Christian sex therapist 'refused to counsel gay couples'

The problem with you argument is that as a vegetarian you are not required to share your judgment about the food you are serving. As a counselor you are making personal judgements about what you are being told by your clients and if you feel that you are unable to give them good advice then you are obligated to recuse yourself. Exactly like a Judge in a trial that has personal connections or prejudices that might get in the way of an OBJECTIVE Decision.

Objective is the Key here that no one seems to undersatnd about the job he was in. You can't allow a subjective point of view to come in, if it does you have, must! step away.

But if the company wishes to hire only therapists that can provide counseling to both heterosexual and homosexual couples, and they find that one of their employees is unable to do so, they have the right to fire him/her.

What you don't seem to understand is that business owners have every right to make their own policies regarding how they run their business and the services they provide. That would include who they hire and ensuring that their employees are able to do the job they're hired to do.

"Regardless of religious beliefs, when you're hired for a specific job that requires specific obligations (such as counseling gay couples) and you are unable to fulfill that obligation, your employer has every right to fire you."

I like these words :D

And yet how mature of you to add your comment to the main stream instated of as an adjunct to my comment.

It still remains that this story is nothing than an inappropriate disclosure of a personable nature. Had this story been in America This Counselor would have had a very winnable civil suit for libel. Being in England the Laws are backwards from America. I'm sure this working man didn't have to money to prove without a doubt that the paper intended him harm from their claims.

By The Way, I Notice By Way Of Your (Insult) Reply You Ignored The Question. Not Gonna let that slip by are you?

BY The Way Fallen Morgan I have noticed on other forums your responses always end up in the may comments.

Have you noticed the [Reply] button to the side? It does make you comments remain in the context to which you orignally made them.

If attention is what you are seeking then feel free to continue as you have.

Now you're just being rude and condescending.

Let me be the first then to say, "Jesus did not say that."

There you have it.

However, I am a Christian ish Messianic, Buddhist who can without reservation say that Jesus "ate" with the sinners. He did that because "everyone" is a sinner. Even the Christians, though some forget, and some are hypocrites. (Beware of calling the hypocrites out though, because if you do then that means you Know more than they do and you are "better" than they are. So make sure if you call out anyone, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Wiccan, Satanist, Hindu, Humanist, Atheist, or Agnostic, that you Judge not, lest you be Judged.

No matter what spiritual life you have, it is better to allow another their personal belief than to hold back the tide with anger.

Live and let live. Why does this story even require your comment except out of your own persoanl dissatisfaction?

Sure I will,

Christian Counselor: Has no context for same sex relationship, realizes at his core he may be biased against their relationship due to his Personal Religious Beliefs. Does not wish to bring his Personal Beliefs into a Counseling session, try to recuse himself.

Christian Bus Driver: Sign on bus has no bearing on his performance. Does he disagree with sign;yes. Dose he have to drive bus with sign;no. Quit job or shut up, the result is the same.

In the former however that would not be true. Wouldn't you want a Counselor who feels he would not be able to treat you to say so up front? Regardless of why? I call B.S.

Say it again,......

I call B.S.

This wouldn't even be a story if he was Any Other Belief.

"This wouldn't even be a story if he was Any Other Belief."

Oh really?
So, why was their a story about a muslim waitress who wanted to sue the restaurant she was working at for changing the dress code? The new uniforms were too revealing and against her personal ethics, but they fired her when she refused to wear it.

It was on a ton of blogs, newspaper websites and a headline on the AOL homepage.
So far, current.com is the only site I've seen talking about this specific story.

The story, did not Originate of Current. Though I know many here feel this is the high point in world news.

As for the waitress, never heard of it.

That's okay if you've never heard of the waitress story. The point is that it happened, and that it did make the news.

Wow! You know the Real Jesus? You speak in His Name? You've read the entire Bible cover to cover in the original Hebrew and Greek? You are His spokesperson on earth?

If not, does that mean you are a hypocrite? Just asking?

You're the only one who saw that. One step closer to genius I say.

I agree, just shut up take the money and tell them they are really closet Heterosexuals. That would have really been hateful, but then we wouldn't have all these empty headed morons spouting their opinions.

(The empty headed moron wasn't aimed at any particular commentor, it was just a general blanket for those who misread the true meany of the story)

"despite the tide of negative societal pressure to be like the rest of the flock even if it doesn't conform to previously accepted norms."

He didn't hide behind anything. He said he was unable to counsel them. Looks like what you said happened was really in reverse. Societal pressure wants him to submit to the rest of the flock, even if as a counselor he does not feel that he is the best person for their therapy.

