1ST CORINTHIANS 6:9

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."

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• 1ST Corinthians 6:9: do you not know that the wicked shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not misled: neither the immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor the corrupt nor men who sleep with men.
• HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT
• GEORGE M. LAMSA’S TRANSLATION FROM THE
• ARAMAIC OF THE PESHITTA.

1ST Corinthians 6:9-10 Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit the 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—these people will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
THE HOLY BIBLE
CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
NEW CENTURY VERSION PUBLISHED BY
NELSON BIBLES. COPYRIGHT 2005. PRINTED IN
BELGIUM.

1ST Corinthians 6:9-11 .Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
The Greek terms translated male prostitutes and sodomites do not refer to “homosexuals,” as inappropriate older translations; “masturbators” and male prostitutes might be a better translation. While continuing the emphasis on economic offenders, the list expands the sexual offenders (see 5.10-11n.), anticipating 6.12-20.
THE NEW OXFORD ANNOTATED BIBLE,
New Revised standard Version (THIRD EDITION)
AN ECUMENICAL STUDY BIBLE.


The word/term homosexual was not even coined until the mid-late 19th century by an early day liberal/socialist. The Z Bible does actually use the word homosexual and in my mind that shows poor scholarship on their part (my personal opinion, not necessarily anybody else’s.)

So, does the guy have a valid complaint? Maybe. Is this a frivolous lawsuit? Definitely. If he had a problem why did he wait 20 years? He is serving as his own attorney? Who was it that said, ‘a man serving as his own attorney has a fool for a client’?