I personally find it a bit insulting as agnostic/atheist to be forced to capitalize god. It seems to infer that god does exist, but every time I hand in a paper to a professor where I do not capitalize it, they mark it up. I find it rather frustrating to be required to write god in a manner that betrays my personal beliefs.

And to the inevitable 'get over it' or 'what diffrence does it make', it does. Its no different from using the N***** word, after all those are just letters right?

akk my poll didn't attach!

it is grammatically incorrect to spell the word as god that's why he marks it wrong.

but on the other hand it's funny

Roman and Green gods do not need the g capitalized.

Why?

Do you feel that capitalizing the word God means you believe god exists? Just capitalize God for all your papers and then don't capitalize god outside of those particular classes. It's just text.

With that said, I've always thought of it as just a proper noun - "God" is a name, "god" is a type of being, just like "human". Basically, I think it's a grammar thing and not a religious thing... So basically, I agree with your professor

Just because I refer to someone in particular (ie. God) doesn't mean I'm affirming their existence or their superiority over anyone (especially myself). If I were to refer to John Doe, do you think I'm envisioning someone specifically? No, I'm more envisioning a description of a person, not the person himself.

Edit: BTW, I believe in "God"

Its because God is supposedly a proper noun (ie: a specific instance of a type of object), but how can a noun be proper if it does not exist?

Furthermore, you only capatlise it when you are talking about a specific god, for example when I talk about God, but not when im talking about god.

No, I usually don't.

Hey,
If you name was Thomas, would you type thomas. name of something.

Here is an interesting article I found about this subject
LINK

I capitalize it when I am referring to the Christian god, otherwise no.

It's proper to capitalize God if you're talking about the God who monotheists believe in (Christians, Muslims, Jews). All other gods are not capitalized, such as ancient Greek gods. It's just the proper way of expressing yourself.

Because God, in that context, is THE god, not a god, it is "his" name, or the name you are using for "him". Therefore it's capitalized. Zeus is a Greek god, one of many, and that particular god's name is Zeus (which is always capitalized), not God.

You capitalize the name God for the same reason you capitalize anyone else's name at all times.

Capitalizing "God" is not a matter of belief or opinion. The Christian "God" is always capitalized, as are pronouns that refer to Him. <--

I'm an atheist, but you're being ridiculous.

Also, it sounds like you have no understanding of your faith (or lack thereof). Atheism and agnosticism are not the same thing.

I always write god, just like tooth fairy, santa claus etc. since they all fall into the same category....

tooth fairy is a description of a person.
Santa Clause is a persons name
God is a dudes name.

not the same category my friend.

The problem is that when I reference god, I am referencing no god in particular because I don't believe that any particular god nesicarly exists, I reference god as a theology rather then a particular entity.



I'm an atheist as far as personal gods go, but am open to the possibilities of an impersonal god. To say I believe any pop-god could exist is wrong.


Its also funny too that people say they only do it with the Christian god, because any god of any religion must be capatilized.

But Santa Clause is an identity, even though no one fulfills that identity. Children know who the Tooth Fairy is. Everyone knows who "God" is, whether or not they believe in his existence.

And just to note, I'm not in accord with the whole "capitalizing pronouns referring to God" thing... I still write "him" and not "Him" because it looks incorrect to me.

If I created a character in a fiction book the persons name would still be capitalized it wouldn't matter if I made it up or not. The Christian God is a name and therefor a proper noun. The word god doesn't have to be capitalized otherwise. You look foolish if you can't use proper English. You must capitalize Santa doesn't mean you have to believe he exist.

They are mythical beings.............that's why they fall into the same category for me.

0oh. lol. okay.

Isn't Santa St. Nikolaus ?. the not so mythical being guy.

Exactly! Exactly...

I fail to see why this is so hard to understand.

in terms of english grammer (which i'm very good at i just don't use it online very often) it's like the word 'mom.' here's an example: basically you capitalize it if you're using it as a name for someone/thing specific (as in "praying to God") but you leave it lowercase if you're referring to the term 'god' in general (as in "praying to a god")

heres what i heard "i shouldnt have to hit the shift key, when typing God, becuase im an athiest" <--- wtf?

its really not that hard, its just proper grammer, and if your not a fan of proper grammer, do it for respect of the readers.

See that too is awkward, for example
"There are so many Thomas' in the world" or "there are so many thomas' in the world"
You always say the first.... I think...

but "There are so many Gods in world" or "There are so many gods in the world"

You always say the latter.



If its grammatical, then what does respect have to do it. Even your statement seems to imply that the use of 'god' disproves him and isnt just a gross error.

Why should decapitalizing it disprove god, while capitalizing it have nothing to do with its existence?

Even if you don't believe, which I really don't either, if you are referring to an individual it is grammatically correct, however if you are saying something like "The roman gods" or "that person is god like" it is not.

Erm, I think you're confused because "god" can be used as an noun (blah, sorry, thanks Quick Shot) and also a proper noun. The Christian god is named God. Hercules is a greek god.

I mean, if my name was Charles and you didn't believe in me, then would my name suddenly be charles?

Saint Nicholas is a Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor who is often associated with Santa Claus and the custom of gift-giving at Christmas.

The reason you say the latter because there is only one god with the proper name God. Your arguments are pointless.

i think your confused.
adjective?
like godly?

maybe a noun and proper noun

The Islamic God is also capitalized (if you want to argue if it is the same god as the Christian god, I'm doing a paper on it as we speak)

"There is no God but Allah"

I caps because I respect

God - I do it relegiously

Whats your point? His name is Allah and the Christian's god is named God. They are two separate *NAMES* you can't say "Gods" because there is still only one with that name.

My point is that God is another name for Allah. So technically to refer to them both, you would use Gods.

I don't want to argue with you, but it is the same God. You know why? Because Muslims believe that Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is one of Allah's most beloved Prophets. If they are two different Gods, how would they both send the same man down to earth?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_Jesus

Also, Allah is the Arabic word referring to "God."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah

Haha, sorry, I think I need to go to bed

Fixed it, but that's still my point.

Oh my gosh must I use pictures

This guy here is Allah


This dude here is God

They are both gods.

god (gŏd) Pronunciation Key
n.
1. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

GOD AS PICTURED ABOVE IS A PROPER NAME

So is the Jewish God by that logic, but you go and tell that to the Muslims and Jews fighting in the middle east

Maybe I will. I'll put it on my to-do list. Also, it is the same God because Islam is a Abrahamic Religion same with Judaism and Christianity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religion

Yep couldn't put it better myself.

I don't capitalize witch, so why capitalize god?

Or... Fokk Allah in his un-Godly arse

I use both, as it depends on the context.

'God' when talking about the christian belief. As it is used as a proper noun in that situation, it is the name given to him/her/it by christians.
There might be other religions that also refer to their god as 'God' as well, but I do not know other religions so would not be able to say.

god when refer to a god as a noun. as a being, entity, supernatural force etc, however people want to perceive them. Or when referring to another god, such as the hindu god Vishnu.

It is a simple matter. When talking about the god named God (kinda like naming your pet potato "Potato", but whatever), capitalization is proper. When talking about a god not named God, then use lowercase, unless using their name.

Potato! lmao

I don't know what's so hard to get here. Proper nouns are capitalized. All the following are names (proper nouns): God, Wal-Mart, James, and Dr Pepper. Proper nouns are capitalized. The following are things (nouns): god, store, person, drink. Now, if there was a drink called Drink, would you not capitalize it because you don't think it is the one true drink or that you don't like that particular drink? The grammar of it is the same.

Now, when you capitalize things referring to God, if you talk about Him, then that has nothing to do with grammar but has to do with religion wanting to show extra respect or something when referring to him. At least that's my take on that part of it.

It depends on the context.

It's just like the word moon. There are many moons in the universe, but the one orbiting around Earth is a proper noun and it's name is The Moon, therefore it's capitalized. The same with suns and The Sun.

Also, you would capitalize things like Big Foot, Santa, The Loch Ness Monster, etc., because they are all proper nouns. It doesn't matter if you believe in them or not.

Definitely God

Precisely.

If we're speaking about the almighty being, God, it would be capitalized. But if we're referring to a god, it's normal.

i capitalize God because, its just a habit of capitalizing special names. I believe in God, so that might make it more for me.

This is how I learnt it to be.