I guess we all have pet peeves. One of mine is people overusing or misusing words. I think if I hear one more person on TV describe something as surreal, I'll gag. I doubt that any of them has ever looked up the word in the dictionary. Likewise with "hero" and "miracle." Don't get me wrong, I believe there are heroes, and I do believe in miracles. But I usually cringe when I hear such words used because they are used incorrectly. The sad thing is that we cheapen such terms by their overuse and misuse. Take for example the word "miracle." A true miracle is a supernatural phenomenon. That is, something that supersedes (I don't like the word violates) the laws of nature.
For example, the jet that "landed" in the Hudson River. The whole incident was dubbed by the news media as "The Miracle on the Hudson." I simply ask, "What law of nature was superseded?" When jet engines shut off, jet planes fall out of the sky. And that is exactly what this one did. Ah, but here is where we can correctly use the term "hero". The pilot used all his training and experience to do exactly what he was trained to do, glide that jet to a skidding landing. And he did so perfectly. Personally I believe God enabled him to do it. But still no laws of nature were superseded in the process. Had the plane kept flying without engines, then a true miracle would have occurred.
People--even Christian people--get angry with me for saying this. They think I'm robbing God of some glory by saying it was not a miracle. No, no. I give God all the glory. As I said, I believe it was God's good grace and providence that overshadowed Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III, whether or not he acknowledges it (I haven't heard him say one way or the other, and that's not my point). All I'm saying is that no law of nature was superseded. These aircraft are made to float (if passengers don't panic and open doors, as was the case in this incident). So, even the fact that the plane didn't sink before every person was rescued is not a true miracle. But still an act of God's grace, none the less.
All I'm saying is that if we label things as miraculous when they are not, we cheapen the word and do God no favors. Finding my keys that I lost in the grass while mowing is not a miracle. It is an act of God's grace, perhaps in answer to my prayer, but no law of nature was overcome.
Raising the dead is a true miracle. So is walking on water, calming a violent storm with a spoken word, and multiplying a few small fish and biscuits to feed thousands. There are other examples in the Bible besides these (creation, incarnation, resurrection for example). I doubt that it will happen, but I sure hope that Christian people will not buy into the world's watered down, cheapened definition and use of the word miracle. Or the word hero.
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2 comments:
Ok, I might be knitpicking here. But if the captain did exactly as he was trained to do... does that make him a hero. Don't get me wrong. His level of calm and professionalism under extreme duress was in my opinion heroic. But, I'm just sayin...
Very astute observation, Brad. And in the technical sense you are right. But none of us, trained or otherwise, knows what we will do when the "chips are down," so to speak (that's not a theological expression by the way). We hear stories of average people doing astonishingly brave things on the spur of the moment. That's a hero: one who puts his/her own life in jeopardy for someone else. Soldiers are highly trained, but sometimes they fail to act as trained at the right moment. Likewise with fire or police personnel. But when one does act bravely in the heat of danger, I think we can honestly call them a hero. My objection to the use of the word is even more emotionally charged, but I'll step out on the limb anyway. When you hear the news media talk about children with cancer, for example, they are often referred to as "brave" and "heroes." My question is what choice did these children have? Now please do not misread what I am saying here. My heart genuinely goes out to all sick people of any age, but especially children with catastrophic diseases like cancer. They have my sympathy, even my pity (in the right sense of the word), and my prayers. But what brave, heroic choice did they make?
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