falls under "fair use," but they pull quotes all the time and pass it off as their original work.

  Let's face it: The Watchtower - The Proud Home of the World's Greatest......Hypocrites!!!

  JV
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  VM44

  It is interesting that the Awake "borrows" from an old 1901 book.

  How accurate is the information contained in the original work?