A Canton man is suing a Tennessee-based Bible publisher, claiming their versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and has caused him emotional pain and mental instability.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan, based in Cascade Township, and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in the lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Fowler says he and other homosexuals have suffered based on what the suit claims is a misinterpretation of the Bible.

The suit centers on one passage in scripture — 1 Corinthians 6:9 — and how it reads in Bibles published by Zondervan.

Fowler filed the suit against Zondervan on Monday July 7, the same day U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr. refused to appoint an attorney to represent him in his case against Thomas Nelson, a Tennessee publisher. Fowler filed a suit against Thomas Nelson in June. He is representing himself in both claims.

“The Court has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims,” the judge wrote.

Fowler says Zondervan Bibles published in 1982 and 1987 use the word homosexuals among a list of those who are “wicked” or “unrighteous” and won’t inherit the kingdom of heaven. He says his family’s pastor used that Zondervan Bible, 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.”

Now he is asking for an apology and $60 million.

“To compensate for the past 20 years of emotional duress and mental instability,” Fowler told 24 Hour News 8 in a phone interview.

He claims the company is misinterpreting the Bible by specifically using the word homosexuals. Fowler admits that every Bible printed is a translation, interpreted in some way, but he says specifically using that word is not a translation but a change.

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.

“These are opinions based on the publishers,” he said. “And they are being embedded in the religious structure as a way of life.”

Fowler says he came across the discrepancy while researching a book. He says Zondervan Bibles published in the 1980s use the word homosexuals in the Corinthian passage in question, but earlier and later ones don’t.

Grand Rapids Mich., Wood TV 24 Hour News 8 who followed the story said they did some research of their own, “and found Zondervan Bibles published both in the 80s and post-2000 use the word homosexuals in the passage. Some other Bibles, like the New American Standard, also use the word.”

“Others don’t.”

The (regular) American Standard version uses the phrase “abusers of themselves with men.” The King James says “abusers of themselves with mankind.” Still others, like the New American Bible, use the word “sodomites.”

Fowler says the idea that those phrases are another way of saying homosexuals is a misinterpretation as well.

Zondervan released a statement saying it “has not been served with a lawsuit and therefore cannot comment on it. However, it is important to note that since Zondervan does not translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations we publish, we should not 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.”

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