Below is an excerpt from  Barbra O’ Brien’s Blog on Buddhism – Barb’s words were a bit twisted by the Family Research Council to defend Brit “If It Ain’t Christian…It’s Crap” Hume.  It’s a good read.

Today I was disappointed to learn that the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian organization, has quoted from my “Let’s Forgive Brit Hume” post to “prove” the superior forgiveness/redemption power of Christianity over Buddhism.  Peter Sprigg of the FRC writes,

Has Brit Hume slandered Buddhists by mischaracterizing their theology? Not really. Barbara O’Brien, author of “Barbara’s Buddhism Blog,” admits, “Mr. Hume is right, in a sense, that Buddhism doesn’t offer redemption and forgiveness in the same way Christianity does. Buddhism has no concept of sin; therefore, redemption and forgiveness in the Christian sense are meaningless in Buddhism.”

From here, Mr. Sprigg proceeds to slander Buddhism by mischaracterizing our “theology.”

Read the rest of this entry

so I’m not naïve enough to believe that Fox news or  Brit Hume are likely to issue an apology to the world’s Buddhists.  I mean there is only about 1.5 billion.  So it’s not like he really offended anybody.  I wonder if we would have experienced the same non-reaction if Mr. Hume had suggested that it was time for Tiger Woods to let go of his Jewish faith?  Not likely. And one can only imagine the uproar in the radical Islamic community over such a pronunciation.  But Buddhism by its very nature is ripe for just such a dismissive attitude.  Buddhism is so focused on the self, we often forget that the true purpose of religion is to force it unsolicited on others who don’t share our views.  That’s what it’s really all about…right?

Brit Hume seems to be ready to offer Tiger Woods a “get out of Hell free card.”  All just for signing up to endorse Christianity. I’d offer Tiger this thought…

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”

-  Buddha

Related articles about the Woods-Hume Controversy

• Fox sorts out all Tiger’s problems (dvorak.org)
• Michael Sigman: The Gospel According to Brit Hume (huffingtonpost.com)
• Hume Claims He’s not Proselytizing While Still Proselytizing (videocafe.crooksandliars.com)

Loved Barb O’ Brien’s (About.com) take on the Brit Hume comment about Tiger’s need to convert to Christianity in order to find salvation.  You can read it here.  I’ve always admired Tiger’s golf game…but man oh man did he screw up.  I’m not sure any faith is ready to take on the task of clearing his name.  That’s a pretty tall order.  I think he’ll just have to wait it out and hope for a scandal of biblical proportions.

Related articles

• Brit Hume has some advice for Tiger Woods (tvsquad.com)
• Telling Tiger Woods to Become Christian is ‘Not Proselytizing’: Brit Hume [Proselytizing] (gawker.com)
• Convert to Christianity and Receive a Complimentary “Get Out of Adultery Free Card” (slog.thestranger.com)