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 William Tyndale Publishing
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
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
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
In 1982 ,the same scripture read like this-
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
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 William Tyndale Publishing 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 William Tyndale
Publishing.
Fowler wrote on his blog that he has "a long battle awaiting him."
"[W]hen William Tyndale Publishing, 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."