“Christians have had their wings clipped in our politically correct world”, the new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has warned.
Dr Ivan Patterson also highlighted the recent case of a Christian GP in England who discussed his faith with a patient and is facing disciplinary action.
Dr Patterson made the comments in a speech as he was installed as Moderator in Belfast last week.
Consequences
He said: “We’ve seen how a Margate doctor, Richard Scott is before the Medical Council because he spoke to a patient of his faith.
“Now he may have to pay the consequences which he says he is willing to do and so may we if we are to be faithful to the Lord’s commission.”
Faith
The case of Dr Scott made headlines last month when the General Medical Council claimed that by talking about Christianity he distressed one of his patients, and risked bringing the medical profession into disrepute. He is being represented by the Christian Legal Centre.
Dr Scott said: “I only discussed mutual faith after obtaining the patient’s permission. In our conversation, I said that personally, I had found having faith in Jesus helped me and could help the patient.
“At no time did the patient indicate that they were offended, or that they wanted to stop the discussion. If that had been the case, I would have immediately ended the conversation.”