Man Files 70 Million Dollar Lawsuit Against Bible Publishers
Published: July 11, 2008
A 70 million dollar lawsuit has been filed against Bible publishers Zondervan and Thomas Nelson by a homosexual man who has alleged that their version of the Bible refers to homosexuality as a sin, therefore violating his constitutional rights which he states has caused him emotional distress.
Ex-con turned author, Bradley LaShawn Fowler, filed the federal suit with the Eastern District of Michigan's U.S. District Court on Monday, however a judge refused to appoint him a lawyer for his suit against Thomas Nelson.
"The Court has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims," the judge wrote.
Fowler has now decided to represent himself in both cases. He claims that Zondervan had manipulated Scripture by using the term "homosexuals" in 1 Corinthians 6:9 in both their 1982 and 1987 revised edition Bibles. He also believes the reference to homosexuality were deleted in later versions by the publishing company without informing the public.
He says since his family pastor uses the older Kings James Version which contains the term "homosexual," he is considered an outcast by his family.
Fowler, who is now 39, is suing for compensation of 20 years of "emotional duress and mental instability."
Fowler lists in a handwritten suit a number of other charges against Zondervan including malicious negligence, strict liability, libel, and the violation of his civil rights. He's seeking a total of $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing.
Zondervan spokesperson Tara Powers pointed out that their company only publishes Bibles, they do not translate them.
"Since Zondervan does not translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations we publish," says Powers, "we are not in a position to comment on the merits of how a word should or should not be translated."
"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. We only publish credible translations produced by credible biblical scholars," Powers added.
Zondervan has 20 days to respond to the claims, according to Fowler.
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Man Files 70 Million Dollar Lawsuit Against Bible Publishers
Published: July 11, 2008
Ex-con turned author says Zondervan violated his rights by labeling homosexuality as sin
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