Topic: Should it be ""God" or "god"?

[Grimner]

JoelWhy, I agree it is in use as a proper name.
The question is the correct use. Which probably boils down to personal preference.

I'd happily use 'God' in the following circumstances:

1) The existence of one God is proven. In that case, I'd also go for all caps: GOD
2) All other gods new and old are forgotten and Allah (or anything else) has a cultural victory (so spread Stargate and Valhall copies far and wide).
3) I believe there is one God.
4) In a fictional setting.

As long as we have doubt and such things as 'a god' and 'gods', we can argue against automatic capitalization.
Obviously, Jahweh insists on 'God', but as long as he is as plausible as any other god, I won't give that particular god any preferential treatment.

'God' is a label and we have plenty of gods - the name for one of them is Huitzilopochtli.
'Devil' is a label for numerous evil forces (gods really once you look at history and powers) - some names are Satan, Belzebub, Lucifer Morningstar etc.

Yes, I write Pinocchio the same way - that is a specific name, but I won't normally capitalize 'Wood Doll'

[JoelWhy]

JoelWhy, I agree it is in use as a proper name.
The question is the correct use. Which probably boils down to personal preference.

I'd happily use 'God' in the following circumstances:

1) The existence of one God is proven. In that case, I'd also go for all caps: GOD
2) All other gods new and old are forgotten and Allah (or anything else) has a cultural victory (so spread Stargate and Valhall copies far and wide).
3) I believe there is one God.
4) In a fictional setting.

As long as we have doubt and such things as 'a god' and 'gods', we can argue against automatic capitalization.
Obviously, Jahweh insists on 'God', but as long as he is as plausible as any other god, I won't give that particular god any preferential treatment.

'God' is a label and we have plenty of gods - the name for one of them is Huitzilopochtli.
'Devil' is a label for numerous evil forces (gods really once you look at history and powers) - some names are Satan, Belzebub, Lucifer Morningstar etc.

Yes, I write Pinocchio the same way - that is a specific name, but I won't normally capitalize 'Wood Doll'

God's existence (for purposes of grammar and punctuation) is irrelevant.  I don't believe in Zeus, but I capitalize his name.  The reason "God" is capitalized and "gods" is not, is because "God" is, in essence, the proper name of the being you are referring to.  So, when you are referring to the Jewish/Christian/Islamic God, you are referring to a specific being. 

Not capitalizing may be a coy way of sticking your thumb in the eye of believers, but it's also grammatically incorrect.

[SnarlPatrick]

The root of this problem is monotheism's dirty trick of seizing upon the generalized word "god" and claiming it as the proper name of their particular god. Its an assertion of theological primacy built into the very vocabulary, and leads to conversations like....

"Wait, you don't believe in God?"

"I believe in Allah."

"What's Allah?"

"He's OUR god."

So you see, it forces other religions with a named god to use "our" as a qualifier whereas they retain the default for themselves. Its kind of the opposite of the "roller blades", "in line skates" phenomena. It would be like if a company was allowed to copyright "in line skates" and use that as their brand name.

[JoelWhy]

The root of this problem is monotheism's dirty trick of seizing upon the generalized word "god" and claiming it as the proper name of their particular god. Its an assertion of theological primacy built into the very vocabulary, and leads to conversations like....

"Wait, you don't believe in God?"

"I believe in Allah."

"What's Allah?"

"He's OUR god."

So you see, it forces other religions with a named god to use "our" as a qualifier whereas they retain the default for themselves. Its kind of the opposite of the "roller blades", "in line skates" phenomena. It would be like if a company was allowed to copyright "in line skates" and use that as their brand name.

I really don't think that's accurate.  Before Judaism, the vast majority of religions believed in many gods.  You don't capitalize "gods" in that context because it's not a specific entity (and therefore not a proper noun.)

Judaism, however, uses "God" to refer to a specific entity/deity/whatever.  We now use this term to refer specifically to the Jewish/Christian/Muslim god.  (Allah isn't God's name; it's just a translation of the word "God").

So, if a different religion came around that worshiped a single God, you would still capitalize the word "God" when referring to this deity.  It's not "one of the many" gods.  It's a single entity.  His name's not Earl, John, or Bubba: it's God.

(Btw, in your "rollerblade" analogy, that's really a trademark issue, not a copyright issue )

[SnarlPatrick]

Ok, but what about within the context of the bible. It appears to be written for an audience who was familiar with the lower case god.

"Though shalt have no other god/God before me". Should be lower case there right?

What about "I am the lord thy god/God". Should be lower case there as well.

Even amongst Christians I don't think you'll find many that will assert that their god's name is in fact "God". So the only argument there is for it being a proper noun is their rejection of the notion of any other gods existence. Accepting the capitalization is to accept their premise.
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See, this whole problem is designed to put weight behind monotheism. What if there was a species of fish called simply Fish? Or a country named "Country"?

[wannabeplato]

Ok, but what about within the context of the bible. It appears to be written for an audience who was familiar with the lower case god.

"Though shalt have no other god/God before me". Should be lower case there right?

What about "I am the lord thy god/God". Should be lower case there as well.

Even amongst Christians I don't think you'll find many that will assert that their god's name is in fact "God". So the only argument there is for it being a proper noun is their rejection of the notion of any other gods existence. Accepting the capitalization is to accept their premise.
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See, this whole problem is designed to put weight behind monotheism. What if there was a species of fish called simply Fish? Or a country named "Country"?

In English, do you capitalize someones nick-name?  If I was writing a formal paper and mentioned Rebecca but instead called her Becky, should I capitalize (btw, I originally typed becky and Google Chrome suggested I capitalize).

I have never met a Jack, they are all Johns... but I always see Jack capitalized.

God is used as a nick-name in the English speaking world.  You mention God, they don't think your talking about Zeus..   If the context is talking about something other than the monotheistic God of the worlds major religions, then god would be fine.

[Grimner]

If it isn't clear already: I agree with SnarlPatrick (written the way she/he/it wants it).

The nick-name of Jahweh is a good point. After all it would be silly if Christians ran around talking about 'He-whos-name-we-cannot-mention' which easily could have happened. Why not sticking with 'Our Lord', 'Lord', 'Skydaddy' or any other candidate?

Hijacking 'God' is a good policy in the wars of religion, but it only makes sense if you are inside the religion. Once you start asking questions like 'why God?', the first, most obvious target is the existence of any god (a fairly important question). Proper grammar comes later.

Yes, God is correct today. I argue for change and religious enlightenment.

[JoelWhy]

Ok, but what about within the context of the bible. It appears to be written for an audience who was familiar with the lower case god.

"Though shalt have no other god/God before me". Should be lower case there right?

What about "I am the lord thy god/God". Should be lower case there as well.

Even amongst Christians I don't think you'll find many that will assert that their god's name is in fact "God". So the only argument there is for it being a proper noun is their rejection of the notion of any other gods existence. Accepting the capitalization is to accept their premise.
----------

See, this whole problem is designed to put weight behind monotheism. What if there was a species of fish called simply Fish? Or a country named "Country"?

In English, do you capitalize someones nick-name?  If I was writing a formal paper and mentioned Rebecca but instead called her Becky, should I capitalize (btw, I originally typed becky and Google Chrome suggested I capitalize).

I have never met a Jack, they are all Johns... but I always see Jack capitalized.

God is used as a nick-name in the English speaking world.  You mention God, they don't think your talking about Zeus..   If the context is talking about something other than the monotheistic God of the worlds major religions, then god would be fine.

Yes, you definitely capitalize nick names.  It's still a proper noun.

[JoelWhy]

Ok, but what about within the context of the bible. It appears to be written for an audience who was familiar with the lower case god.

"Though shalt have no other god/God before me". Should be lower case there right?

What about "I am the lord thy god/God". Should be lower case there as well.

Yes, it should be lower case in those two sentences.  It's not being used as a proper noun in those contexts.

Even amongst Christians I don't think you'll find many that will assert that their god's name is in fact "God". So the only argument there is for it being a proper noun is their rejection of the notion of any other gods existence. Accepting the capitalization is to accept their premise.

That's utter nonsense.  "God" is essentially a place-holder, or a nick name.  It's a PROPER NOUN.  You're not accepting any "premise" by capitalizing it.

[JD Holwick]

i personally have a thing for not capitalizing anything in casual conversation posts (such as these) but in more formal writings, i tend to use god instead of God regardless because i do not want to lend any credence to some imaginary sacredness of a completely unfounded belief in any god.  that's where i'm at.  ---  jd

[Moloch]

With respect I must disagree. God, when it refers to Yahweh, is a proper noun and should thus be capitalized. Just like, for instance, when I say death I mean a ceasation of life in some entity while when I say Death I mean a talk guy...sort of, ah, skinny, TALKS LIKE THIS.[1]

Respect has nothing to do with it -- it's just a matter of ortography. It would be like claiming Germans are showing great respect to a, say, table when they write 'der Tisch' -- they aren't it's just that in German all nouns are capitalized.

[1] This example dedicated to Terry Pratchett

Completely agree. Whether or not something exists doesn't particularly matter to language. I'm sure most atheists would write Cthulhu and not cthulhu.

[lorryfach]

That was definitely worth necroing a 3+-year-old thread for. 
But I agree with Moloch.

[Moloch]

Oh wow, I didn't even notice the necro 

[MilkMan]

Personally, and I've thought this for some time, I refer to them all as "IF's", and its right in so many ways, IF as in if they exist, and IF also stands for Imaginary Friend.

[Vincegamer]

Talk about threadomancy!
This one was started 6 years ago, died, resurrected 3 years ago, died again, and now it's back.  This time it will die and come back in 2015.

(and pretty sure Xtn has been shorthand in writing Christian for about 1000 years)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas
(and we all are mispronouncing Xena as Zeena when it's really a common 17th century spelling of Christina)