Hume's Assessment Of Tiger Woods Affairs Is Right On Target

Jillian Bandes | January 05, 2010 4:19 PM

Brit Hume stirred the pot with this assessment of Tiger Woods affairs:

Whether he can recover as a person depends on his faith. He’s said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, “Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

Melissa Clouthier has compiled a list of responses, mostly critical of Hume's take. One critic complained that Hume "publicly" anointed himself "someone’s spiritual adviser," and another said that Hume's "knowledge of Buddhism leaves enough to be desired that he probably shouldn't opine thereon."

Clouthier responds:

There was a time when discussing one’s Christian faith may have been less controversial, but I don’t know. Even fifty years ago, there would have been a presumption that people would view Tiger Woods’ actions as immoral and a sign that he had some sort of emptiness in his life. Back in the day, such wanton infidelity was simply not spoken of publicly. It would be too shameful. Now the media spreads every sort of salacious detail of a celebrity’s life, and everyone is free to comment. Why should there not be a comment on his faith, too?

Those who ridicule someone looking at an issue through the lens of faith are probably the ones most in need of that lens themselves.