Nomination for Idiot of the Month Award
Jason Kuznicki on Jul 11th 2008
A gay man is suing two heavyweight Christian publishers, claiming their versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability.
Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan, based in Cascade Township, and $10 million from Nashville-based Thomas Nelson Publishing. . . .
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.
The other suit, against Thomas Nelson and its New King James Bible, mirrors the allegations made against Zondervan.
Boo freakin’ hoo. I’m sorry your feelings were hurt, but whatever sorrow I feel is completely erased by your choice of remedies. Complaining about the Bible being anti-gay is like complaining that a kosher cookbook doesn’t have any decent lobster recipes. Is the Bible anti-gay? Perhaps. That’s just life. Get over it.
Look, if these Bibles’ texts are accurate representations of God’s word, then you’re screwed anyway. There’s no real point in suing, because you’re going to fry in Hell for all eternity. But if they’re not accurate representations of God’s word, then at any rate they’re accurate representations of the opinions of some other people. And you have no right to sue over an opinion, even if it is a stupid and mistaken one. (And it is stupid and mistaken, on so many different levels.)
Yes, I know that various passages in the Bible have caused a lot of misery over the years, and a good deal of religious history consists of finding increasingly creative ways to get beyond the barbaric stuff in various holy books. But this isn’t the way to do it. In a society that values free speech, your only alternative is to write a better Bible. Or maybe just to grow up a little and stop whining about what other people think of you.
Filed in The Belfry, The Bench, The Boudoir
I’m curious, what exactly does the bible have to say? … Does not the story of Adam and Eve demonstrate that heterosexual relations are sinful as well? The OT is quite irrelevant since (as the NT says) Jesus died for all of us, no?
In any event, the issue isn’t the biblical content. The issue is how the actions of a human organization may have harmed the individual in question. Whether the actions of the organization were motivated by religious philosophy or something else is irrelevant.
I’ll point out that, while the context is homosexuality, the above passage is equally valid/invalid with respect to slavery. In the case of slavery and racial discrimination should such “speech” be defended by “[writing] a better Bible”?
Personally, I think Bradley LaShawn Fowler will lose his case (seriously … is there any chance he won’t), but he will get a lot of press. In doing so, those who feel unbridled in the propagation of hate and intolerance toward homosexuals will realize that some would prefer that they refrain their emotions a bit ;-)
Ben wrote,
No, the result will be just the opposite. They will just say, “See, the homosexuals have an anti-God agenda.” And someone will use that line of reasoning in a series of media appearances and fundraising letters to raise lots of dollars for their “ministry.” Jason’s right. This was stupid.
Wow. Sometimes I despair for the world. I just don’t understand - did some people’s parents not tell them “sticks and stones etc”?
Yeah, I totally agree with Jason here. I saw this story the other day and thought about doing a real news story about it since it involves Michigan. I decided not to. I did write up something for my blog about it, just haven’t posted it yet.