The Way International emphasizes the originality of its teachings and the integrity of its leaders and ministry. The group's founder, Victor Paul Wierwille, claimed that he was audibly told by God that He would be taught the Word because no one else on Earth knew long-forgotten biblical truths.
However, in recent years some researchers have raised evidence that Wierwille used and copied writings by other authors, presenting them to readers as though they were his own. For example, John Juedes published excerpts from the book The Gift of the Holy Spirit by J.E. Stiles side-by-side with excerpts from Wierwille's Receiving the Holy Spirit Today (John P. Juedes, "Wierwille Borrows ... A Challenge to the Originality of His Teaching on 'Receiving the Holy Spirit'" Personal Freedom Outreach Newsletter, January-March 1983, pp. 1, 10-11.) It was apparent that Wierwille used portions of Stiles' 1948 book to produce his second edition in 1955. The plagiarized sections appear in the current edition, although the wording is slightly revised; they also may have appeared in the first edition in 1953.
When Wierwille published the third edition of the book in 1957, he added material from E.W. Bullinger's 1905 work, The Giver and His Gifts. Juedes published six pages of excerpts from the two books, showing that Wierwille imported Bullinger's content, structure, conclusions and even some wording into his own book (Douglas Morton and John Juedes, The Integrity and Accuracy of The Way's Word, Personal Freedom Outreach, 1980, pp. 43-48.) Wierwille never placed quotation marks around the sections he copied (often virtually word for word), nor did he ever cite a source, or even suggest that he used sources. In fact, he states in the preface that he did not use sources other than the Bible.
Now more evidence of Wierwille's plagiarism has come to light. Wierwille in 1963 published a pamphlet called "How to Be a Christian." This was reprinted as part of the book The New Dynamic Church (NDC) in 1971, and may have been published in a similar form as "The Joy of His Fellowship" in The Way Magazine in 1957 and as a booklet in 1953. The same material was originally published by E.W. Kenyon as Chapter 20 of his book The Father and His Family (FHF). Again, Wierwille did not place the borrowed material in quotation marks, nor did he cite or suggest the existence of any source. Kenyon's book was published before his death in 1948, years before Wierwille's writings appeared.
Compare these excerpts from the two works:
Kenyon: I suppose I have lost faith in myself. You see I have wanted to be a Christian, I have wanted to have God's help in this fight of life. I have gone to the altar again and again, and received nothing. I've sought and cried after God so many times and failed. (FHF, pg. 229)
Wierwille (The Searcher): I suppose ... I have lost faith in myself. You see, I really wanted to be a Christian, to have God's ... help in life ... I went to the altar again and again and yet I received nothing. I have sought and cried after God so much and so many times that I feel that I am a complete failure. (NDC, pg. 1)
Kenyon: Did you ever realize that salvation is a gift, that it is not necessary that you go any place to get it? You can find it anywhere. Did you ever realize that it is not what you do, but what He did for you that counts? All there is to receiving Eternal Life, becoming a child of God is to receive something instead of giving something. You have tried to get it by earning it. (FHF, pg. 229)
Wierwille:
Four years after the pamphlet How to Be a Christian appeared, Wierwille published a book, Are the Dead Alive Now? (ADAN) His book's content closely matches the contents of three books by E.W. Bullinger (who died in 1913): How to Enjoy the Bible (HEB), Selected Writings (SW), and Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (FSUB). Again, Wierwille does not give any indication that he used these sources and the reader is led to believe that Wierwille's research is original. Compare the parallel passages here, taking note of similarity of content and wording: The passages are found in all editions of Wierwille's book - 1967, 1968 and 1971. The page numbers cited below are found in the 1971 printing.
Bullinger: The solemn circumstances under which the words were uttered marked the wonderful faith of the dying malefactor... (HEB, pg. 48)
Wierwille: The circumstances under which the words were uttered indicate the wonderful believing of the dying malefactor. (ADAN, pg. 80)
Bullinger: The word "verily" points us to the solemnity of the occasion, and to the importance of what is about to be said.(HEB, pg.48)
Wierwille: The answer Jesus gave was also very important. The word "verily" by Jesus points to the earnestness and gravity of the occasion. (ADAN, pg. 80)
Wierwille published several books in 1971, though many or most of the chapters were simply reprints of previously published articles. One of these books, The Bible Tells Me So (BTMS), included a chapter called "The Counsel of the Lord." The content and wording is very similar to an article by Bullinger called "The Knowledge of God," which is available as part of the book Selected Writings (SW). Wierwille did not place quotation marks around sections he used, nor does he cite or imply that he used any other person's writings as his source. Since Bullinger died three years before Wierwille was born, it is apparent that Bullinger could not have drawn any ideas from Wierwille. Please compare the following passages from the two books:
Bullinger: It is the very last thing that the natural man will admit He thinks he can direct his own way. (SW, pg. 60) Wierwille: It is the very last thing the natural man or the carnal Christian wants to admit, for each man thinks he is right in his own eyes and each man thinks he can direct his own way. (BTMS, pg. 50)
Bullinger: So that, whether enemies abound, or days be dark, or Satan's assaults be many, or doubts and fears increase even then we shall be, and must be, "more than conquerors" through Him who loveth us. And the Lord the Spirit will ever direct our hearts into His love, and not into our infirmities; and we shall say... (Psalm 73:22-25 quoted). (SW, pg. 63)
