Sharing Disks Service Begins
Now
you can receive Giving & Sharing articles and books on computer
disks! Many of our readers either
have a computer, or have access to a computer through a friend, school, public
library, or copy center. The easiest
and cheapest way to distribute our literature is through computer disk, rather
than on printed paper. To distribute a
larger article or booklet on paper, we must print at least 500 to 1,000 copies
to bring the printing cost down to an affordable level. Then, we must keep this inventory on hand
and spend large amounts on postage and packaging to mail copies when we receive
requests. The volume of material that
we publish makes this a difficult task.
Usually, several items are out of stock, and we are saving funds to
reprint them, and/or expanding and improving them.
Our
articles are originally composed on a computer. Copying them to a computer disk and mailing a disk is inexpensive
and easy. We do not have to reproduce a
large number of copies at a time.
Postage and packaging is lower, we do not have to find inventory space,
and we are never “out of stock.” Most
of all, we can put several large booklets and articles on one computer disk,
for a fraction of the cost it would cost to have them printed on paper. We can pass these savings on to you. You can receive new material and updates
much quicker. You can print out the
computer disk files, or read them on line, at your convenience. Even if you know nothing about computers,
you can find someone who does, and would be glad to print out our articles for
you.
Therefore,
Giving & Sharing is beginning a new service, called Sharing Disks. The files are in text format, also
known as ASCII format, on high density 3.5 inch disks. Any personal computer, whether IBM or Compaq
compatible, or Apple Macintosh, can read text format files.
Anyone
with elementary computer skills can help you load the files into your word
processor. If you have a Windows-based
computer, Windows comes with a simple word processor called Notepad. Open Notepad, open one of our text
files, and print.
Individual
files for a particular book are grouped on a directory (folder). For example, the files in our series, Biblical
Marriage and Family are grouped under the directory entitled
“MARRIAGE.” Macintosh computers refer
to directories as “folders.” Macintosh
computers can read DOS (IBM compatible) disks.
Remember,
copyright laws apply the same with electronic, computer disk, media as with
printed media. Most Giving &
Sharing material is copyrighted.
You may not distribute our material at a profit, or change it slightly
and claim it as your own (which is plagiarism). Permission is granted for you to reproduce our copyrighted
material, provided it is given away freely, and not altered in meaning.
The
following disks are available from Sharing Disks, c/o John Guffey, 619 North
Pottinger, Shawnee, OK 74801. The
suggested donation is $2.50 per each 3.5 inch high density DOS formatted disk
(or, $5.00 per disk for 5.25 inch disks).
Please make checks payable to Giving & Sharing. Your contributions and suggestions are
welcome.
[ ] Disk 1: Bible Studies 1-130,
14 files, 1,067k; Newsletters 1-30, 3 files, 211k.
[ ] Disk 2: Bible Studies 131-150,
21 files, 439k; Biblical Marriage and Family, 12 files, 321k; The
Incredible History of God’s True Church, by Ivor C. Fletcher, ©
copyright 1984 by Ivor C. Fletcher, republished by permission, 11 files, 556k.
[ ] Disk 3: History of the Seventh Day
Church of God, Volume I, 6 files, 598k; Six Papers on the History
of the Church of God, 6 files, 720k;
What Should You Be Doing? 10 files, 104k.
[ ] Disk 4: Biblical Health and Healing,
4 files, 340k; Biblical Doctrine, fundamentals of belief and
analysis of the doctrines of various Sabbath-keeping groups, 4 files, 316k; Biblical
Law, 3 files, 397k.
[ ] Disk 5: Early Writings of Herbert W.
Armstrong, 31 files, 910k.
Early
Writings of Herbert W. Armstrong,
about 250 pages of public domain articles written by Armstrong from 1928-1953,
is planned for publication in book form as soon as funds are available. You may order the book on disk, from Sharing
Disks, or, you may reserve your copy of the printed book for a suggested
donation of $9.00 from Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849.
Copyright or Copy Wrong?
In the early years of his ministry, Herbert W. Armstrong did not
copyright his articles, magazines, and booklets. By the early 1950s, the Radio Church of God began copyrighting
its material. They got a little carried
away in their zeal for copyright protection.
They even tried to copyright plagiarized material that was in the public
domain.
An example of unabashed plagiarism has been cited by Tony Badillo. The booklet, “Has Time Been Lost?” is a very
fine article proving that the seventh day of the week today is the same seventh
day of the week in the Messiah’s time, and the same seventh day of the week
since creation. I have a 1972 copy,
which shows the author as Herbert W. Armstrong. This booklet bears a notice, “Copyright © 1952, 1968, 1970, 1972
Ambassador College All Rights Reserved.”
