Christianity VS Buddhism, Round 2

I comment on this without seeing the origin of the conflict. I read reports that FOX news person Brit Hume called on Tiger Woods to become a Christian, since Buddhism, which Mr. Woods is reported to follow, does not offer the kind of redemption and forgiveness that Christianity does. Subsequently, I saw the brief snippet in which Mr. Hume made his comments on YouTube, but I do not know the context of the discussion.

That said, I support Mr. Hume's rights to hold his own beliefs about Christianity and Buddhism. He also has every right in the world as a person to share his beliefs with any other person. I do not agree with him as a journalist using the bully pulpit of the FOX News channel to call for someone's conversion. I can imagine the uproar from FOX should the editor of the NY Times use the editorial page to call for Roger Ailes to convert to Islam.

With all of that as background, I read with interest the piece on Religion News Service which called on Robert Thurman, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University to gain clarification about Buddhism, redemption and forgiveness. Here is part of the interview:

Q: Was Hume correct that Christianity and Buddhism do not offer the same kinds of redemption and forgiveness?

A: I don’t agree with that. Not only is his idea of Buddhism wrong, but his idea of Christianity is wrong. The implication that unethical behavior such as Tiger Woods committed will be forgiven just by turning to Christ is a misrepresentation of Christianity. It’s undervaluing the Christian emphasis on ethical behavior. It’s like the Muslims who think they can blow people up and go to heaven just because they were shouting “Allahu Akbar” when they died. It’s the wrong idea that you just have to believe, not behave.

Do you agree with Professor Thurman? Or, do you think it is enough for someone to say that they are a Christian or a Buddhist or Muslim without giving evidence in their lives that they really have embraced that faith?