The Dorean Principle Quotes

“One who is not compelled to divulge information or share property may keep his creative works to himself. However, once disseminated, he has freely given this information to the public. With material property, a violation of the eighth commandment (thou shalt not steal) results in direct loss for another individual. With intellectual property, undesired copying and use of a published work may only be counted as a loss when estimating the potential of an idea to garner profit.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“While theologians differ on the matter, I would argue that a biblical view of natural law delegitimizes the entire notion of intellectual property.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“In the context of gospel proclamation, accepting support as anything other than an act of colabor compromises the sincerity of ministry.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Jesus demanded the gospel be proclaimed freely, then the gospel as recorded by his apostles should be offered without cost.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“in the course of ministry, a Christian’s first priority should be the honor of Christ rather than security of credit.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“A minister who has no intention of taking advantage of these protections must go out of his way to explicitly waive his rights if he wishes to assure others they are free to use the creative products of his ministry however they wish.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Unprepared for the challenge set before her, the church has blindly followed the model of the world in its publication practices, distributing materials for a fee.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“One who complies with legal restrictions does not offer a freewill sacrifice to the Lord but only a concession to the one protected by the law. One who gives money to receive access to gospel-related material does so only as an exchange, compensating another to settle a debt owed to him.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“While copyright offers legal protections to authors, it simultaneously restricts the freedoms of those who consume creative works.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Given that seminary education constitutes religious instruction in nearly the purest sense, the dorean principle demands that seminaries not accept money from their students in exchange. However, rather than destroying these institutions, several options compatible with the dorean principle offer ways to preserve them.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“While not exclusive to parachurch institutions, there is a reason the sale of ministry occurs more frequently outside the church than inside the church. Book sales cover author commission, conference tickets cover speaker fees, tuition payments cover tenured salaries, and proprietary licenses cover musician paychecks.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“The Bible establishes a model of fundraising for the church: the voluntary contributions of the congregation. Presuming they are offered in an effort to colabor with the church, they perfectly accord with the dorean principle.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“I don’t write all this to challenge the legitimacy of parachurch ministries but to call attention to the fact that they introduce their own complications, especially when it comes to ministry fundraising. Since they cannot rely on the fundraising practice of the church, they tend to create new avenues of support that potentially violate the dorean principle.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“One may receive colabor, even request it, since such a request does not impose a direct obligation but appeals to divine obligation.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Along with Paul, we should rejoice at the gospel efforts of those who preach truly but not as sincerely as they ought. Antagonistic pursuits such as boycotts are not only unnecessary but also largely unhelpful, and it would be unwise to intentionally cut oneself off from the vast array of biblical teaching offered at a cost.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“The dorean principle offers a foundation from which we can begin to concretize the New Testament model of ministry fundraising.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“In fact, while the Reformation centered around the doctrines of Scripture and salvation, the relationship between money and ministry was arguably the primary catalyst of the Reformation.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“The dorean principle sufficiently accounts for the disparity in the apostle’s attitude toward the financial practices of his friends and toward those of his opponents.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“the New Testament prepares us to identify greed—the pursuit of ministry for the sake of earthly recompense—as the identifying marker of false teachers.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“all who minister with an eye toward material payment possess an ulterior motive, unveiling themselves as less than sincere, as false teachers. This observation elevates the dorean principle beyond a nice-to-have idea. If the New Testament anticipates that we should be able to distinguish false teachers from true teachers by their disposition toward reciprocity, then the dorean principle is an essential component of God-honoring ministry.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“As a servant of God, Paul has stewardship over his converts to receive money from them but would abuse that stewardship by receiving payment for a gospel that is not his to sell.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Paul’s activity and reward are identical: to preach the gospel free of charge.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“The one who receives reciprocity does not operate as a sincere servant of Christ but as a free agent after his own reward. On the other hand, the one who receives colabor enjoys financial benefits within the auspices of stewardship, a greater reward than mere money.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“While he indeed speaks of gospel reach and other motivations, he primarily emphasizes the importance of sincerity.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Just as Old Testament Israel sacrificed to God by giving to his priests, the New Testament church often sacrifices to God by giving to his ministers.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“While the tithes and offerings are given to the Lord, the book of Numbers also says they are given by the Lord (Num. 18:8, 12, 19, 21, 24). These two primary directions of flow must control our understanding of the secondary direction of flow.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Jesus forbids payment for ministry (reciprocity) but insists that workers are to receive from other members of the kingdom as wages from God (colabor).”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“he willingly receives from the first Philippian he evangelizes (Acts 16:15; cf. Phil. 1:5), and he indefinitely continues to reject the Corinthians’ gift (1 Cor. 9:15; 2 Cor. 11:12). He rejects support most frequently in the context of initial visits, but that is because reciprocity is most frequently offered in the context of an initial visit. The apostle only receives support as colabor, and when he arrives in an unevangelized area, there are rarely colaborers to be found.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“But why does it matter that circumstances of initial ministry correlate to Paul’s concern? Quite simply, new converts are likely to offer money in exchange for the gospel. Thus, Paul tells the Corinthians that if he were to accept their offer, his preaching would no longer be free of charge.⁠7 One who pays for ministry incurs burden because the whole notion of payment presumes some sort of debt, something that is owed.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity

“Duty to God must triumph over a sensed debt to any minister since God mediates all obligation to his servants as ministers.”
― Conley Owens, The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity