Howdy, gang!


Being a conservative in the field of clinical psychology or any the liberal arts is much like being a Roman Christian in 87 C.E.

We haven't seen this level of persecution since Martin Luther placed his post-it notes on a church door in Germany.

I can't imagine how Christians in academia do it. If you're a Mechanical Engineering or Patrolum Engineering prof you can stick to the curriculum I'd imagine. But biology can get tricky and Liberal Arts is a mind field.

Eventually you will be forced to say, "Sorry guys, I can't do that," And then all the heads turn to you and the temperature drops 20 degrees.

"WHY exactly can't, you do that, John/Jane?"

As a therapist I've been forced to clarify my counseling practice as being Christian based in fairness to potential clients. It has ostracized me from the mainstream clinical community.


I don't try to convert gays to heterosexuality, I'm not immune to profanity, I don't necissarily try to push unmarried parents to get married, I sometimes endorse divorce as an option and I'm very sympathetic to the plight of transgender clients.

But I'm also direct about what scripture says and the consequences we face from ignoring God's strategies for our lives.

Yet, being affiliated with Christianity has certainly hurt me among those in the predominantly secular clinical therapy community. Sometimes it's direct hostility, but usually its,

"Oh..." and then the polite, subtle brush off.

You don't even have to be vocal or adversarial, just BEING a Christian or a conservative is all they need to know - they'll fill in the blanks on their own.

I'm not asking for advice, and I DON'T mean to sound like a whiner. Christ was up front about the world hating us.

I'm asking has anyone else felt the Jesus blowback in these insane times? Particularly since 2016?

What have your experiences been?

How do you REALLY handle it (beyond prayer and Christian fellowship)?

Has it cost you anything?

Do you fear for your job?

Honesty is appreciated.

Gig'em

Never mind. As I'm not in academia or the social sciences, I'll stay out of this.

As a former academician, all I can offer is prayer and encouragement. Maybe there is a society of Christian psychologists?

While tangentially related to the topic:

A few weeks ago my church had our quarterly men's night. During the "message" portion my pastor pointed at one of the elders in our church, a man who had been in our church since nearly the beginning who had recently retired from a career working as an engineer in a major defense contractor. He had been employed at this company for nearly his entire career, rising through the ranks to finally retire at a pretty high level (I forget his title). Our pastor speculated that in the near future it may be increasingly difficult for Christians to rise through organizations due to the growth of anti-christian sentiment and bias in the culture at large. He recommended that we begin to think of starting our own businesses instead, going so far to say that the school that is associated with the church will begin including courses on entrepreneurship starting in junior high.

AstroAg17 said:

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Why is biology tricky?

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I was wondering the same.

I'm not in academia, but I remember it coming up in my training. One of our attendings who did OB was also a practicing ordained Baptist minister. A patient came in and requested an abortion. He declined. She asked for a referral and he again declined, and he told her should could google it or look it up in the phone book. I'm sure he tried to dissuade her as well, but that wasn't the part of the story that came out. Anyway, a more liberal resident witnessed this interaction and filed a complaint, saying that he had a professional obligation to refer her to someone who would perform the abortion. It was a big deal for him apparently, but he never budged.

Luckily I haven't run into any of that yet. My faith and opinions are pretty well-known in my community, so people wanting that don't come to me.

I'm curious, do you believe you should be able to practice what you say without telling your patients before hand that you use your religion in your therapy?

Every academic has their biases. The goal is to acknowledge them and work around them. I think part of the problem some people have in academic disciplines is the application of extreme skepticism to almost any topic or belief.

schmendeler said:

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AstroAg17 said:

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Why is biology tricky?

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I was wondering the same.

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Most biologists don't believe in God. They believe in Science. Carl Sagan, Steven Hawkings, Albert Einstein... there is no empirical evidence of God.

If you can't measure it using he 5 senses AND scientific method then it's not real. So God's not real. He's really just our emotional crutch because life is too hard for our feeble minds.

The scientific community believe we're harmless, but superstitious buffoons that think the earth is 6 thousand years old and that dinosaur bones are a left-wing conspiracy.

Serious question; do you 2 guys live in a tree? Be honest.

Even at A&M, once you hit upper level science classes the atheist gloves come off and your professors will often look for Christian students to pick a part.

Why?

They're bullies for one, but also because they know the mass majority of Evangelical students are sheltered, insecure and have only skimed the interesting parts of the Bible. They're utterly unprepared. They're easy pickings because reciting the lyrics to your favorite Praise and Worship song is not scholarly rhetoric.

Timothy said, don't get involved in pointless arguments. No sophomore biochemistry student EVER converted their published PhD professor with their personal testimony. EVER.

You button your lip, learn the material and you allow Christ's Spirit to guide your understanding through prayer, reading God's word daily - even the boring parts and finding a Christian mentor in your field of study.


Anyway... yeah.

We've been at hostile odds with science geeks since The Inquisition tortured Copernicus into recanting his claim that the Earth revolved around the the Sun.

Did you mean to say Physicist instead of Biologists?

Given the 3 you mentioned, I think that's what you meant.

