Tiger’s path to redemption

I was speechless (or sputtering) last night, when Eric played this clip for me of Brit Hume urging Tiger to become a Christian.

Fortunately brighter minds like Mark Silk are more articulate. He had this to say:

Buddhism seriously practiced would actually seem to be a pretty good way to recover from the need to have sex with whatever strikes your fancy. Central to that faith are the Four Noble Truths, which stress the importance of overcoming trishna--literally "thirst," but also translated as desire, clinging, greed, craving, or lust. Item 4 on Buddhism's Eightfold Path is "right action," defined as abstaining from hurtful behaviors, such as killing, stealing, and careless sex.

But then, Hume might also have suggested that Tiger embrace Judaism, where teschuvah is the prescribed means of returning to God. Or Islam, where repentance (at-tawbah) is an important part of the Hajj. Come to think of it, Christianity makes the whole business of forgiveness and redemption a good deal more complicated than other faiths, what with its endless fussing over the mechanism of grace. Even as we speak, the Southern Baptists are busy contesting resurgent Calvinism in their midst.

But perhaps what Hume had in mind by way of total recovery and exemplariness was the sort of turn to Christianity that helped many a felon get pardoned by Mike Huckabee when he was governor of Arkansas. Make a public acknowledgment of Jesus and you will be redeemed in the eyes of the American public, and maybe even your corporate sponsors. That's the kind of forgiveness that Buddhism doesn't offer.</blockquote>