By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (BosNewsLife)– A British family doctor on Tuesday, May 24, defended suggesting faith in Jesus Christ to a patient last year despite facing disciplinary action and concerns he could lose his job.
“After doing the standard medicine I said to him: ‘Look there is something else that could help you here’,”explained Dr. Richard Scott, 50, in an interview. Dr. Scott said he told the patient, “If you like we can discuss and have faith and that could be an advantage to you in this case, and could help you move forward and give you some hope for the future.”
The Cambridge-educated doctor, who works at Christian-oriented Bethesda Medical Center in Margate, Kent, stressed he only discussed how his faith in Jesus had helped him “at the end of the consultation” — with the 24-year-old patient’s “consent”.
But the General Medical Council (GMC) said it is considering disciplinary action because the patient’s mother had complained about the faith discussion. The GMC made clear Dr. Scott risked bringing his profession into disrepute by discussing Christianity.
PERSONAL BELIEFS
The professional regulator’s chief executive, Niall Dickson, said doctors should not normally discuss their personal beliefs with patients “unless those beliefs are directly relevant to the patient’s care”.
Yet, Dr. Scott, who previously worked as a medical missionary and surgeon in Tanzania and India, said he would not accept the formal warning from the GMC and planned to appeal against the censure, although he was warned this could result in being dismissed.
The married father of three children said he saw it as his “obligation” to tell about his faith as his patient “has an awful lot of problems. And, the thing to know is that God loves us and that Jesus loves us.”
Dr, Scott said Christ “can deal with stuff from the past in terms of hurts or guilt or fear of failure, stuff that really you can only find through Christianity.” He said Jesus Christ understood patients as He had lived as a man on earth and suffered for the sins and problems of mankind by dying at a cross for them before His resurrection.
PATIENTS “HELPED”
Dr. Scott added that he had seen “hundreds of patients over the years really helped by giving their problems to Him.” Jesus Christ, Dr. Scott said, is often “the Only Way to deal with issues that standard Western medicines can not.”
Advocacy group Christian Legal Center told BosNewsLife it would support Dr. Scott in his legal battle. “It is a shame that Dr. Scott has been reported to the GMC because of his Christian views,” said its Chief Executive Officer Andrea Minichiello Williams. “The complaint, on religious grounds, appears to be a smokescreen to express frustration and to disagree publicly with the professional treatment offered.”
Williams said “Many patients are helped when a doctor, in the natural course of a discussion, talks about their spiritual needs. This is all Dr. Scott was doing and he should not be punished for this or prevented from doing so in the future.”
It comes amid several alleged cases of discrimination of Christians within Britain’s medical institutions. In one of the other published incidents last year, Christian nurse Shirley Chaplin, 54, was reportedly moved to a desk job after refusing to remove her crucifix.
Go, go, go Doc! That’s what following Jesus includes. I have no doubt you are a true disciple of the Lord…one that Follows Him, Fellowships with other Believers, and Fish for Souls…at home, at work, or at play…Blessings to you Doctor Scott….Brother Billy
I thought new medicine now has realized the importance of dealing with the spiritual aspect of a patient for that patient’s total healing or recovery. A good doctor must extend his treatment methods to any patient needing it.
What Dr Scott did was the best type of administering healing to a patient…
Good on you Dr. Scott. It’s a pity not more doctors do the same. It is a fact that we are made of 2 parts, physical and spiritual and you cannot attempt to heal one without the other. As a matter of fact when Jesus healed the physically impaired, he actually said to them ‘Go your sins are forgiven’ so that tells us the spirit needs healing too. Rest assured, Jesus will see you through this.
GET OFF OUR CASES CENSORSHIP MAD SOCIETY!!! People can’t even say they like the colour blue without some stupid organism saying their view might be offensive to smurfs! BUTT THE HECK OUT OF PEOPLE’S PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS ALREADY!!!
Acts 4:19,20 says it all. “But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.'”
