Oh, for the love of . .

I had a spiritual awakening soon after the death of my Aunt. Without going into much detail, during her final months I experienced all that is good in humanity, fellowship and faith as well as the dangers of placing one's entire supply of faith into one human whose only focus is on improving the status of his bank account, not in the physical and spiritual well-being of his clients.

As a Christian, I enjoy an unspoken set of beliefs with my fellow Christians. We all understand, even those with limits to their biblical scholarship (or other aspects of the full faith experience), that when you have done something to harm someone, even if it's only to yourself, asking for forgiveness is the first step. If the person harmed is not ready/willing to forgive, we Christians ask forgiveness from God and are granted it. While forgiveness wipes a figurative slate clean, it does not absolve us from any future transgressions. In fact, it serves as a reminder to not repeat the same set of behaviors which led to the transgression in the first place.

All of which leads me to what a certain Fox News personality said earlier today regarding Tiger Woods and his alleged transgressions of late. Sadly, it's all too easy these days to hear/read people invoking Christianity as a "cure-all" or salve for all that ails.

I really tire of media personalities invoking my faith as justification for all manner of transgression. The plea earlier today to Mr. Woods to ". . turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world" may just have worked my last nerve.

Or, maybe it's my impending migraine talking.

While I have it in my head, though, I decided to see if, perhaps, Buddhism was the source of Woods' problems of late. You can even look for yourself. It took me about 47 seconds of reading to figure out that Woods' choice of faith was not the root cause of his alleged infidelity. In fact, after looking over the Four Noble Truths and the Five Precepts, Woods' faith would have clearly informed him of his transgression (see F.P #3 and #4).

While Buddhism doesn't appear to have a cleansing of sin clause, all Woods would need to do is refresh himself of the Three Trainings and get back on track with the Eightfold Path and his troubles will work themselves out, more or less. With corporate sponsors leaving him and his wife weighing her options, he probably has more time to refocus himself in his faith.

As there is no commandment to visit a place of worship on a regular basis and help to support it financially, his best choice may be to remain with his faith.

What, do you suppose, Fox News anchors/hosts do to stay true to their own faith?