It's not what's on his birth certificate, but I see it as at least a nickname or a name that's been given to him by humanity.
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When you use the word God...
- Thread starter Quintessence
- Start date
9-10ths Penguin isn't on your birth certificate either, but it's your name for all of us who do not know you personally.
Exactly. People - or deities - can have many names.
Sure but the only names that count is the ones we claim. One enforced by man don't work.
For instance if I started calling you 1-16th Arctic Fox. How would anyone know it is you, because you don't claim that name. They can enforce it on you, but that's not what makes it "stick".
A person has to know their name for it to stick? I take it you weren't a fan of Friends.
Ugly Naked Guy
I kind of get it. I can't say it's escaped my notice that certain people will refuse to capitalize proper nouns as a way of expressing their disdain towards that person or group.
I did that once... in grade 4: we had to list kids in the class for some reason (can't remember why) and I didn't capitalize the names of the kids who were mean to me. My teacher took marks off.
But he never claimed a name. The only name(s) he has were assigned by man.
Nope, Seinfeld sucked too.
It's not that a person has to know it. They have to claim it.
Not true.
Exodus 3:13-15
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
God is perfectly fine shorthand.
Not true.
Exodus 3:13-15
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
God is perfectly fine shorthand.
I think of those more as descriptors, sort of like Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein of Gelderland. Except that we do have Ulrich in there.
So let me get this straight: if you give someone a nickname, you won't capitalize it until the person hears it and "claims" it? Until then, you use lowercase?Nope, Seinfeld sucked too.
It's not that a person has to know it. They have to claim it.
Which style guide did you get this rule out of?
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
When talking about the figure Ha-Satan? Yes. If I was to ever describe a person as "opposing the will of Yahweh", no (though this one would likely almost never happen)
I don't think so. There are a multitude of gods - recognized as deities - that I don't respect.
I'm unclear on how one could acknowledge something is a god without having respect for it. I suspect you and I are using the word "respect" very differently? Maybe it would help if you gave an example?
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
To me, a god is a class of higher-level spiritual beings (in charge of natural phenomena and creation, as opposed to being a spirit of a given region or landmark), of which are worshiped by various people. For example, while I will recognize that Yahweh is a deity and a god, I do not respect him at all.
The Emperor of Mankind
Currently the galaxy's spookiest paraplegic
Being a deity does not, in my mind, inherently imply respect is due or deserved. I don't respect a being simply because it's more powerful than I am. Rather, I respect a deity or don't based on how things like how it is reputed to use its power and how well it tolerates beings who don't believe in it.
I don't respect the Abrahamic god(s) based on the fact they're intolerant monsters who have happily indulged in more than a few crimes they'd readily condemn their followers for doing, coupled with the fact they've not (according to scripture) acted in ways which elicit respect from me.
Could you clarify how you are using the word "respect?" Without this clarification, the argument doesn't follow very well for me. For me, respect has nothing to do with liking something or agreeing with something. The idea of being unable to respect things one disagrees with or dislikes is very strange to me, actually.
Sha'irullah
رسول الآلهة
Ponder This
Well-Known Member
I think it's funny to get caught-up on basic grammar. Obviously, we use the word in whatever fashion we deem fit to mean whatever we use it to mean. But for the Grammar Nazis (yes capitalized, you can think about why that is), the word "god" differs from the word "God" in that the word "God" is used as a proper noun. This means that "God" is being used as a name (or nick-name). For example, I might say, "The fat man walked into the room," or I could say, "Fat Man walked into the room." The difference is that "Fat Man" is being used as a proper noun to denote the fat man (a particular man who may be known as "Fat Man" or for whom I have given the nick-name "Fat Man").
The linguistic problem has to do with talking about God without knowing God's name. If it were something like "Zeus" then people could use that name. So people are having a discussion and someone wants to know who they are talking about. Well, they are talking about God, because God doesn't have a name like "Zeus" that people can use in conversation.
But whether or not "God" should be capitalized is the less interesting grammatical question. The really interesting question is why people capitalize pronouns that refer to Him. The only other pronoun that's capitalized is "I". Otherwise, the general grammatical rule is to lower-case the pronoun. I'm not sure on the origin of capitalizing the pronouns, but pronouns in other languages (such as Italian) have been capitalized when used formally, in correspondence, or to denote importance.
Why do some people say "G-d" instead of "God". Well, they regard "God" as God's name and there is an interpretation of a commandment in Deuteronomy that essentially boils down to avoiding writing God's name. Obviously, I don't ascribe to the belief that "God" is God's name. If I did, then I would have to regard "G-d" as also being God's name because that's just exactly how the word "G-d" is used whenever it is used. From my point of view, I'd also have to stop referring to Him as "Big G" and so on, but obviously, not everyone sees the situation the same way as I do and I accept that people are just trying to be respectful and not tread on the toes of the Almighty.
So just who do I think "God" refers to? It refers to whomever I am referring to in the context that I use it, whether that's Abraham's god or the monotheistic god of the particular monotheistic tradition I am talking about. You're just going to have to figure out what I mean when I refer to the One and Only Big G by the context of my use of the word, because not everybody uses the word "God" to denote Abraham's god even if the god of a particular other monotheistic tradition is the same god as Abraham's god.
The linguistic problem has to do with talking about God without knowing God's name. If it were something like "Zeus" then people could use that name. So people are having a discussion and someone wants to know who they are talking about. Well, they are talking about God, because God doesn't have a name like "Zeus" that people can use in conversation.
But whether or not "God" should be capitalized is the less interesting grammatical question. The really interesting question is why people capitalize pronouns that refer to Him. The only other pronoun that's capitalized is "I". Otherwise, the general grammatical rule is to lower-case the pronoun. I'm not sure on the origin of capitalizing the pronouns, but pronouns in other languages (such as Italian) have been capitalized when used formally, in correspondence, or to denote importance.
Why do some people say "G-d" instead of "God". Well, they regard "God" as God's name and there is an interpretation of a commandment in Deuteronomy that essentially boils down to avoiding writing God's name. Obviously, I don't ascribe to the belief that "God" is God's name. If I did, then I would have to regard "G-d" as also being God's name because that's just exactly how the word "G-d" is used whenever it is used. From my point of view, I'd also have to stop referring to Him as "Big G" and so on, but obviously, not everyone sees the situation the same way as I do and I accept that people are just trying to be respectful and not tread on the toes of the Almighty.
So just who do I think "God" refers to? It refers to whomever I am referring to in the context that I use it, whether that's Abraham's god or the monotheistic god of the particular monotheistic tradition I am talking about. You're just going to have to figure out what I mean when I refer to the One and Only Big G by the context of my use of the word, because not everybody uses the word "God" to denote Abraham's god even if the god of a particular other monotheistic tradition is the same god as Abraham's god.