DR RICHARD SCOTT MEDICAL PRACTICE IS A CHRISTIAN. SO ANY PATIENT SHOULD EXPECT SOME CHRISTIAN FAITH AID TO THEIR RECOVERY.
One needs to make a distinction between world view and institution. Religion is the institutionalization of a worldview. Secular, atheist, ‘biomechanistic’, or other like to profess to not being religious, but they do have a worldview and they do like to mold some institutions to their worldview. In this situation the General Medical Council is, in effect, a church and exercises influence and power the same way as other ‘religious’ institutions.
Makes me wonder. Would they respond the same way if he had discussed Mohammed any other religious historical figure? Another case of satan at work.
Hi there
Notice how its only the Chhritian Faith that gets persecuted -no one dare say anything about a mulim/hindu professional that may have religious sysmbols in their practices
You go for it Dr -until the World relises that all the troubles today are through not coming back to Lord Jesus Christ, repenting and turning from sin errrr thats a ‘dirty’ word as well mustn’t dent the little darlings precious ‘feelings’!
Dr. Scott, it’s a back-handed compliment from the Devil, that you are being an effective witness for Christ, and the General Medical Council had better seek out whether Jesus is really the Way, the Truth, and the Life, as they are currently Hell-bound for the Lake of Fire! We need to pray they have a change of heart – “GMC staff, your pride in your professional status and medical eliteness without Christ, has boxed you into a deception that will determine your eternity in a place so terrible, that you owe it to yourselves, while their is still time to find out if Christianity is really the meaning of Life ! Repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of your sins, for the “god” of this Age (Satan) has blinded your minds, so that you cannot see the glorious truth of the Gospel !”
I am so proud to hear this Dr. give this advice. I would love to have him for my Dr. He’s absolutely right in what advice he gave!
Charlie Solomon: well said. I find it logically inconsistent when someone states you cannot impose your views on others whilst simultaneously doing that themselves in that statement. As a practicing doctor myself, I find it rather strange that some demand me to do my work without my values whilst not imposing that on their own work.
Dr Scott – continue to do your work properly and don’t be swayed they those who can’t even see the illogical nature of their positions.
The angels recorded your actions in your book! The wicked will recieve their reward in the end.
Great to see the other few elect fervently defending the only ONE path faith against leaders whose Father is Satan. Jesus says it’s His way or the highway, in other words there is only one truth and one way as written in the Canon of 66 books, all other paths lead to the eternal lake of fire. My wife and I enjoy sharing our faith on the streets of our city, we do it Ray Comfort style.
Dear Heavenly Father please bless Dr. Scott with more wisdom, knowledge, boldness and understanding to use for Your Glory, amen.:)
So happy to see the gospel alive and well in England, my home country. Here in the U.S.A., professionals are going through the same religious discrimination, especially teachers in public schools and institutions of higher education. I commend the doctor for addressing the issues of the whole person, physical and spiritual. Our mental mindset has so much to do with our physical, that is a fact. to address the physical, the mental and spiritual have to be included too. The doctor will come out fine and if it doesn’t, then the Lord is opening another door where he can be used even more effectively. Jesus only needs to see our obedience and the doctor was doing that. I pray for his continued witness.
I Know in my heart that if you do not STAND FOR GOD. You will FALL for anything. JESUS CHRIST, WILL CARE FOR HIS OWN.
How can He be in trouble ? You are not allowed to talk about religion and so as it should be religion has caused more death in this world than anything else. Every time there is a war man says in gods name etc.
Christ spent His ministry preaching against religion so as we could have a Faith. Religion is by mans own work He enters Heaven and Faith is by the work of another we gain access.
As long as the law 10 commandments was used as scripture says Law of the Lord converts the Soul , the sinners is contrite of Heart Broken over his sin then the Law has done its job as scripture clearly says the law is our school master to lead us to Christ. The the Grace of Christ can be preached. Never in scripture will a proud or unbroken person ever be given Grace you will not find it anywhere.
