Preface

Providence carries our lives, liberties and concernments in its hand every moment. Your bread is in its cupboard, your money in its purse, your safety in its enfolding arms; and sure it is the least part of what you owe, to record the favors you receive at its hands.¹Flavel, Divine Conduct, [210–11].

The providence that has brought this work into being is remarkable. I owe it to the Lord to recount his mercies, and perhaps in some measure I owe this to the reader as well.

I was born into a Christian family that emphasized generosity, and multiple sermons from my childhood on the topic of heavenly treasures left an indelible mark on me. In high school and college, a larger philosophy of ideas reinforced this posture toward possessions as I was exposed to the free and open source software movement, even personally interacting with some of the more notable thinkers in the field of free licensing, including Richard Stallman and Lawrence Lessig. Completing my higher education, I continued in that world professionally, working on the Android Open Source Project, on Chromium, and in Google’s Open Source Programs Office.

During an internship in 2006, I was introduced to Reformed theology and came to affirm the doctrines of grace the following year. I did not immediately make a diligent study of the matter, but upon moving to California, I found a church—the same one I now pastor—that challenged me to grow in that tradition. Studying through the Log College and Seminary, I was required to write a thesis but given the freedom to take the time needed since it operates without a semester schedule. This presented me with the opportunity to answer questions that had formed at the intersection of my interests in theology and intellectual property law. From this was born my thesis on the dorean principle,²The dorean principle: in the context of gospel proclamation, accepting support as anything other than an act of co-labor compromises the sincerity of ministry. which I rewrote as a book of the same name and published in 2021.³Owens, Dorean Principle.

Of the critiques it drew, the one that most resonated with me was the concern to see this principle echoed by theologians of former generations. This caused me no uncertainty regarding the principle itself; I had dedicated a whole chapter of the book to corroboration from the early church. However, I wanted much more, and the trail of citations I had encountered demonstrated that what I sought was largely inaccessible, hidden away in Latin theology under the title of simonia (simony). But in short order, technology bridged that gap. Not only have online archives of historical works grown immensely, but the recent availability of large language models to the public has enabled sourcing, transcribing, and translating profitable works on the subject at a scale previously unimaginable. What is more, this study has become possible at the very time that interest in retrieval is growing.

In all this, the hand of God is evident. I have neglected countless details in this brief chronology, but even the few recorded here show a discernibly divine influence that has prepared me for the present task. Calls to labor in untilled soil often come out of season so that another would enjoy the harvest, and so it may be in my own case. But in the unfathomable kindness of God, it seems that the church may be ripe for this moment as well.