FOX News political commentator Brit Hume shocked some people over the weekend by offering the following advice to golfing legend Tiger Woods:
The extent to which he (Woods) can recover (from his extramarital affairs) seems to me depends on his faith. He is 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. 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.”
Not surprisingly, public reaction was swift, mixed and spirited. Rejecting calls to apologize, the popular pundit appeared the next day on the O’Reilly Factor and elaborated even further. When Bill O’Reilly replayed the comments and asked him if was proselytizing, Hume disagreed.
I don’t think so. I mean, look, Tiger Woods is somebody I’ve always rooted for as a golfer 
and as a man. I greatly admired him over the years, and I always have said to people it was the content of his character that made him, beyond his extraordinary golf skills, so admirable.
Now we know that the content of his character was not what we thought it was. He is paying a frightful price for these revelations. I – my sense is that he has basically lost his family, and there’s a lot of talk about the endorsements he’s lost. But that pales, I suspect, in his mind, with what he’s lost otherwise.
And my sense about Tiger is that he needs something that Christianity, especially, provides and gives and offers. And that is redemption and forgiveness. And I was – I was really meaning to say in those comments yesterday more about Christianity than I was about anything else. I mentioned the Buddhism only because his mother is a Buddhist and he has apparently said that he is a Buddhist. I’m not sure how seriously he practices that.
But I think – I think that the – Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs.
I found Brit’s comments not only remarkable, but remarkably refreshing. Beyond the fact that Mr. Hume is paid to offer his opinion on the events of the day, the FOX News commentator speaks with a deep sense of personal conviction and enjoys a faith that was strengthened through personal tragedy.
In 1998, Brit’s son, journalist Sandy Hume, committed suicide. Brit recently spoke quite movingly on the impact of the loss on his willingness to share the Christian faith:
I want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I’m not claiming it’s impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died, I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it’s a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you’re not really living it.
I’d like to tip my hat to Brit for so openly exhibiting such a sincere spirit of personal conviction on a national stage. In his courage lies a lesson for all of us. When it comes to telling others about Jesus Christ, the words of the late Canadian writer/clergyman, Basil King, ring true:
“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”
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