Christian physicians don’t have to look very far for an example of what to do about this.
Jesus was a healer. He touched people that would make him unclean.
Or he healed people on the Sabbath to the chagrin of his religious authorities. Time and time again throughout the gospels you find him touching people in order to heal them when such an act would violate his religious laws.
I spent part of my early ministry as a chaplain. When someone is trained to be a hospital chaplain the stated goal is to meet the spiritual needs of the patient without them knowing what the chaplain’s religious beliefs are.
The physical well-being of the patient should be the physician’s primary responsibility without judgment or imposition of a particular religious point of view. Should a doctor find that to be a dilemma she or he should refer the patient to another physician whose religious convictions do not get in the way of patient care.
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