How about it?

The quote you have chosen to highlight could be misinterpreted if it is taken out of context. To be understood properly it needs to be addressed it in its entirety. The complete sentence was meant to emphasize what a special thing love is under such challenging conditions.

Next you state Mr. McFarlane didn't hide behind anything and that is simply incorrect. He chose to work for this employer with prior knowledge as to the kind of work he would be expected to do. When push came to shove he choose to use his religion as a shield to keep from performing the duties of this position. Unlike being gay, one's faith is a choice. If that choice stands in the way of one performing certain tasks, then it would be advisable to seek out a profession that does not present such conflict with those beliefs.

You are correct that Mr. McFarlane said he was unable to counsel gay couples. The fact is though he could have counseled them, but he made a choice to follow a faith, which views homosexuals as vial immoral beings. It was his adherence to his belief system trumping his employer's need for open-minded counselors that caused Mr. McFarlane's dilemma.

Many churches offer couples counseling. If Mr. McFarland were refusing to perform his duties as a counselor under the roof of a church (one without any public funding) then I would have to concede to his religious bias. I wouldn't like it, but I think that the constitutional right (here in the states) to practice one's beliefs (within their religious institution and home) without governmental interference is essential to a free society. That said, I do think that many churches need to reevaluate the importance of denying gay citizens equal participation based of religious text written so long ago and influenced by anyone from the sheep herder's of 2000+ years ago to ruling classes throughout the millennia.

That did strike me as pretty funny since what kind of sex therapist would only recommend the "missionary position?"

@Argon

Classic man! Classic!

And your degree in psychology is from? Ever heard of White Noise?

It's only that he is a Christian that you have even heard of this story. If he had been Muslim it would never have made the news.

All? In a society so divided. Would you want to be counseled by anyone that believes that Palin should be our next President?

that's exactly what needed to be said

So every therapist must deny their own beliefs to give wisdom to whom ever they counsel?

I call B.S.

How could you ever trust a therapist to give you advice if he disagrees with your lifestyle? I know I wouldn't. Why would any Gay couple ?Want? to be counseled by someone who doesn't believe in gay marriage? I give kudos to the guy for honesty, and call hypocrisy on all of you.

EXACTLY timcat.
People don't want to be counseled by someone who disagrees with their lifestyle.

That's why when an organization promotes themselves as being "gay friendly", they're only going to employ people who are accepting of homosexuality and gay couples. The company this man worked for is obviously one of those because they welcome gay couples.
You see, they don't want to be liars either. They want to be honest about the services they provide. So, when they find out one of their employees is not fulfilling the message that they want to promote, then they're going to fire him because he is unable to do his job.

It's very simple, and you can say whatever you want about "intolerance" and hypocrisy because the only reason why this guy was fired was because he was intolerant. And it would be hypocritical for a company to promote a message of acceptance towards GLBT people, but then employ therapists that are against their lifestyle.

Your comment just reaks of Islamophobia and homophobia. The gays and Muslims do not get "special treatment."

I call BS on Fallen Morgan. Intolerance is what I call. Why does everyone have to tolerate your point of view? Is no one allowed to disagree with you?

The Iranian President declared homosexuality di not exist in Iran. Is that because they don't carry the gene?

I look forward to your answer.

How about Christaphobia and Hetrophobia. I like Labels too, but the reality is that this issue points to many other issues that will be on the table soon. These pertain to the Rights of Doctors and Medical Staff refusing to perform State Sponsored Abortions on grounds of Personal Beliefs.Choice is the issue here. Some choices are okay and some are not. It's a matter of choice..Is it not about freedom of choice? The Gentleman who lost His Job was over in England. We are not England, but it's going to be dealt with very soon in this Country. I don't know if I understand Your first claim. What special treatments would You be talking about????

Hydrokat,

My life is personally affected by what you have said in your comment.

It was let known to us that the Catholic Bishops sent a letter to President elect Obama on this very issue.

While not being Catholic myself I do work at a Catholic Charity Hospital, part of the chain of St. Joseph Health.

If the pro-choice bill that Obama has supported in the past makes it to law requiring health workers to perform abortions regardless of their religious beliefs we have already been informed that EVERY Catholic Hospital In America Will Simply Close It's Doors. Hundreds of thousands will be affected out of intolerance for the Catholic Faith. Who, it must be said, never had to open these Hospitals in the first place.

Come on, I know someone will find a way to insult them for something.