Respected newscaster Brit Hume has jumped into the Tiger Woods fracas and offered up his advice about the golfer turning to Jesus Christ. Reject Buddhism, Hume advises, because it can't offer you the "kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith." That's Hume's recommendation for Tiger to redeem himself and become a "great example to the world."
In reality, if we study the world's cultures dating back thousands of years, the monogamous "Christian-type" marriage is only one of many examples. Polygamy, polygyny, polyandry and polyamory are the others - and these have been practiced in numerous of the world's cultures. So, what Hume really meant was that Woods could be a Christian example to the world, bringing with him the whole Christian conditioning, from accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior to promulgating monogamy as the only righteous type of relationship. As I have related, from an anthropological perspective monogamy is certainly not the only righteous type of relationship. It is merely anthropological ignorance, cultural conditioning and religious arrogance that allows for one to make such a pronouncement.
Tiger's mistake was in cheating, plain and simple, because he found himself in a monogamous relationship that he could not sustain. If he had been educated as to other types of relationships in other parts of the world dating back thousands of years, he may have made a different type of "contract" or arrangement for himself that he could have maintained and thereby kept his integrity intact. It's the deceit and dishonesty that are the problem, the hurting of others to whom you have committed, not the fact in itself that you are not monogamous. If Tiger had known himself better and realized the position he was in as a good-looking, popular and rich sports star, as well as how he could in fact make a different sort of arrangement - such as what is termed "polyamory," whereby all parties are adults and are consenting to love more than one person - his wife would not have been left in the dark while he snuck around and behaved badly towards her. Of course, when you factor kids into the equation, in this society even a polyamorous contract will likely not suffice to prevent them from being hurt by the harsh opinions of others. Still, in other cultures over the millennia people have managed to practice this variety of relationships with dignity and grace.
In any event, having their father lose even more self-respect by turning into a blubbering sinner begging for redemption in the eyes of the culturally biased god-father figure is hardly healthy for Tiger's children either. Again, his best bet would be to become educated to traditional relationships around the world and acknowledge that he is not only a universal member of the human race but a heterosexual man in a position that many envy and few would handle much differently. I agree with Hume that Tiger has a great opportunity to present an example to the world, but falling to his knees in surrender to an invisible bogeymen is not the answer. I also agree that Tiger should cast off his Buddhism - in favor of becoming a Buddha, a free agent who sets examples by his own enlightened dignity and morality, not by terrorized submission to cultural norms and biases.
D.M. Murdock is the author of controversial books and articles on comparative religion and mythology that can be found at Stellar House Publishing and Freethought Nation. For more articles from the Freethought Examiner, be sure to subscribe!
Comments
So, Fox news channel's Brit Hume thinks that Jesus, a man who had long hair, wore a dress, never married, surrounded himself with men & never had sex with a woman, is some sort of improvement? Really?
I cannot think of anything more gay than grown men dancing around singing the song, I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe
I think Tiger can do better. Brit Hume should just stick with Jesus though as that's probably as good as it gets for Brit.
Why am I not surprised that a FAUX Nooz anchor patronize national personalities in favor of Christian faith?
In a mature and truly free society, adults should have the freedom of choice forging a wide variety of agreements and commitments in personal intimacy. I say this as one who would encounter emotional insecurity in any arrangements outside of monogamy. But that is a personal issue. In the American reality of this time, the overt availability of multiple choices of many pursuits with no injured party are not well tolerated.
Monogamy isn't even that Biblical at all (it's tacitly implied, at best). In fact, Saint Augustine admits that Christians who weren't rabidly encratic adopted monogamy from the Romans in order to keep up the the joneses.
america - the home of the "brave" land of the "free"....well if you're a christian that is. always the same people pushing always the same doctrine.
The Christian concept of forgiveness of sins, either through asking and simple belief, or asking and pennance, supposedly wipes the slate clean. However, in doing so, there is nothing which prevents you from sinning again - essentially you can go into a cycle of sin and forgiveness until death (hopefully being on the forgiven side at that point).
Buddhism, on the other hand, requires actual change to take place, and that it continues over time - good karma overcoming the bad karma that has accumulated.
Caveat: everything above is oversimplified, but Buddhism will require Tiger to change, Christianity will forgive, but not require change.
For once, I'm pleased to see that the comments here are mostly quite supportive of your column, which is as good as they get. My only comment is to Peter Perfect; don't buy that bit that Jesus never married. That's part of Christain mythology. Jesus was a Jew, and Jews quite strongly disavowed celibacy. The view that he wore a dress, never had sex, never married, is as likely the truth as the cow jumped over the moon. Okay, let the outrage begin.... :)
Brit Hume is a bigot. If a Buddhist would've said something similar in regards to a famous person who was a Christian and needed to reject his or her faith and follow the path laid out by the Buddha that person would've been ostricized from the very start. This double standard is just one of the many reasons why I can't stand Fox news. I used to consider myself a conservative and a Republican but not anymore. It panders to the fundementalist branches of Christianity which is hostile towards others of different faiths.
As a 'polyamorous divine being', I recommend your suggestion as far superior than an obvious inability to communicate to another.
Tiger's looking for more that 'a hole in one' and a little more awareness and common sense will lead that way.
The Christian concept of forgiveness of sins, either through asking and simple belief, or asking and pennance, supposedly wipes the slate clean. However, in doing so, there is nothing which prevents you from sinning again - essentially you can go into a cycle of sin and forgiveness until death (hopefully being on the forgiven side at that point).
Buddhism, on the other hand, requires actual change to take place, and that it continues over time - good karma overcoming the bad karma that has accumulated.
