Tiger Woods is back, and the world is watching. Some are watching for the golf, others for the story of recovery and redemption in play. Me, I'm watching for the Buddhism.

If you recall, just a couple of months ago Tiger held that rather strange and staged "mea culpa" press conference, the one where he apologized all over the place and then pointed to Buddhism as the rock upon which he was going to stand. Tiger hasn't mentioned Buddhism since, but that doesn't mean he hasn't made good on his intention to return to his religious roots. Come to think of it, was that Tiger's deceased father or was it the spirit of Buddha speaking to Tiger in that kinda creepy but somehow fascinating Nike commercial?

Brit Hume already famously (and correctly) said that Buddhism won't help Tiger in his spiritual quest for redemption (if that's what he's after) because it doesn't offer that. Hume also said that Christianity is the only religion that offers forgiveness and redemption. Again, he's right. If the events of the Easter story are about anything, they are about Christ dying so we can be forgiven, and then rising from the dead so we can be redeemed. it's a unique story and a singular reality among all belief systems.

So what does Buddhism offer Tiger and the rest of the world? And is it possible there are some kernels of truth in there that could lead someone like Tiger to the true source of forgiveness and redemption?

This is actually a really good question we can ask of all religions, and it's important that we ask it. It's one thing that we know what we believe, and quite another that we know what others believe. But that's what we're supposed to do, that is if we are to truly show "gentleness and respect" to those who are curious about our own faith (1 Peter 3:15,16).

If we believe that God is the source of all truth, is it reasonable to conclude that all religions, no matter how antithetical they are to Christiantiy, contain some truth? And if they do, is it possible that whatever truth is in there can serve as a kind of bridge to true truth (to borrow a phrase from Francis Schaeffer)? Well, let's use Buddhism as a kind of test case.

Buddhism is pretty complex, so it's tough to describe it in a way that serious practitioners agree with. But there are some basic principles that stand out, and it's in these where we can possibly find a kernel or two of truth.

From the teachings of Buddha (born Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th century BC), come the Four Noble Truths, which are key to living in the "Way of the Middle" between the extremes of unreasonable excess and unnecessary deprivation. The Four Noble Truths are:

• Life is all about suffering
• The cause of suffering is our desire and greed
• There is a way to overcome our desire and greed
• The path to happiness and relief of suffering is an eight-step process

Without taking time to go through all eight steps, suffice it to say that the eight steps involve three qualities: the Quality of Wisdom, the Quality of Mental Discipline, and the Quality of Ethical Conduct. If you do a little study on the eight steps, you will find one or two that Tiger quite obviously skipped, including step number seven, which falls under the quality of ethical conduct:

• Right action (refraining from killing and taking what is not given; avoiding inappropriate sexual conduct, improper speech, and intoxicants).

Okay, so none of us is ever going to be in a position to sit down with Tiger and talk about these things, but what if that were possible? What if Tiger were to give you 30 minutes to talk with him? What kind of bridge could you build from Four Noble Truths of Buddha to the noble Truth of Jesus? I suspect your bridge would look a lot like mine. A little shaky, somewhat unconventional, but a bridge nonetheless--one that hopefully leads to more conversation.

Too often those of us who have been around the true truth of Christianity for a while have a hard time seeing kernels of truth in other belief systems, mainly because we aren't looking for them. What a mistake. Truth is, there are Buddhists and Hindus and Muslims and yes, even atheists, all around us who carry kernels of truth around in their heads. Even more, they carry the divine imprint of God around in their very being, which is a whole lot bigger than a kernel. As C.S. writes in The Weight of Glory,

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization - these are mortal and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors... Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.

We may not ever have a chance to build a bridge with Tiger, but there are plenty of other people out there who are eager to do some bridge building with us, if only we will listen.  

As I said, the world is watching Tiger right now, and like everyone else I'm going to be watching to see what he does and says. But as I watch I'm also going to be thinking about Buddhism and kernels of truth and Jesus and bridge building.