07/11/2008
Gay Man Files $60 Suit Against Bible Publishers
Michigan man Bradley LaShawn Fowler has filed a $60 million suit against Zondervan publishing and a $10 million suit against Nashville-based Thomas Nelson Publishing saying versions of their Bibles which call homosexuality a sin violate his consitutional rights:
"'The Court has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims,' the judge wrote. Fowler, 39, alleges Zondervan's Bibles referring to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of 'demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.' The intent of the publisher was 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,' Fowler wrote. Fowler's suit claims Zondervan's text revisions from a 1980s version of the Bible included, and then deleted, a reference to homosexuality in 1 Corinthians without informing the public of the changes."
(via goodasyou)
Posted 8:03 AM EST by Andy Towle in Michigan, News, Religion | Permalink
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This is the LAST thing we need! Are you kidding me? What happened to the separation of Church and State? What about first amendment rights to free speach, etc. If all Bibles stopped printing this today, which they will not, we would still face "physical discomfort and periods of 'demoralization, chaos and bewilderment". I should tell him the same thing I tell my kids who are 6, 8 & 11, life is not fair sport suck it up!
Posted by: RB | Jul 11, 2008 8:48:37 AM
Frivolous Lawsuit. Not a chance in hell. Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion. Memo to Bradley Fowler: Christianity the way it is practiced in most of the U.S. today ALWAYS causes "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment." Do what all religious gay people have done since time immemorial -- leave your asshole family and move to a big city. Easier than fighting this non-starter lawsuit.
Posted by: Strepsi | Jul 11, 2008 9:00:54 AM
I dont how much of a legal argument there is here but I got to say, I kind of love the thought. Especially with the Lillian Ladele case and other akin lawsuits.
Posted by: IDNY | Jul 11, 2008 9:01:02 AM
This has nothing to do with the separation of Church and State so I am not sure where you are getting that from. However - this has absolutely everything to do with a complete moron who is confused and apparently bored.
Posted by: yoshi | Jul 11, 2008 9:03:19 AM
As much as I dislike the Bible, I don't think there is a grounds to stop its publication, no matter what interpretation is being printed.
Here's a solution, just print your own 'updated' translation of the Bible where god says homosexuality is divine and righteous Christians are sinners.
Posted by: Wes | Jul 11, 2008 9:12:34 AM
Well, I for one, would like to see him succeed in some fashion. The bible gets a free fucking ride from society and it's the biggest pile of garbage! Everything, EVERYfuckingTHING it says about Jesus is heresay, written no less than 300 years after his supposed death! There is not one, NOT ONE, bit of writing from the time period in which he supposedly lived that can document his existence! And yet, people are brainwashed into believe his outlandish story, which by the way, is not even original. There are accounts of Egyptian and Roman gods with similar background stories. This guy won't win, but only because everybody's too fucking scared to admit the bible is junk.
Posted by: Michael W. | Jul 11, 2008 9:18:59 AM
I have no problem admitting the Bible is junk but I happen to think junk should remain legal to publish.
If you 'ban the bible' you are only playing into the persecution complex of righteous Christians who will point their finger at the 'fascist' homosexuals who are stifling their free speech and religious practice. In the process you will create public sympathy for them and increased resentment for us (read: BACKLASH). Also, they will claim it is further validation of the Bible as it says their religion will be outlawed as the apocalypse approaches.
We should not be ones to burn books here.
Posted by: Wes | Jul 11, 2008 9:36:32 AM
Is this from The Onion?
Posted by: Dan | Jul 11, 2008 9:36:37 AM
MICHAEL W - Right on! The bible, at the very least, should be required to be catagorized as fiction. It's unproven, unverifiable yet continues to be presented and accepted as fact. How many gay bashings in this world could have been avoided if people accepted the bible for what it really is. Fiction.
Posted by: JJ | Jul 11, 2008 9:37:17 AM
I appreciate the sentiments of those who have posted before me; however, I really admire this guy's chutzpah.
Most Americans identify themselves as Christian and for them, what they perceive as "The Word of God" is hugely important. This story illustrates that, even if you believe that the Bible is the infallible word of god, it is based on copies of copies that are translated and retranslated. As anyone who has played the game of Post Office knows (where someone whispers something to the person next to them, that person to the next person etc.) after only a few iterations, the original message is almost unrecognizable.
Rather than dismiss those who see things differently, we need to engage them and change their hearts and minds. This does not require accepting their views, but we do need to find effective means of reaching them.
Posted by: voet | Jul 11, 2008 9:41:23 AM
Wes, I'm not advocating banning/burning the bible, all I'm saying is that preferential treatment should not be given to it simply because it is "the bible." If this gets to court, what is this guy going to have to but his hand on and swear to? The bible! It and the religion to which it is attached needs to be scrubbed from our government systems. To continue to say "In God We Trust" is to give further validity to the mythological nonsense that keeps people scared, oppressed, persecuted, tormented, emotionally scarred, poor, and ignorant.
Posted by: Michael W. | Jul 11, 2008 9:42:42 AM
@ JJ: Agreed! It should be in the Fiction aisle at Barnes and Noble. And if they have a "Bad Fiction" category, it should be under that. There is not one occurrence of humor and quite a lot of the stories are plagiarized.
Posted by: Michael W. | Jul 11, 2008 9:47:15 AM
I agree with all that (the Bible should not be used in courts, etc), but to see this man succeed in his frivilous lawsuit would be a setback to us and frankly a scary precedent to set.
