I don't know what to make of cases like this

I don't know what to make of cases like this: "Christian sex therapist 'refused to counsel gay couples' " - and lost his job as a result. The man's job adds an extra twist, I suppose. What makes someone a Christian sex therapist? What should I make of his having qualified in psycosexual counselling? How deep did his morals run anyway: did he also refuse to counsel those "living in sin" (according to the phraseology of a previous generation) or only same-gendered couples? But those questions are a distraction.

A big part of me says that society is entitled to decide what constitutes discrimination, and which kinds trump which other kinds. If someone's Christian convictions convince them that some things are beyond the pale, and the wider community decides that those convictions are beyond the pale, well, the society wins. Many Christians do seem to come across as barmy, and intent on championing all the wrong causes. But Chrisitians are called to live Godly lives, and if that means being "persecuted", so be it - Paul said as much to Timothy.

But this occasions two further questions, of course: is it Godly to refuse aid to (in this case) gay couples? Christians will differ about that, but this man's mind is made up, clearly.

Looked at another way, though, should Christians simply retreat from things that "society" says are no-go areas? That doesn't seem very salty. I probably regret that this particular guy's case has gone all the way to a tribunal. But in general it seems good to keep asking questions about what is right: you can have all the abstract principles of freedom you like, but there's nothing like the interactions between real people in real cases to test them.