If you thought Brit Hume was going to apologize for suggesting Tiger Woods should get saved, it doesn't sound like it will be any time soon judging from his appearance on today's 700 Club.
The longtime journalist said he wasn't surprised that the remark aroused controversy. "If you're trying to find the two most explosive words in the English language, those two words are 'Jesus Christ,'" he stated.
I don't doubt Hume's intentions here--but the big problem I have is that his tone when he made those comments was incredibly condescending. If it were someone who spends his life in a Christian cocoon, as does most of CBN's audience, I could probably understand. It's taken for granted in the fundie world that you're not really adequate unless you're a Christian. But Hume's spent 36 years outside the bubble.
Hume also said that he was speaking from the heart when he said Woods should become a Christian. He talked about what he endured when his son, Sandy, committed suicide in 1998.
Hume described how he became a Christian. "Eleven years ago, my son committed suicide," he shared. "And as you can imagine, it was absolutely devastating. And yet throughout that whole horrible time, I had this sense that God was there for me, that he would rescue me, that he would save me -- and he did."
The news analyst said he was deeply moved by the hundreds of letters of condolence he received after that tragedy. "I felt that I was seeing in them the face of God," he recalled, "and I felt that it was time for me now to face up to the Christian faith which I purported to belong to, and try to face up to the implications of what I purported to believe -- and I've been trying ever since."
Sorry, but every time I see these stories of how people were run down until they became Christians, I frankly wonder how sincere they are. After all, there are plenty of other stories about people who turned their lives around without going to the altar. Kerry Collins immediately comes to mind, if only because he was my Panthers' original quarterback.
Full video of Hume's interview is here:
Update: It just hit me while I was in the shower ... Hume hit Woods with another low blow when he mentioned his son's suicide. Is Hume saying that without Jesus, Woods could eventually turn suicidal? That's the read I'm getting. Disgraceful.