Comments on: Christian nurse Petrie’s problem was a pickle of her own making

By: john tate

john tate — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:44:24 +0000

What a foul mouthed bunch so many of you atheists are,is it because you sawdust for brains or because the Christians you hate so much dont actually dislike you but try to love you ,is that what sticks in your throat or is it because they,ve seen you off so many times before and look as if they will again.?

By: Richard T

Richard T — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:42:08 +0000

If Ms. Petrie is so convinced that prayer works then why doesn’t she just do it – without asking for the patient’s consent? I am sure that, like most christians, she is frequently asked by her clergy to pray for strangers, in disastrous situations of one sort or another, without their express consent.

Perhaps she is deluded enough to believe that her prayers are such an effective treatment that she needs ‘informed consent’ such as is needed by medical practioners for surgery or drug treatments. More likely I feel is that she gets some sort of personal kick out of the image of piety and saintliness she feels the offer to pray gives her.

By: Stuart H.

Stuart H. — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:03:58 +0000

Have to say, an alarm bell went off in my head when I saw this story and that it appeared in the Daily Mail.
As I recall, there’s a Christian PR agent who’s done a lot of work for folk like the LCF who seems to be making a steady living selling these stories to the Mail, Telegraph and Times, having identified a niche market. Can’t recall his name off-hand, but he has definitely been linked to the extraordinary amount of instant coverage the BA employee, civil registrar and Bristol counsellor got before their cases even reached tribunals.
More interestingly, wonder does he split the cash with anyone else, and would that explain why the ‘victims’ only seem to talk to media who are known to pay handsomely for interviews?

By: Barry Duke

Barry Duke — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 10:40:44 +0000

Ed, here is the link you requested:
http://www.ahjonline.com/artic.....6/abstract

By: Ed Haz

Ed Haz — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 10:21:34 +0000

“A recent large-scale scientific study into the effects of intercessory prayer,”

Anyone got a link to the study itself? Not that I doubt Doc Stovold’s sources, but I have friends on other chatrooms who do!

Also, Alun, you may not legally make an employment decision based on someones faith… At least not directly. If you can justify it by saying “Their faith was causing them to behave in such and such a way, which was detrimental”, then there shouldn’t be any problems.

By: Charles Brecknell

Charles Brecknell — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:23:27 +0000

Immediately after I had my operation for tongue cancer, the hospital chaplain poked his head around the door, hoping to save a soul. He probably thought I was in the medical equivalent of a foxhole. As I couldn’t speak at the time, I just wrote “atheist” on my writing pad, & I was mightily pleased to see him piss off with a confused look on his face. It certainly aided my recovery, but not in the way he thought… If enough people do this sort of thing maybe we will wear them down…

By: Alun

Alun — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:03:00 +0000

Stupid cow. Her bosses told her to shut up and she didn’t. It’s a simple disciplinary matter.

I’ve said this before. I wouldn’t employ someone I thought was religious.

If she preached at me I could walk away. If you’re bedbound it’s not so easy. I’m sure a religious patient (or their carer) would have mentioned their spiritual needs to Mother Theresa.

By: Proxy War Over… a Nurse? « Perpetual Dissent

Proxy War Over… a Nurse? « Perpetual Dissent — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:32:40 +0000

[...] War Over… a Nurse? There has been some noise about how a Christian nurse in the UK was suspended, at least temporarily, for offering to [...]

By: LD

LD — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:44:20 +0000

“Nurse, the pain is getting much worse!”

“Well bless my soul. Would you like me to sacrifice a goat?”

By: Me

Me — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:26:14 +0000

That’s certainly a refreshing read, but it’ll do no good. It’ll receive nowhere near the amount of attention that Petrie’s case did in the first place, so the overall effect will be the public seeing a woman being fired for her religious beliefs then being rightfully rehired after a moral campaign.

Which is highly annoying. There needs to be some way of getting these kinds of responses into the mainstream, whether it’s profitable or not.

On another note, this nurse looks disturbingly like Catherine Tate in that photo. I hate Catherine Tate.