So the Tiger finally breaks his silence, and it's a truly great shame. Out of control he may have been, but that he has now publicly apologised "to each and every one" of us "simply and directly" for his "selfish and irresponsible behaviour" is rather sad. He betrayed his wife and children; but what has he done to the rest of us that requires apology? Nada, nowt, rien de rien. He never owed the public anything more than a good round of golf (yes, I despise golf as an old man's walk with a bag of sticks, but if you are in to that sort of thing....). I had actually found his silence strangely admirable, sending a signal to a voyeuristic public, which increasingly regards privacy as a crime, that he didn't care to play by the rules of the nosey and intrusively self-important Facebook generation, and that his family life was nobody's business but his and his wife's. I had thought his refusal to apologise to those he had not offended or hurt (how could he? he didn't even know most of the 'us', to whom he has apologised, in any meaningful way!) as preserving the value of that necessary apology which he needed to make in private to his wife and family. As one of his girlfriends might well be thinking to herself, I guess he's just like all the others......My sentiments exactly.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Carl Trueman on Tiger's Apology
From Ref21:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
..Interesting take on this.
My reaction was such that I was pleased to see how much he "owned" his wrongdoing. He repeatedly stated or implied personal responsibility for his actions - and for that I applaud him. What saddens me is the burden he's assumed to "fix" himself. Clearly he believes that through lots of therapy, hard work, and whatever Buddism teachs -- he can vindicate himself and make permanent and lasting changes. My hope for Tiger is that someone will be able to reach him in an impactful way with the Gospel message of TRUE freedom.
I think we should be glad that Tiger made an apology. Tiger is not just a golfer, but a corporate pitchman, and he is the epitome of a "public figure". He set a terrible example and an apology for that bad example (in this case) is healthy. It serves as a warning/admonition to others, regarding such conduct. I'm surprised that Trueman uses the "private matter" defense which was inronically used by Clinton. Is sin really just a "private matter" in all aspects? Isn't this case a useful reminder/warning for us all that sin can cause sorrow and shame to an individual, family, political office or party, company, or ministry.
I don't disagree about the responsibility of being a public figure. But he did not owe an apology to me.
I was bothered by his "apology" for several reasons. First it seemed like more of the same narcisism. In other words it was all about rehabilitating Tiger's image. I did not like his emphasis on "believe in me again".
But even more troubling was Tiger's declaration that he will look within himself for the cure. What Tiger desperately needs is forgiveness and redemption from a source outside himself - Jesus Christ.
I was surprised to read Carl Trueman’s poo-pooing the idea of pagans publicly confessing their sins. His remarks struck me as coming from someone inside a theological cocoon unconnected to the planet. First what I agreed with. 1)We are in the same ball park, so to speak, re: golf. It’s a good way to mess up a walk. 2)I also was pleased to see Tiger submerge and not have to endure him with a media blitz (yet?) on Opra and the feature interview in People Magazine, et al. 3)I also agree with Carl on the notion of privacy. However, while Hollywood folks and certain politicians rut their way across the land, doing their level best to debauch traditional (and Christian) mores, don’t you find it refreshing that here is one public figure who stands up and makes a mea culpa regarding his reprehensible behavior? He was extremely heavy on both the mea and the culpa. When we only expect civilized behavior from Christians it ghetto-izes morality. I don’t demand anything from Tiger Woods, but I am immensely gratified that this public figure made this pubic confession of guilt. To desire any less is not to care about our culture. Tiger’s sincerity is not on the table at this point. As he said in his statement, his actions will be the proof of his sincerity. So let’s not trash the pagans who wittingly or otherwise advocate biblical truths - like fidelity.
Post a Comment