Copyright Jesus Christ

(Okay, you caught us. This is all too young for frequently asked questions. Still, your question may be answered below. If not, ask us!)

Who are you?

We are Chuck Fussman and Andy Larkins, authors of the Growth Spiral workbook coming out soon. Our aim is to create a process of spiritual growth that passes ecumenical boundaries. In other words, a universal path for spiritual growth. We are, of course, Christians, and so the Growth Spiral is based on biblical principles. Yet we call it universal because we believe that Jesus has invited everyone to His kingdom, regardless of their faith.

You can see their progress at the Growth Spiral website.

Where did you get the idea of Copyright Jesus Christ?

Ultimately, we’d say, from God. But the inspiration was received while reading about Leo Babauta’s decision to uncopyright all of his work.

What are the similarities and differences between Copyright Jesus Christ and Uncopyright?

From a legal perspective and a worldly perspective, there is no difference. All material that is covered by either notice is open domain, and the original authors have no rights in determining how others use it.

The main difference is that the uncopyright author believes that the world owns the work while the copyright Jesus Christ author believes that Jesus owns the work. In the latter case, the author also believes that attempting to control how others use that work is maintaining ownership and not a true act of stewardship.

More information on Copyright Jesus Christ.

More information on Uncopyright.

Don’t you worry about not making money if you’ve given up your rights?

Not really. Yes, this philosophy might throw some obstacles in our road to riches. But when we got down to it, we figured we’d rather put our trust in God and His blessings. Our hope is to offer what we can to anyone we can, and to not hold others back from passing that same help on to others. If everything we have is a gift from God, who are we to restrict it?

What if someone steals your ideas?

Impossible! You can’t steal from us what we don’t own. If someone else pays us the honor of using our work, then we leave it up to them and God.

But what if they don’t believe as you do? Say it’s someone of a different denomination or an agnostic or atheist?

Legally, it’s out of our hands. Philosophically, it’s still between them and God. If, for instance, they do not believe in God or believe that God is disinterested in us, then they are still acting according to their understanding of God’s will, which is the only term (unenforceable, btw!) we’ve put on our copyright notice. If someone uses our work counter to our beliefs, then we must let them do so.

As for those who believe in God but do so differently than we, it would be an act of ownership to restrict their use of our material to our ways and our beliefs. Instead, we have given up ownership to Jesus and ask those who follow Him to check in on His plans for His material. Who are we to say we have a better handle on God’s will than everyone else? That is poor stewardship.

Can I get in on the game?

Unfortunately, the Copyright Jesus Christ notice is the only copywritten portion of our website. As such, we can not allow anyone else to use it.

Are you just kidding?

Of course we are! Feel free to use/modify it to your heart’s content.

It is our intention to add to this website a list of those using the Copyright Jesus Christ philosophy, if not the actual notice as we have written it. If you are interested on having your material showcased on this list, please let Chuck know.