Bible Publishers Sued for Anti-Gay References

[Dos Equis]

Without a doubt, one of the dumbest lawsuits I've ever heard of. 

Bible Publishers Sued for Anti-Gay References

Thursday, July 10, 2008 10:51 AM

By: Rick Pedraza 
 
A Michigan man is seeking $70 million from two Christian publishers for emotional distress and mental instability he received during the past 20 years from versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, a gay man, claims his constitutional rights were infringed upon by Zondervan Publishing Co. and Thomas Nelson Publishing, both of which, he claims, deliberately caused homosexuals to suffer by misinterpretation of the Bible.

Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson.

According to a USA Today report, Fowler’s two separate suits against the publishers claim the intent of the Bible revisions that refer to homosexuals as sinners reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion.

Fowler says the deliberate changes made to first Corinthians, chapter six, verse nine caused him "or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder."

Fowler, who is representing himself in both lawsuits, claims the publishers are misinterpreting the Bible by specifically using the word homosexuals, which made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.

“These are opinions based on the publishers and they are being embedded in the religious structure as a way of life," he tells a local NBC TV station affiliate in Grand Rapids.

Fowler admits that every Bible printed is a translation that can be interpreted in many ways, but he says specifically using the word “homosexual” is not a translation but a change.

Fowler says Zondervan Bibles published in the ‘80s used the word homosexuals among a list of those who are “wicked' or unrighteous and won't inherit the kingdom of heaven.”

Zondervan, for its part, issued a statement to the Grand Rapids press stating it does not translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations it publishes

“We rely on the scholarly judgment of the highly respected and credible translation committees behind each translation and never alter the text of the translations we are licensed to publish,” the statement reads.

“We only publish credible translations produced by credible Biblical scholars.”

U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr., who will hear Fowler’s case against Thomas Nelson, says the court “has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of [Fowler’s] claims."
 
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/man_sues_bible_publishers/2008/07/10/111626.html

[MCWAY]

Liberty Counsel, the ACLJ, or the Alliance Defense Fund will probably represent the Bible-printing company and this guy will be beat silly in court.

[w8tlftr]

LOL @ silly phags.

[Deicide]

I believe in freedom of press. Christians should be able to publish their fairy tales...the more Bibles are out there the more people will read them and realise how idiotic the contents are.

[OzmO]

Without a doubt, one of the dumbest lawsuits I've ever heard of. 

Bible Publishers Sued for Anti-Gay References

Thursday, July 10, 2008 10:51 AM

By: Rick Pedraza 
 
A Michigan man is seeking $70 million from two Christian publishers for emotional distress and mental instability he received during the past 20 years from versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, a gay man, claims his constitutional rights were infringed upon by Zondervan Publishing Co. and Thomas Nelson Publishing, both of which, he claims, deliberately caused homosexuals to suffer by misinterpretation of the Bible.

Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson.

According to a USA Today report, Fowler’s two separate suits against the publishers claim the intent of the Bible revisions that refer to homosexuals as sinners reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion.

Fowler says the deliberate changes made to first Corinthians, chapter six, verse nine caused him "or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder."

Fowler, who is representing himself in both lawsuits, claims the publishers are misinterpreting the Bible by specifically using the word homosexuals, which made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.

“These are opinions based on the publishers and they are being embedded in the religious structure as a way of life," he tells a local NBC TV station affiliate in Grand Rapids.

Fowler admits that every Bible printed is a translation that can be interpreted in many ways, but he says specifically using the word “homosexual” is not a translation but a change.

Fowler says Zondervan Bibles published in the ‘80s used the word homosexuals among a list of those who are “wicked' or unrighteous and won't inherit the kingdom of heaven.”

Zondervan, for its part, issued a statement to the Grand Rapids press stating it does not translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations it publishes

“We rely on the scholarly judgment of the highly respected and credible translation committees behind each translation and never alter the text of the translations we are licensed to publish,” the statement reads.

“We only publish credible translations produced by credible Biblical scholars.”

U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr., who will hear Fowler’s case against Thomas Nelson, says the court “has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of [Fowler’s] claims."
 
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/man_sues_bible_publishers/2008/07/10/111626.html

Only in America   

[Deicide]

Only in America   

You love the Bible Ozmo, I know you do!

[Dos Equis]

 

'Gay' man sues Bible publisher for 'mental anguish'
$10 million sought for 'negative connotation' toward homosexuals
Posted: September 09, 2009
8:55 pm Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for "mental anguish" after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges Tyndale House Publishers manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale's New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9.

"One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog.

Find out what God REALLY says about sex and homosexuality in the best-selling book that champions the absolute truth of Scripture: "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told" – autographed!

As WND reported, Fowler, who had a blog on Sen. Barack Obama's campaign website last year, filed his initial complaint against Christian publishers Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Publishing. Fowler, who represented himself in both lawsuits, said in his complaint against Zondervan that the publisher intended to design a religious, sacred document to reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion to cause "me or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder."

He told the Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV in 2008 that he wants to "compensate for the past 20 years of emotional duress and mental instability."

According to JoAnne Thomas on RightPundits.com, Fowler explained his complaint on his blog last year, referencing the I Corinthians 6:9 passage:

In 1970, I Corinthians 6:9 read as followed [sic]-
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulteres [sic], nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.

In 1982 ,the same scripture read like this-

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodimites [sic].

In 2001 the same scripture reads like this-

Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled, those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob thses [sic] people will not inherit God's kingdom.

When Fowler filed his initial claim against Zondervan, he alleged its Bibles' references to homosexuality as a sin made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment."

Both civil complaints were dismissed because Fowler did not file his complaints before the three-year federal statute of limitations expired.

However, Fowler filed a lawsuit against Tyndale House Publishers in January and is still seeking $10 million in damages. Fowler filed a motion for entry of default and a motion of summary judgment in district court, but the judge denied his motions, saying Fowler presented no proof that he served the defendant properly. The judge ordered him to reissue the original summons and complaint to Tyndale.

Fowler wrote on his blog that he has "a long battle awaiting him."

"[W]hen William Tyndale Publishing [sic], Inc., Zondervan Publishing, Inc., and Thomas Nelson Publishing, Inc. began revising the scriptures, each publisher implemented the term homosexuals within its Bible, yet failed to follow what the scripture teaches about doing so," Fowler wrote on his blog. "As a result, homosexuals have endured a life long struggle of being accepted within the American culture."

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109356