If you are saved then you have already been given the call . . .Go forth and spread the gospel to every living creature.
More need to stand up and realize that its OK to obey the law of this world . . . example give unto ceaser what is ceasers give unto God what is Gods.
But when it goes against Gods will for us and laws go against what scripture says then we stand for the word of God and not of this world.
God first above all other things. If you don’t then as Christ says He who puts his hand back to the plough is not worthy of me.
Be counted worthy on that day for righteous only delivers from death , and note many will say Lord Lord on that day , He will say depart from me ye workers or iniquity I never knew you.
Note the Lord Lord theses are people who claimed to know Christ as they cried Lord Lord all there days even before Him. Iniquity = Lawlessness , only the ones who do the will of the Father are entering in .
Narrow is the way and as you walk with Christ that way gets narrower as your Faith in Christ get stronger more will you see you cant do for it offends God.
Broad way you will see they willingly enter in as it says and notice that also the narrow way to eternal life it says there are few that find it .
I suggest people would spend more time studding to be approved of God and not approved of man , more churches are interested in amount of people not the fruit that the person bares for Christ for only these things in Faith will not be consumed by fire and present you with you crowns of Glory.
Woe unto all scripture says who preach another Gospel . . . and its being preached in the Church today and has been for many years make your own calling election sure now while you can .
No one is promised another breath be sure . . .
It is really good to see my brother standing up for the truth. There are alot of believers today that feels intimidated by society and are scared to stand up for Jesus.
These last days are truly going to be very difficult, so only those who truly had a real experience with Jesus will be able to stand up for him. Today even pastors in the churches are afraid to speak the truth because they are afraid of the people.
Remember what our lord said that if we are afraid to stand up for him down here then he won’t stand up for us when Judgement day comes and we stand before God the father.
I too suffered a disciplinary hearing and a formal warning that I would lose my job if, I spoke to my clients about my faith in Jesus. This too was an alleged christian organisation, Burnside Homes in Sydney, whose mission statement claimed the faith, in words only. My boss at the time said that only when raising funds from the public would the mission statement be applied. I left as they brought ‘new age’ chanting to the kids groups and refused to see this as a religion in itself. I think all these humanistic rules are leading to even greater persecution of christians in the days to come….Blessed are those who are persecuted for my names sake…said Jesus…Keep the faith Doc, great will be your rewards….
When I hear stories like that I wonder where are all that millions of so called “born again” Christians, all that worshipers of eternal God and our Father. Since I realised the strong poison of our postmodern world makes trusting to Jesus just a “view” I also realised that as Christians we have resposibility for our message to world we have given the last 50 years (at least). I think it is very important that spiritual rebirth it is not a subject we can handle by ourselves. It is something that comes from Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. Of course our heart is looking for an answer against death, asks for salvation, our spirit asks for peace with God but no one can open the door of heaven by itself. We can wait, out from the door knocking it, but nothing else. The sign on paper of heavenly adoption comes from God. All that authority that we gave to people (as preachers for many years) “say a prayer and you are child of God” is fake. We prepared thousands of people all over the world who think they are saved but Lord not recognise them. Now we have the problem to not have real brothers and sisters in Christ to stand before God and pray. To stand out in society and defend and proclaim our faith. I remember that verse “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. (Ησ. 66:7,8)
Brother Scott I promise, I will be praying for you.
God bless you Dr Scott – submit to God and obey Him and bring in more of the kingdom of God. Jesus brings life!
What a blessing you are Dr Scott, keep up your great work of God. You are truly an inspiration. I had a docotor who claimed to be a follower of Christ but at the same time subscribed me with every phycotic drug you can think of. Through following Christ i didnt need one of them. Its so easy for some Doctors just to sit at their desk and write out prescriptions. No wonder Big Pharma is a billion dollar industry.