Brit Hume's Advice to Tiger Woods: "Turn to Christianity"

During this week's regularly scheduled evening edition of "Fox News Sunday", notable Fox senior political analyst Brit Hume weighed in on the controversial scandals surrounding pro golfer Tiger Woods by suggesting the allegedly Buddhist sportsman "turn to Christianity." Hume noted that "Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person is a very open question."

Woods, 34, continues to endure negative media coverage after confirmed rumors of his multiple affairs. The legendary golfer recently announced his plans to take a hiatus from the sport and admitted that he was unfaithful to his wife, according to the Associated Press.

Hume believes Woods' recovery depends heavily on his faith. "He is said to be a Buddhist," commented Hume. "[But] 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.'"

Woods, who recently lost several of his multi-million dollar sponsors and endorsements, admitted to Reuters in 2008 that he does "practice meditation." He also added, "In the Buddhist religion, you have to work for it yourself, internally, in order to achieve anything in life and set up the next life. It's all about what you do."

In a Monday night guest appearance on Fox News' "The O'Reily Factor," Hume admitted he has received several letters regarding his comments about Woods, many of which have condemned him for his remarks and even accused him of belittling the Buddhist faith.

Hume denied accusations of proselytizing and told host Bill O'Reily, "Tiger Woods is somebody I've always rooted for as a golfer and as a man. I've greatly admired him over the years and I've always said to people that it was the content of his character that made him [...] so admirable. Now we know that the content of his character was not what we thought it was."

He added that, "Jesus Christ offers something that Tiger Woods badly needs."

Hume, previously divorced and now married to Fox News Vice President Kim Schiller Hume, lost a son to suicide in February 1998. Ten years later, during his 2008 departure from the Fox News segment "Special Report," he commented on the impact his son's death had on his faith.

"I want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done," said Hume. "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."

During his talk with O'Reily, Hume concluded by noting that a conversion to Christianity by Woods would be so noticeable that it would "shine through in his being" and would be "a magnificent thing to witness."

©2010 Joshua D. Givens & The Underground Christian E-Magazine

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