A Canton, Mich., man is suing Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, claiming that some of their Bible versions that refer to homosexuality as a sin have violated his constitutional rights and have led to discrimination, emotional pain and mental instability.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, is seeking $10 million from Thomas Nelson and $60 million from Zondervan in the lawsuits filed June 17 and July 7, respectively, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Fowler said that Zondervan's Bibles referring to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to times of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment," The Grand Rapids Press reported.

Zondervan's intent 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, according to the Michigan paper.

Fowler is representing himself in both cases. In the Thomas Nelson case, U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr. has refused to appoint an attorney to represent Fowler, stating that the court "has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims."

The suit against Zondervan cites 1 Corinthians 6:9 of the publisher's 1982 and 1987 editions of the New International Version. Fowler claims that the word "homosexual" was taken out of the 1989 and 1994 editions, according to a Chicago Tribune report. Similar allegations were made against Thomas Nelson regarding earlier versions of the New King James Bible, the Tribune added.

Thomas Nelson is awaiting further information before commenting on the suit. "We have not been served with the suit in question. We will not comment until we have more information," said Lindsey Nobles, director of corporate communications.

Zondervan does not discuss ongoing litigation, but spokesperson Tara Powers said: "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 are not in a position to 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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