Posted by: Wes | Jul 11, 2008 9:47:37 AM
to MICHAEL: No, that is NOT why he won't win -- and why he shouldn't. Because it is irrelevant if the Bible is "true" - it is a book. Then what's to stop some Christian person filing a $60 million claim to JK Rowling to change Harry Potter and make Dumbledore straight? And please, $60 milllion? But the real point is that -- as gays -- as a minority who is despised in many places, and who many people would like to erase and silence -- we should be the LAST people trying to curtail freedom of speech or thought or printed words!!!
Posted by: Strepsi | Jul 11, 2008 9:53:27 AM
This man will never win. It goes to much against the grain of free speech. I mean if you were to ban the printing of the bible, you would have to go on and ban the Torah, the Koran, and any other religious text.
To Voet's comment about the bible being translated and retranslated. I agree. My brother is studying to be an Army Chaplin. He is learning Greek and Hebrew and he is amazed at what he is discovering reading the original (or close to original text). He has found that what he was taught out of the bible growing up is flat out wrong or has been mistranslated.
I feel a lot of Christians forget the fact that Jesus didn't say anything on being gay. He was actually usually a friend to the sick, the poor, the misunderstood. It was the religious right back in his day that was persicuting everyone. Perhaps the religous right of today needs to remember that.
Posted by: Matt | Jul 11, 2008 10:20:53 AM
Stupidest lawsuit of the year. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, practice and belief. Surely, at the crux of this guarantee, is the right to interpret the Bible as one believes without interference or persecution. People have a right to interpret the Bible and believe it is the Word of God, no matter what you think or how it makes you feel bad. The Bible is also a historic text, which means interpreting it has historic value that should not be sacrificed to political considerations.
Posted by: Carlos | Jul 11, 2008 10:24:14 AM
The reason why this guy is wrong flat out is because he's asking for money, period. What makes him deserving of 60 million dollars over this? Is he the only gay man in America? No. Do bibles that make negative claims against homosexuality cause problems for all of us? Yes.
He's being a greedy bastard, plain and simple. Being overly-sensitive, and whining about every little thing only hurts us more than helps.
Combating negative stigma from bibles should be done through words and actions, not unnecessary court cases for monetary gain.
Posted by: Some Guy | Jul 11, 2008 10:28:36 AM
to Strepsi: I would agree with you except for this point: Harry Potter is fiction. The bible is not considered fiction. Anything written in it is considered "the truth." His lawsuit is valid in that he asserts the bible has been purposefully mistranslated over time to incur negative treatment to a group of people. If the original intent of the texts used to make up the bible said anything less severe against homosexuality, then he would be right, that it has been mistranslated to show intent to falsely besmirch the character of gay people for some agenda to oppress them. Of course he's not going to win. But your point about gays being despised in many places and that other people would like to see us erased or silenced, what tool are they using to promote those ideas? The fucking bible.
Posted by: Michael W. | Jul 11, 2008 10:34:53 AM
To Carlos: People don't have the right to hurt other people based on their beliefs. Remember the holocaust? I couldn't care less what people believe, but when it interferes with my own personal pursuit of happiness, they better watch the fuck out.
Posted by: Michael W. | Jul 11, 2008 10:40:25 AM
So Carlos,
It's okay for people believe a lie (the Bible)? The "word of God", no, God did not write the Bible.
Historical text? Only if you believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old. Which is way off. Let's start with Gensis, there is no proof any of the people in it ever lived. You have no proof that God created a man named Adam that lived for over 900 years as was common then according to the Bible.
If people are going to believe in a lie how are they going to find God?
Posted by: 1♥ | Jul 11, 2008 10:54:38 AM
Question: Does no one else notice how the headline reads "$60 suit"? I mean, a sixty dollar lawsuit :D. Come on, I'd pay good money to see that.
Posted by: Philip Wester | Jul 11, 2008 10:56:58 AM
Carlos - It's funny you bring up "fear of persecution". Didn't Christians pretty much write the book on persecution? Oh, thats right, they did. It's called The Bible.
Posted by: JJ | Jul 11, 2008 11:15:31 AM
Exodus 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
http://scripturetext.com/exodus/22-18.htm
Yeah, nothing in the Bible which might lead to persecution.
Posted by: John C | Jul 11, 2008 12:03:34 PM
I like where they guy's head is at, and we can be sure religious wingnuts and conservative media are gonna latch on to this like Haggard on Tina. I don't think that's a bad thing. The more press this gets, the more it shines lights onto the irreconcilable differences between fundamentalism of any kind and the success of a representative democracy.
It will force people to either accept Biblical literalism and fundamentalism and never be okay with us, or to accept us and never be okay with fundamentalism. And that will only further our cause, of course, because we're so much more lovable and cute than they are. Oh, no, sorry, it's because we're right and they're wrong, of course.
Posted by: JeffRob | Jul 11, 2008 12:50:38 PM
All this idiot is doing is creating another fundraising boon for the "religious" right. Does NO ONE think out the potential "unintended consequences" of their actions anymore?
The "But Why Can't We Just Stone Them To Death?" crowd has been playing the "We're simply excercising our freedom of religion when we verbally and legally attack gays" tune for a long time; more every year. Falwell was an expert at it, a la "They've taken God out of our schools and put in the homosexuals."
Brother Bradley, wherefore art thy brain?
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Jul 11, 2008 12:57:45 PM