AgLiving06 said:

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Did you mean to say Physicist instead of Biologists?

Given the 3 you mentioned, I think that's what you meant.

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Well I double majored in biology so I meant biology, but I couldn't think of any biologists.

Darwin, but he was in fact Christian and it was the God-haters crowd that hijacked his famous theory, slapped a capital "E" on "evolution" and turned good science into a far-fetched, thin ideology without true answers to what initialized the Big Boom or catalyzed the orginal cell Single Cell Theory.

For Evolutionists, by the way, it was never about beakers and microscopes. It may have started off as placing God in the same category ast the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny. But it's roots lie in this: "its all good". Sleep with your boss' wife, steal a car, cheat on your taxes, pee in the pool - it's all good because there is no Judgement Day.

So, yeah, I used physicists because who cares about Jane Goodall?

PaulSimonsGhost said:

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AgLiving06 said:

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Did you mean to say Physicist instead of Biologists?

Given the 3 you mentioned, I think that's what you meant.

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Well I double majored in biology so I meant biology, but I couldn't think of any biologists.

Darwin, but he was in fact Christian and it was the God-haters crowd that hijacked his famous theory, slapped a capital "E" on "evolution" and turned good science into a far-fetched, thin ideology without true answers to what initialized the Big Boom or catalyzed the orginal cell Single Cell Theory.

For Evolutionists, by the way, it was never about beakers and microscopes. It may have started off as placing God in the same category ast the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny. But it's roots lie in this: "its all good". Sleep with your boss' wife, steal a car, cheat on your taxes, pee in the pool - it's all good because there is no Judgement Day.

So, yeah, I used physicists because who cares about Jane Goodall?

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But you haven't mentioned Darwin until now.

Your previous post mentioned Carl Sagan, Steven Hawkings, Albert Einstein.

PaulSimonsGhost said:

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AgLiving06 said:

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Did you mean to say Physicist instead of Biologists?

Given the 3 you mentioned, I think that's what you meant.

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Well I double majored in biology so I meant biology, but I couldn't think of any biologists.

Darwin, but he was in fact Christian and it was the God-haters crowd that hijacked his famous theory, slapped a capital "E" on "evolution" and turned good science into a far-fetched, thin ideology without true answers to what initialized the Big Boom or catalyzed the orginal cell Single Cell Theory.

For Evolutionists, by the way, it was never about beakers and microscopes. It may have started off as placing God in the same category ast the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny. But it's roots lie in this: "its all good". Sleep with your boss' wife, steal a car, cheat on your taxes, pee in the pool - it's all good because there is no Judgement Day.

So, yeah, I used physicists because who cares about Jane Goodall?

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Darwin wasn't a Christian. He harbored doubts all his life and is best described as agnostic. And his theory has only gotten stronger over time. His original theory lacked our grasp of genetics, so I'm curious what you think is bad science in current evolutionary theory? Especially since Darwin and other evolutionary biologists weren't and aren't looking at the Big Bang or abiogenesis.

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Being a conservative in the field of clinical psychology or any the liberal arts is much like being a Roman Christian in 87 C.E.

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I can't speak to academia, but this comment seems a bit ridiculous. First, given the context of your post, you seem to conflate "conservative" and "Christian". Those have nothing to do with each other. Second, Christians, under Rome, were being imprisoned and executed. Missing out on promotions, or not being respected in your field, isn't remotely the same.

Also, do you approach your nonbelieving coworkers with the contempt you seem to have for them in your posts? Do they know you for your love for them, or your contempt for them? I don't believe our Lord needs us to defend Him, but instead He wants us to be a faithful and loving witness to Him. He wants us to be known for our love, even for our enemies.

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We haven't seen this level of persecution since Martin Luther placed his post-it notes on a church door in Germany.

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You should read up on the persecution of the Orthodox church under communist rule in the Soviet Union. You'll see how wrong this statement is. Christians in North Korea and China would also like a word.

I do feel for the stress you're feeling though, and will certainly pray that the Spirit will give you the words to use when necessary. I used to work in a job that was largely non-Christian, so I get, to some degree, the pressures you're facing. It can feel overwhelming at times, and you are probably handling it better than I did. Peace, to you, brother.

Psst

This:

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We've been at hostile odds with science geeks since The Inquisition tortured Copernicus into recanting his claim that the Earth revolved around the the Sun.

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Has so much wrong with it I don't even know where to start. I hope you were being facetious.

If not, this is a great read:
http://tofspot.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-great-ptolemaic-smackdown.html?m=1

The Babylon Bee agrees with the OP that life is much harder today than it was

hhttps://babylonbee.com/news/study-average-american-now-complains-more-in-a-week-than-people-living-through-the-black-plague-did-their-entire-lives/

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Studies backup Maxwell, as there are recorded only a handful of common complaints from the 14th century such as large boils, lack of food, and everyone dying. In the present day, though, there are thousands of things people complain about daily poor cell service, traffic jams, unripe avocados, obesity, favorite TV shows being canceled problems no one six hundred years ago had to deal with at all.

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Oh man. I can't stop laughing. That may be their best work ever.