During my time in England working on a PhD (1999-2001) I developed several acquaintances within the academy including the philosopher Martin Stone. The last I’d heard, Stone had left England for a professorship in Belgium, but I hadn’t heard anything of him in years. So a few days ago I plugged “Martin Stone” and “philosophy” […]
plagiarism
One final documented list of Alister McGrath’s Self-Plagiarism
With my morning coffee steaming on the counter and nothing better to do, I went back to McGrath’s Christian Theology and began looking for more examples where he reuses material. I assure you that this is my last installment. In this list we will see that McGrath continues to borrow heavily between the books Christian Theology, […]
On the concept of self-plagiarism and why it is wrong
Some people have asked whether the term “self-plagiarism” is appropriate. After all, the very idea seems strange, kind of like calling suicide self-murder. Can one really murder oneself? And can one really plagiarize oneself? While I understand the response, this designation seems appropriate for at least three reasons. Reason 1: both plagiarism of others and oneself involve presenting previously […]
Alister McGrath’s self-plagiarism is even worse than I thought
The fact that a couple people defended Alister McGrath’s self-plagiarism in response to my previous article forced me back to the text of Christian Theology: An Introduction (5th ed.) to look for more examples of plagiarism. I begin with a quote from Historical Theology: An Introduction. McGrath writes: “The book makes use of some material already […]
Is Alister McGrath a plagiarist?
I’m not much for suspense. The answer is yes, McGrath is a plagiarist. The remaining question is, to what degree? This is no small matter. Alister McGrath is one of the world’s foremost Christian theologians and apologists. He is also one of the most prolific theologians writing today with dozens and dozens (and dozens!) of […]
