Pat Tillman’s name made the news a few day’s ago. And it sent me on a course of thinking about courage.
A lot has changed since Pat Tillman left professional football to enlist in the US Army after the attacks of 9/11. It made a splash in the news because so few people make that decision. For a lot of people that watched professional football, this was a picture of courage. Pat Tillman left what most people would call a dream job to go and enlist overseas. While there his unit was ambushed and he, heroically, provided cover for others and was killed in the line of duty.
For a lot of us that ate, slept, and breathed football, Pat Tillman was the picture of courage. And sadly, that understanding of courage is going away and being replaced with something much different.
In 2015 another athlete won a “courage award”. It was “Caitlyn Jenner”. He didn’t serve in the military or give his life in the line of duty. He didn’t stand upon any sort of virtue and take a beating for it. Caitlyn is a man. And Caitlyn decided to be a woman…not that you can really do that. But that’s what Caitlyn did to win this award. As a representative from ESPN put it,
Caitlyn was Bruce. He wanted to be a “she”. So he put on a dress, makeup, and began calling himself a “she”. And he won a courage award.
And here’s the thing. It wouldn’t be worth talking about if it only happened one time. But the fact of the matter is that I hear people call this sort of thing courage quite often. And I hear it often because the meaning of the word “courage” has changed meaning. Or, it might be more accurate to say that it’s definition is changing.
I’ve Gotta Hit The Lasagna
Words change meaning. It happens all the time. The fact of the matter is that language is constantly morphing.
For instance, let’s look at the word “lasagna”. Lasagna is good. I love my wife’s lasagna. But that doesn’t change the fact that the original meaning of the word was “chamber pot”. A long time ago people defecated into their lasagna. Now we eat it. Think of that next time you have lasagna…or go to the restroom….whatever.
Of course, lasagna is not the only word that has changed over time. Read an old book and you’ll see all sorts of words used in different ways. Language develops.
But this doesn’t seem to be the case with courage. It seems more insidious than a slow change of meaning. And this becomes more obvious as we examine the old definition of courage vs. the new definition.
Webster’s vs Webster’s
You can access the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary. It is an excellent resource, not only for something like this. But it is very helpful when comparing how people thought about a thing in 1828 and now.
You see, a dictionary doesn’t make a definition. It defines the words that are in use. In other words, a dictionary is not creating words and their definitions. It is explaining what the words in use mean. And this distinction will be quite helpful as we look at courage.
“Courage, noun [Latin, the heart.] Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor; boldness; resolution. It is a constituent part of fortitude; but fortitude implies patience to bear continued suffering.
Courage that grows from constitution, often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty, acts in a uniform manner.
Be strong and of good courage Deuteronomy 31:6″
Duty is mentioned as a motivation for courage. In fact, the point is made that people that are naturally courageous will lose their courage. But a person who has a sense of duty will be courageous, they will act “in a uniform manner’.
I would also like to add that in the definition of “fortitude”, there is a discussion about “courage” as a “virtue”. And if you do what I did, and look at the definition for “virtue” then you will see that bravery, valor, and moral goodness are all part of the definition.
So, how would an educated individual in 1828 have understood the word courage?
They viewed it as a moral good found in a person. They would have certainly called it a virtue.
Now, look at the definition for today.
: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
How does a person in 2024 define courage?
It is doing something difficult.
And the difference should be obvious at this point. Courage, as the word is used today, is void of virtue.
It just means facing your fears and overcoming them. There is nothing virtuous about courage in the modern definition. This is how moderns think about courage.
Courage As Tested Virtue
In his book, “The Screwtape Letters”, C.S. Lewis speaks of the old definition of courage. And, I would argue the proper way to think about courage.
Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. A chastity, or honest, or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste, or honest, or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky.
C.S. Lewis, “The Screwtape Letters” Chapter 29.
The example of Pilate is an excellent one to use. If courage is “the form of every virtue at the testing point”, then Pilate was merciful until he was tested. In other words, he lacked courage. Pilate wanted to show mercy to Jesus. He desired to be merciful. But at the moment it cost too much, he gave way and delivered Jesus to be crucified.
If Lewis is correct, and I believe him to be, then courage cannot be separated from virtue. Virtue is moral excellence, or righteousness. Courage is so intimately attached to virtue that you can’t have one without the other.
But what have we done today?
We have separated the two.
And what has happened?
The word does not mean anything anymore.
The Queer Thing That Happened To Courage
Somehow, this word came to be used more often of people coming out of the closet than of people fighting for our country. A person that undergoes surgery to transition from male to female or female to male is often described as brave and courageous when they did nothing virtuous.
The person that comes out of the closet, transitions, or does something else LGBTQ+ is doing something that is the opposite of virtuous. They are deciding to live in rebellion against God and against His standard of morals. They are in rebellion against virtue itself.
If virtue is intimately tied to courage, then how could a person who is doing the opposite of something virtuous be showing courage in that act. The simple truth is that they can’t. It’s not possible.
That is the queer thing that happened to courage.
To quote the great philosopher, Inigo Montoya,
“You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Words Are Important Use Them Only As Directed
If there is some action that this post is to make you think about, it is your usage of words. Here we are talking about courage.
Don’t call something courageous, when it is not. If it is not tied to virtue, then refuse to label it courageous.
If a man rescues someone out of a burning building, they are courageous. If someone risks their life to save their children, that is courageous. If a person preaches the gospel in a dangerous country, that is courageous. If a person, gives away all of their money for the sake of the poor, that is courageous. If a teenager says they are bisexual, that is not courageous.
And understand as you go about your day, that the word courageous is not very courageous anymore.
R. Dwain Minor
Leave a Reply