Caveat: everything above is oversimplified, but Buddhism will require Tiger to change, Christianity will forgive, but not require change.
Buddhist ? Christian, Islam, all a load of BS just be a good atheist with moral values and let things take their course.
The best thing the author said was "if Tiger knew himself"! In every discussion I've had on this topic I've said that his self-knowledge, or the lack of it, is the major cause of this. He's been lying to himself most of all, denying his true self. He isn't the only wealthy man who spends time and money chasing women, and he won't be the last. Tiger, to thine own self, be true.
Oh, yeah - Brit Hume is a talking head, corporate shill for Faux Noise. Nothing he says surprises or educates anyone.
Thanks for your writing-D.M.Murdock. I write for examiner too but under the parenting channel. I'm glad I found your column and your links!!! GREAT STUFF-I am a fan or shall I say student.
Brit Hume telling Tiger to find Christianity is comical. Do people even think anymore? There are a lot of sheep out there. All your points are right on target. We are conditioned by the society we live in and the families we are raised by so the human race continues to go on and say to each other, "my way is better than your way or else." Since I'm a writer, I could digress, but just wanted to say to one free thinker to another, keep enlightening us!
Thank you, SPHD. I'm glad you got my points. I thought the last paragraph in particular my ruffles some feathers. :)
If anyone wants to see what we're up against in our enlightening efforts, be sure to read the comments on the Brit Hume video. Egads - no wonder there are so few commenting here. Only a handful of people on planet Earth, it seems, are forward-looking.
Thank you, Ms. Murdock. What we have here, on the part of Hume, is typical Christian self-righteousness.
As for Woods, if he is indeed a Buddhist, he's not a good one. Doesn't Buddhism teach the suppression of desires?
Tomrom, you are partially correct that Buddhism teaches an end to desires (not necessarily their suppression, but a full end to desires). However, Tiger could be considered a lay Buddhist, one who is not yet actively on the Eightfold Path to nirvana. Nevertheless, a conscientious lay Buddhist may be aware of the need to enter that Path in future (as in: future life), and begin to make preparations in this life by adopting the principles of peace and doing as little harm to others and the environment as possible. From a Buddhist perspective, Tiger doesn't need to be fully on the way to nirvana yet, but self-reflection and meditation could help him, as someone else commented, know himself better.
Hmmm...not sure how my comment got re-posted a half hour after the original! :-)
Great article D.M.
Polyamory is definitely the way to go!
This jackass, and the thousands of other mind-numbing media personalities, is why I don't even watch t.v. anymore. I can't believe what this world has come to. It's really sad, and it's going to be a long road to "enlighten" the millions of people who actually follow this crap.
i agree with skep, except that one need not be an atheist. just be a person with good "moral values and let things take their course". please do not ask me what is good. if you do not know what is good, just shut up.
>>Reject Buddhism, Hume advises, because it can't offer you the "kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith."<<
And their get out of jail FREE card has resulted in Exoteric CristianISM countries clobbering each other over the head. Yes--two world wars, of ChristianISM benightedness--murder/steal/cheat need not worry--Mr. Hume's God will give you a free ticket to paradise.
What a Sick and Morbid idealogy for humanity. What part of "Though Shalt Not Kill" When Texas kills its Inmate Human Beings, it puts "Homicide" on the inmates Death Cert!!!!
So if we go by Texas logic--who is going to "Punish" Texas for murder? Never mind--Mr. Hume has a faithful get out of jail free card waiting...Is Humanity Sick?
Tiger's mistake was chasing Money--instead of True Happiness. When the Money and Sex run out of steam--these stars then run to the bottle or pill box. Money is the greatest of evils...always has been! We came into this world with nothing--we should go out with nothing. Just my humble opinion...
Load o' BS. First off; Tiger doesn't need saving from anything except religiously-motivated cretins, who can't stand the thought of someone actually enjoying life. We all need to be saved from these pestilential Bible blatherers. To Hell with the lot of them, and their assorted rubbish. Furthermore, JC (if he even existed) couldn't save himself from getting tacked up by a cabal of bearded blow-hards. It's worse than that; he's dead Jim, dead Jim - DEAD. Got it! And he ain't coming back.
Thank you for the feedback, Camfinch. Your point has been taken, and i stand corrected.
Hypathia, thank you, as well. What you say is true of the hypocritical nature of Christians, and the Texas bureaucrats. Wasn't someone with the initials GWB responsible for the execution of over 170 people?
Unfortunately, Woods did let money, and all that it can buy, lead him on a destructive path. He's all washed-up, and i'm sure he realizes it wasn't worth losing a career. But, people never do learn, nor do they regret their actions, until the s**t hits the fan, so to speak.
Let's assume the Bible is the word of God. So, if something is in that book then it's literally God speaking it. So, if you defy what it says then why will God forgive you? Sounds to me like a license to sin. Sarah Palins daughter committed adultery, which according to God (from the bible) requires stoning her to death. How can Sarah Palin and Christian fundamentalists conveniently ignore "God's" word in that instance? You either have to follow it like it say's or you are adjusting it to suit your morality, so it's not God's word.
As a Hindu I realize that man makes God in his image. I believe higher powers exist, but it can be made in various images. For example, if we encounter an Alien civilization they would have their own religion and form of worship which would be no less true or false than any Earth religion.
Remember, the South Park episode where God says he is a Budhist? That was funny.
Gnostic Guy,
It would be funnier if God said he was an atheist.
Tiger needs to discover his own spirit, and turn away from the overly materialistic focus. I believe he will, hoping he doesn't just go for the methodology of whatever Christian religion he gets into.
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