Laurë Veteran Posted December 19, 2006 Veteran Share Posted December 19, 2006 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. Exactly. I don't really believe in 'God' (well I'm on the fence, how can anyone know?) however if I am talking about the God that monotheists believe in I can stomach capitalising it because I can distinguish between talking about something "in theory" and "as though it's real". I.e I know that talking about God with a capital G does not necessarily mean that I believe in Him. Also, refusing to capitalise it would probably be offensive to some people, and really, what's the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 who cares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I am Reid Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 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? Yeah, and when you read a book the characters names are capitalized, and you obviously know they are not real. Its proper grammer, so quit trying to be a smart ass, becuase you're wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jokeripa Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Wheres the 'Neowinians read too much into things' option? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mx Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I say God, because that is the right spelling, I don't do it because I believe or don't believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 capitalizing God has nothing to do with whether you believe in him/her/it, and everything to do with the fact that God is a 'being', and names are capitalized. Huckelberry Finn is capitalized, but do any of you believe he exists? No. It's irrelevant. god = regular noun referring to any deity God = proper noun referring to the Christian god Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigriv_LV1 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Null vote God, god - I would usually use "God", unless it isn't refering to the one of the monotheistic religions, or if i'm lazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramesees Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Exactly. I don't really believe in 'God' (well I'm on the fence, how can anyone know?) however if I am talking about the God that monotheists believe in I can stomach capitalising it because I can distinguish between talking about something "in theory" and "as though it's real". I.e I know that talking about God with a capital G does not necessarily mean that I believe in Him. Also, refusing to capitalise it would probably be offensive to some people, and really, what's the point? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 It's a proper noun, so surely it's capitalised. This isn't down to beliefs but grammar surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snyper Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 It's a proper noun, so surely it's capitalised. This isn't down to beliefs but grammar surely? (Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas-c Veteran Posted December 22, 2006 Veteran Share Posted December 22, 2006 "God" is just a word that means all powerful basically :p not a name its capitalised if at begining of sentence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrKuro Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 I bet I've only written out the word God/god a handful of times in my life . . . beats me if I capitalize it or not. Humm . . I'm going to go with . . GOD . . . all capitals, looks a little for powerful and believable that way :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aud Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 It's just a grammar rule. Now what's really questionable is when religious texts have this format: God sat down at the Table to Eat his Sandwich. The Balony was dry Today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudnartim Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 God is in reference to a particular god, god is just a word used to describe a divine deity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+John. Subscriber¹ Posted December 22, 2006 Subscriber¹ Share Posted December 22, 2006 Sometimes, it's not really a big deal to me in all honesty. God is in reference to a particular god, god is just a word used to describe a divine deity Spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentaal Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 god Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Revenge Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 I usually just capitalize "God" for the sake of satisfying everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balupton Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 God is in reference to a particular god, god is just a word used to describe a divine deity Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 I'm a Christian, so I capitalize the word when referring to my God (as it is a proper noun), but if I am referring to the general concept of a supreme being, or when referring to the supreme beings of polytheistic religions, I do not (such as saying "the gods of the Egyptians and Romans", etc.), as they have their own names. Now, if I were to refer to one of those other gods by their name, I'd capitalize that name (such as "Ra", "Thoth", "Zeus", etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdave Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 I capitalize it when I am referring to the Christian god, otherwise no. there is no christian god...all gods are the same (christian, jewish,muslim) anyway i never capitalize the word god. now things like Ra, Budha, Jupiter etc. is different :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 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" The way I understand it, Muslims believe that Allah is the same as the God of Christians and Jehovah of the Jews (whose name is never supposed to be completely written out in their beliefs, only "Jhvh"). Many names, but all the same being called God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajapi Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Its a grammatical issue. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to capitalize it if you are reffering to God (as opposed to a god, like a mythical god of war). The fact that you are an atheist is absolutely irrelevant: you probably agree that Harry Potter is a fictional character, but you capitalize his name, right? It in no way implies that you believe in God's existance to capitalize his name, it just serves to differentiate between God the entity and god the noun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexcyn Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 (edited) Its a grammatical issue. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to capitalize it if you are reffering to God (as opposed to a god, like a mythical god of war). The fact that you are an atheist is absolutely irrelevant: you probably agree that Harry Potter is a fictional character, but you capitalize his name, right? It in no way implies that you believe in God's existance to capitalize his name, it just serves to differentiate between God the entity and god the noun. Indeed you are correct. God is a proper noun, which means it has to be capitalized because it's referring to a name. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe in "God", it's proper English grammar. On the other hand, there are exceptions to this rule if you are using Gods in a plural tense. If you are just saying Gods in a sentence without mentioning specific names (ex: By the Gods!), you should capitalize it because you are using it as a proper noun (specific names aren't mentioned so you are sort of 'wrapping' up all Gods in one word). However, if you are mentioning the names in a list after saying 'gods', it doesn't have to be capitalized (ex: The gods of Roman time were Jupiter, Juno, Mars, etc). Edit: There are so many rules in the English language. :s Edited December 23, 2006 by Lexcyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajapi Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Indeed you are correct. God is a proper noun, which means it has to be capitalized because it's referring to a name. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe in "God", it's proper English grammar. On the other hand, there are exceptions to this rule if you are using Gods in a plural tense. If you are just saying Gods in a sentence without mentioning specific names (ex: By the Gods!), you should capitalize it because you are using it as a proper noun (specific names aren't mentioned so you are sort of 'wrapping' up all Gods in one word). However, if you are mentioning the names in a list after saying 'gods', it doesn't have to be capitalized (ex: The gods of Roman time were Jupiter, Juno, Mars, etc). Edit: There are so many rules in the English language. :s Tell me about it :p English isn't my first language, but I strive to write as correctly as possible so I'm not misunderstood. If you think English has a lot of rules, though, try Spanish hehe. The amount of rules and exceptions are absolutely ridiculous. I handle them because it is my first language and I am well read, but I imagine it must be extremely difficult for foreigners to grasp some of it's finer details. In fact, I'd be willing to say I like English better than Spanish since it manages to create better balance between simplicity and eloquence. To write something in Spanish and make it sound fancy, it's not just using the proper words..you have to employ some phrase structures that are so absurdly difficult to come up with it's not even funny :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreuger Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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