Nurse offering a prayer = suspension

[MSTRS:Me]

Still don't see how 'inappropriate' comes into it.
Perhaps if the nurse, who knows that fresh urine is a very good anti-bacterial, offered to piss on the old lady's leg before bandaging it...now that might be inappropriate

[Badjelly]

Still don't see how 'inappropriate' comes into it.
Perhaps if the nurse, who knows that fresh urine is a very good anti-bacterial, offered to piss on the old lady's leg before bandaging it...now that might be inappropriate

Do you want me to pray for you?

That sort of inappropriate.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Still don't see how 'inappropriate' comes into it.
Perhaps if the nurse, who knows that fresh urine is a very good anti-bacterial, offered to piss on the old lady's leg before bandaging it...now that might be inappropriate

usually I have to pay extra for that service from a woman in a nurses uniform.

worth every penny though.

[jrandom]

I am a secular humanist and find your reference to your invisible friends offensive.

I am an atheist and find your candy-arsed self-labelling somewhat philosophically unsatisfying.



Seriously, though, I do support the idea of disciplinary measures against people in professional care positions who attempt to impose their delusions of the supernatural upon patients.

If anyone ever offered to 'pray for me', they'd get a verbal kicking that they'd remember for months. It is good to fight against the evil that results from the abandonment of reason.

[Ixion]

In fairness she is a devil worshiper and had cut the throat of 8 stoats as a sacrifice. Apparently the issue was that OSH found the blood on the floor a slip hazard.

No weasels? A weasel is a much more satisfactory sacrifice. I wouldn't have much faith in someone who only sacrificed stoats. I wonder WHO she was going to pray to.

Of course , a Christian should know that it is unnecessary to SAY that you are going to pray for someone. Just do it. I pray for many people, but I have seldom bothered to tell them so.

[Badjelly]

Of course , a Christian should know that it is unnecessary to SAY that you are going to pray for someone.

But, what if God doesn't exist? Then praying for someone will have no effect unless you tell that person.

[MSTRS:Me]

I've been told that even if I/you don't believe in God, He/She/It believes in me/you.
Where's the harm, anyway?

[MisterD]

No argument there.

Maybe "inappropriate" is the term I might have used (though Ms Phippen used "strange"). Unfortunately, "inappropriate" (like "unsafe") has been devalued recently by ... inappropriate use.

I don't think I'd go much further than "quaint" or "old-fashioned" myself.

[Badjelly]

I've been told that even if I/you don't believe in God, He/She/It believes in me/you.

I see your point, but I think there is a potential flaw in the argument.

Where's the harm, anyway?

In someone praying for me without telling me? None at all in my opinion. Ditto for someone cursing me or making a tiny effigy of me and sticking pins in it.

In someone offering to pray for me? It would depend on the context, but I would generally find it a little inappropriate/strange/quaint. It's not something I would expect or appreciate from a nurse, or a hairdresser, or an accountant.

[MSTRS:Me]

But why? If it's all hogwash, what effect will a prayer have on you? Or if it's not, are you worried that you will have to change your opinion of an 'existence'?

[zadok]

Huge overreaction. She offered to pray for the old chook in the privacy of her own home. It was politely declined. She didn't push her beliefs on her. No complaint was made. Then dobbed in by a third party! End of story.
Just another story of bureaucracy gone mad, yet again.

[Badjelly]

But why? If it's all hogwash, what effect will a prayer have on you? Or if it's not, are you worried that you will have to change your opinion of an 'existence'?

I'm not at all worried about being exposed to information that will change my opinions. It's a little hard for me to envisage how someone claiming to pray for me would lead to this, but anyone who wants to try, go ahead, knock yourselves out.

What is wrong with someone asking me if I want them to pray for me? (And bear in mind I have described it only as mildly inappropriate, odd or strange, not as offensive or a gross violation of my rights, etc.) Good question. I guess because in this situation politeness requires me to answer, which I don't like. You'd think a simple "No thank you" would be OK, but it does seem a bit ungrateful. As they say in the shops, "please do not ask for credit as a polite refusal often offends". It's a bit like when strangers phone me at 7 pm wanting to sell me something and ask "How are you?". I feel strangely reluctant to say "Fine". What I want to say (and sometimes do) is "That's no business of yours." But that's kind of rude. So I just pause for a few seconds and ask them what they want.

What is wrong with a stranger asking me if I want them to pray for me? Tt's presumptuous.

None of this applies to people I know well. I do have friends and family who are religious, but I don't recall any offering to pray for me. If any did, I would explain that I don't really mind, but I don't believe in the power of prayer. Or something.

[Badjelly]

Seriously, though, I do support the idea of disciplinary measures against people in professional care positions who attempt to impose their delusions of the supernatural upon patients.

Huge overreaction. She offered to pray for the old chook in the privacy of her own home. It was politely declined. She didn't push her beliefs on her. No complaint was made. Then dobbed in by a third party! End of story. Just another story of bureaucracy gone mad, yet again.

Your turn I think, Mr jrandom. I've retreated to the sidelines on this one.

[jrandom]

Huge overreaction. She offered to pray for the old chook in the privacy of her own home. It was politely declined.

If I, in that nurses position, offered to perform oral sex on the old chook and it was 'politely declined', do you think this would have been a 'huge overreaction'?

Absolutely not. You would be horrified.

Ah, but you say, offering sexual services and offering to perform a religious ritual are two different things.

But are they?

It's not about whether it was 'pushed' on someone or not; it's about the potential offensiveness of the offer itself.

Religion has done great harm throughout history, and the arrogant assumption of many 'believers' that their fantasies are automatically relevant to others is the usual underlying reason for the harm.

Any healthcare professional displaying that particular arrogant assumption toward patients in their care deserves strong censure, as does any healthcare professional who arrogantly assumes that their patients want sexual services from them. Both attitudes are highly unprofessional and highly offensive to many people.

[Slyer]

She shouldn't have gotten in trouble but she shouldn't have offered either.

You'd think though that the nurse would learn that prayer doesn't work after seeing so many people die in her care. (assumption)