However, I also have an older, mimeographed, version, with no copyright
notice and no author. It has the
address of “Herbert W. Armstrong, Box 111, Eugene, Ore.” which shows it was
typed prior to 1948. It is obvious that
this article was in the public domain and not available for a copyright.
Worse yet, the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, Colorado group,
previously published the same booklet, “Has Time Been Lost?” The content appears to be virtually
identical to Armstrong’s booklet.
In 1965, Armstrong’s attorney wrote the Church of God, 7th Day, asking
that they, the Church of God, 7th Day, discontinue printing the booklet because
Armstrong’s church had it copyrighted.
Reports the Church of God, 7th Day:
A search has revealed that a booklet by the title ‘Has Time Been Lost?’
was listed along with other available literature as early as in the February
10, 1925, issue of the Bible Advocate . . . A minor search
in our files uncovered an old, yellowed copy of our booklet which considerably
predated 1952, the year Mr. Armstrong first had his booklet copyrighted. We never heard another word from the
Armstrong attorney after our attorney responded with this information.
We do not know who actually wrote “Has Time Been Lost?” because the
original version, published by the Church of God, 7th Day, does not list the
author. Rather than acknowledge the lie
that Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this booklet, the Worldwide Church of God
continued to improperly “copyright” this public domain article, and claim that
Herbert Armstrong wrote it. As far as I
know, Armstrong never did give credit to the Church of God, 7th Day, as the
source of this article.
Why do religious organizations copyright their material? Giving &
Sharing copyrights because we do not want others to plagiarize, or worse yet,
slightly alter and change the meaning of our writings, and palm them off as
coming from us. One minister actually
did that some years ago. He took an
article I wrote, added a few lines which totally contradicted my main point,
and said that the article was written by me, Richard C. Nickels. It appears that the apostle Paul had the
same problem, warning the brethren not to be shaken “either by spirit or by
word, or by letter purporting to be from us, that the day of the Lord
has come,” II Thessalonians 2:2 (RSV).
Copyrighting our articles gives Giving & Sharing the legal or moral
power to stop them if necessary.
Perhaps the copyright notice will deter most from doing such a dastardly
deed.
Along with our copyright notice, we also state, “Permission granted to
copy this material, provided it is given away freely and not altered in
meaning.” Those who wish to duplicate
Giving & Sharing copyrighted material, have our blessing. You do not need to ask our permission. However, if you charge for our material, or
alter it, then you are violating copyright law. The Bible believer is to obey the laws of the land, Romans
13:1-2. The truth the Almighty
gives us is NOT “ours” to jealously protect with a copyright. That is why our copyright notice protects us
from plagiarism and fraud, yet allows anyone to freely copy and distribute our
material, verbatim.
When you see Church of God material copyrighted with the notice “All Rights
Reserved,” perhaps this actually means:
“This is ours to keep and receive benefits from. We are a business and must protect our
assets and financial livelihood.” Did
you notice the word “rights”? This is
an age where almost everyone is concerned exclusively with themselves (II
Timothy 3:1-2), with their “rights.”
How accurate the Eternal was, when He characterized the last days as a
time when the Laodicean attitude would be prevalent. After all, the word, “Laodicean,” means “the people’s rights” (Dictionary
of Scripture Proper Names, J.B. Jackson, page 58).
Most religious organizations cordially grant their permission to reprint
a particular article. Thomas Nelson
Publishers, of Nashville, Tennessee, one of the world’s largest religious
publishers, granted us permission to duplicate their compilation of the laws of
the Bible, which is now part of our book, Biblical Law. Well-known writers Dave Hunt and David
Barton likewise granted us permission to freely reprint specific articles they
have written. Mr. Hunt even sent me a
computer disk with his fine article, “A City on Seven Hills” (Bible Study No.
150). These folks are honest and “above
board.”
In initiating our Sharing Disks service, I wrote to
several Sabbath-keeping organizations asking them to contribute articles on
computer disks that we would distribute verbatim, with their organization’s
address on the label. Not only did I
not receive a letter granting permission, to date I have received no answer
at all! Their “All Rights Reserved”
policy seems to mean: “Keep out! This is mine!” Does II Peter 2:1-3 apply to them? Let the Almighty be their judge.
In the world of business and government, the vast majority of
correspondence and communication is answered.
You expect it. If you have a
serious problem, you may have learned to pray to the Almighty for guidance,
deliverance, protection, and inspiration.
His people expect to receive an answer, John 14:12-15. But as with Job’s trials, we sometimes have
to learn to wait on the Eternal.
However, in the world of religion, even in the Church of God, your
correspondence and communication may not be answered. Numerous times I have written brief, respectful, letters to
different Church of God organizations asking a short question, and I have been
disappointed not to receive any reply.