Wierwille: So then whether enemies abound, Satan assaults, days be dark with doubts and fears increasing, even then we are "more than conquerors" through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. It is the Lord God who must direct our hearts unto His love to the end that we will make the same confession as recorded in Psalms (Psalm 73:22-25 quoted).(BTMS, pg. 54)
Just before Wierwille's death in 1984, more evidence of plagiarism was found. At that time Wierwille wrote a regular column for The Way Magazine called "Our Times." The March/April 1984 installment titled "Rediscovering Figures of Speech" is essentially the same as part of Bullinger's Figures of Speech used in The Bible (FSUB). Note these excerpts:
Bullinger: The ancient Greeks reduced these new and peculiar forms to science, and gave names to more than two hundred of them. (FSUB, pg. v)
Wierwille: The ancient Greeks established these new laws and peculiar forms of their language and gave names to more than two hundred varieties of them (The Way Magazine, March/April 1984, pg. 35)
Bullinger: The natural man cannot understand the Word of God. It is foolishness unto him. (FSUB, pg. vi)
Wierwille: The natural man of only body and soul can never understand the Scriptures, for the Word of God is foolishness unto him. (The Way Magazine, March/April 1984, pg. 35)
Four months later, Wierwille again used Bullinger's material to produce his "Our Times" column in the July/August issue of The Way Magazine. His article, "Search the Scriptures," draws heavily from Bullinger's How to Enjoy the Bible (HEB). Wierwille again cites no source for his material. Compare these sections of the two writings:
Bullinger: A Revelation in writing must necessarily be given in "words". The separate words, therefore, in which it is given must have the same importance and authority as the revelation as a whole. (HEB, pg. 1)
Wierwille: To have a revelation from God in writing, it is axiomatic and necessary that it be in words. The Scriptures being the Word of Truth necessitates individual words in the Word being true. If the lesser is not true, the greater, or whole cannot be true. (The Way Magazine, July/August 1984, pg. 35)
Bullinger: The Bible is its own best proof of its inspiration. (HEB, pg. 1)
Wierwille: The Bible is its own best proof of inspiration... (The Way Magazine, July/August 1984, pg. 35)
What Is Plagiarism?
Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines plagiarism as "to steal or pass off as one's own (the ideas or words of another) ... . To present as one's own an idea or product derived from an existing source ." It is clear that Wierwille did use existing sources, including at least six books from at least three authors, all of which were written before Wierwille published his writings. The excerpts above make it obvious that Wierwille did incorporate ideas and words of other men into his publications. Furthermore, since Wierwille never used quotation marks around these sections, never cited a source, never suggested in these publications that sources existed, and occasionally claimed that his research was original and drawn exclusively from the Bible, it is clear that he did present others' ideas, words and product as his own. Wierwille stated publicly that he met J.E. Stiles and read books by Stiles, Bullinger and Kenyon before he wrote his own books. (For documentation, see John Juedes and Douglas Morton, From "Vesper Chimes" to "The Way International", C.A.R.I.S., Milwaukee, 1983, pp. 11-15.
The Nature of Wierwille's Plagiarism
Wierwille clearly practiced plagiarism throughout his "ministry." Almost all of Wierwille's theology can be traced to authors such as Bullinger and George Lamsa, so one may say that whole ideas were plagiarized, even though exact plagiarism of wording may not always be found.
Wierwille's use of these sources is obvious. Although Wierwille slightly rewrote his sources as he copied them, the verbal similarity is unmistakable.
Most followers of The Way International have not seen evidence of this plagiarism. Many who have seen them have cut off all ties with the group, saddened at the deception and lack of integrity on the part of The Way International. Nolan K. Yogi, General Counsel for The Way International, responded to one letter of inquiry about plagiarism in this way:
"I have fully reviewed your letter of March 7, 1986, concerning alleged copyright violations. Please be informed that I have compared your reference of Chapter 20 of E.W. Kenyon's The Father And His Family to Chapter 3 of the work Then New Dynamic Church, by Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille. While there are similarities in thought and ideas, there is no evidence of duplication or "plagiarism," and certainly there has been no violation of the U.S. Copyright Law as you suggest."
Mr. Yogi may or may not be accurate that U.S. copyright law was violated by Wierwille's use of Kenyon's chapter. But in either case, Wierwille did practice plagiarism -- the use of another author's ideas or words -- several times. This is an unethical practice even in non-Christian society, witness the hundreds of students who have forfeited academic degrees and journalists who have lost jobs for it. Even grade school teachers notice, and punish, plagiarism among their students.
Implications of Wierwille's Plagiarism
Plagiarism shows a lack of integrity. It is deception. Plagiarism is not original. The plagiarizer is reduced to being a copying machine.
Jesus Christ said: "By your fruits you will know them" (False prophets). One fruit is integrity. Wierwille's 30-year habit of plagiarism is strong evidence of a lack of integrity, a sign that he wandered from the narrow way and led people down a path that does not lead to God through Jesus Christ.
Editor's Note: The above material has been condensed from the publication, Will The Real Author Please Stand Up? This book is available from PFO-Midwest for the cost of $2.00 (plus $1.00 postage).
(c) 1987 - PFO. All rights reserved by Personal Freedom Outreach. Reproduction is prohibited, including BBS, except for portions intended for personal use and non-commercial purposes. For reproduction permission contact: Personal Freedom Outreach, P.O. Box 26062, Saint Louis, Missouri 63136.