Copyrighted

You know those super cheesy Christian t-shirts that take a common brand logo like Wii or Snickers and turn it into some lame Christian saying?

Well, aside from the fact that they commercialize Christianity in a ridiculous way, they are copyright infringements. And it really bothers me that Christians can get away with these things.

I imagine the reason is because Mars Candy Corporation isn't going to go after a little Christian t-shirt company. They'd look like the bad guys, this big corporation picking on the sensitive little Christians. And that's bad PR. Better to swallow the copyright infringement than risk ticking off a huge percent of their customer base.

Like I said, it bothers me that Christians can get away with this. Because it's wrong. Copyright infringement = stealing. And stealing in order to commercialize faith is worse than just commercializing it. It bothers me that the big corporations like Nintendo and Mars can't defend themselves when they're the ones in the right, because they'd look like bullies.

Churches violate copyright laws all the time, too. Showing movies without a license? Copyright violation. (And if you read the FBI warning you know that's a pretty hefty fine, plus jail time, if Warner Brothers or Disney were to call you on it.) Singing songs (yep, even those Christian choruses) without a CCLI license and/or without giving credit to the artist? Copyright infringement. Making a recording of your youth worship band singing copyrighted songs and selling it as a fundraiser? Copyright infringement. Making copies of a chapter in a book so your small group members don't need to buy their own copies? Copyright infringement, unless the book specifically tells you it's OK.

Let's not play the victim to get away with theft, Christians. Do the right thing, stop stealing—even if you could get away with it.