Earl Lewis and I answer most letters requiring a reply. We do our best with our limited time
resources. (Write questions to
Richard Nickels at 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette, WY 82718. Remember to send requests for printed
literature to Earl Lewis at Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City,
MO 64849.) Many times, I respond to
a letter written by someone who is obviously in a bad attitude, and/or just
plain off base. The Savior had a knack
for turning such people around to the correct way of thinking. He was not too “goody-good” to deal with
scoundrels such as Zacchaeus, Luke 19:2-10.
Many have told me that they wrote such and such organization a question,
and received no reply. This circumstance
validates the inspiration of the Bible.
The Almighty said that false ministers would not visit and care for the
flock, and that is what is happening.
Our purpose is to serve, to help others learn more about the
Creator. That is the “giving and sharing”
way!
Tony Hayes, 7-year-old son of Christina and Loyd Hayes of Brownsville,
Oregon, contracted acute lymphocytic leukemia late in 1994. With a quick and quiet onset, his illness
was not evident until just weeks before he died. Rather than take him to a doctor, his family and members of the
Church of the Firstborn prayed for his recovery. On November 4, Tony died.
Now, his parents are facing felony manslaughter and criminal neglect
charges for failing to seek medical care for their son. The Hayses and members of their church say
that prayer has brought about miracles that medical doctors never could have
accomplished with needles and pills.
Rita Swan, of Sioux City, Iowa, founder of CHILD, Inc. (Children’s
Health Care is a Legal Duty), is a former Christian Scientist who lost a son to
meningitis in 1977 although she prayed for his healing. She now believes that parents who withhold
medical treatment are criminally negligent.
Her group pushes for legal action to force parents to seek medical
attention. She keeps tabs of child
deaths in order to punish parents who seek God’s healing only for their
children.
Oregon law normally protects parents from prosecution if they refuse to
seek medical attention for their children due to religious reasons. However, if the child dies, this legal
protection is gone. In South Dakota,
Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Maryland, parents cannot withhold medical treatment
from their children under any circumstances.
The Hayses and other members of their church have very sincere religious
beliefs. “It’s not that I think it’s
wrong to go to the doctor,” said Tony’s uncle, Eric Jensen, “it’s just that I
believe prayer works better. So why
would I want to try something else?”
Tony’s grandfather, Ed Jensen, an elder in the small congregation of
about 50 members, says, “Tony did not ask for a doctor. When Tony did not feel well, he asked for us
to pray for him, and his suffering was eased.
This was very real for him.”
Loyd Hayes, Tony’s father, said, “The thing that hurt the most was when
the prosecutor said that I had no regard for my son’s life. That’s not true. I loved my son.” Hayes
recalled that his own father had been undemonstrative, so he tried to shower
his son with love and affection. “Every
day we had double kisses and double hugs, and I always told him that I loved
him.” Their other children are now
worried that their parents will wind up in jail.
Church members from as far away as Seattle came to stand with the Hayes’
in court. Attorneys volunteered to
defend them. Even their detractors
acknowledge that the Church of the Firstborn is a remarkable fellowship. Rita Swan, self-proclaimed watchdog against
faith healing, said, “Our modern society does not cultivate meaningful,
non-manipulative, empathetic social relationships the way these people do. They’re not going to get a lot of status in
a materialistic society. They have
something that is indeed very meaningful to them.”
The Church of the Firstborn was brought to Oklahoma from Europe by John
McDonald about 1860. Its 20,000 members
are scattered throughout the western United States. There is no central church, no salaried clergy or administrators,
and, unlike most churches, the Church of the Firstborn does not seek nonprofit
status. It is supported solely by
member contributions. Brethren are
against participating in war, they dress modestly, and most women wear dresses,
avoid cosmetics and jewelry, and have long hair. They seek to live a quiet and peaceable life without being judgmental
of others. Although church members rely
on faith healing rather than medical care, there are no bragging testimonials
to miracle healings. In fact, healing
is scarcely mentioned. Elder Ed Jensen
said, “We know that most people simply cannot understand this point of
view. It is inconceivable to them. But we understand it because we have seen
these things [miracles of healing from God].
We know it’s real.”
The Hayes family, and those like them, deserve our prayers, as they face
a continuing trial of their faith. The
medical profession is not a god.
Doctors do not have the power to heal.
Only the Almighty can heal. (Thanks to Anne Elena Foster, writer for the
Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, for her excellent reporting of this
important case in the April 14, 1995 issue.) Ω
If you have a computer with a word processor, your help is needed to type articles and books for distribution to Sabbath-keeping brethren around the world. Please write to Richard Nickels, 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette, Wyoming 82718, telephone 307-686-5191. Thanks for your help!
—
written by Richard C. Nickels