- Do you have feedback or suggestions on how we can improve? 'god' when talking about the word as a noun. Usually you don't capitalize after a colon, but there are exceptions. I regularly find experienced English speakers using the word god incorrectly in their writing and misunderstanding the difference between a proper and common noun. Updated on September 30, 2022 Grammar. Is it appropriate to capitalize pronouns referring to Jesus Christ? 1. Several respondents based their answers based on the practice in their Bibles which were equally inconsistent (for those who are interested, compare the New International Version with the New American Standard Bible). The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". The word Bible is also capitalized when referring to the Jewish Bible, when used as the first word in a sentence, and when used in the main title of written works. Why is it that God the Father is alone capitalised in the third person? Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Conservative Christian style often requires, out of deference to God, the capitalization of pronouns referring to deity. When referring to God should he be capitalized? Helpful. In Hebrew, there was no such thing as upper-case and lower-case letters. God should be capitalized and sister shouldn't be. However, some believers tend to capitalize the pronouns to show reverence for God. @Narnian it's about orthography, not grammar ;). Likewise I always capitalize Christ, which is the title of Jesus of Nazareth. 1.) His family was going through some hardships, and he asked his friend to pray to God for them. Continue doing so. In phrases like the Biblical god and a forgiving god, which do have articles, theres no need to capitalize god because it is a common noun rather than a nameyet many religiously inclined writers still capitalize the word in these instances. They are not capitalized in the Greek text of the Scriptures. Letter case is a relatively modern innovation, so we can't go by the original languages. as You. referring to the Blessed Trinity has not been a widespread practice in Christian tradition. In German, every Noun is capitalized. Summary. This group happened to be a Christian reader group, but its a question that seemingly flummoxes readers and writers alike. In phrases like for Gods sake, by God, and thank God, the word is capitalized because it generally refers to God of the Bible and treats the word as a name. Remember, if a word refers to God, it must be capitalized! he, him, his, you, your, etc.) Two of the 'he's are God, which is clear enough from what is being said. Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) is the author of over sixtybooks and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. Spirituality and spiritual growth authors tend to capitalize any word that to them represents a higher concept or God: Universe, Gratitude, Divine Love, Universal Mind, Consciousness. I really think God should be capitalized in this case, because it's the speaker speaking of the speaker's own deity, even though it may be a relatively trivial situation such as a toilet . In a court, they refer to a judge as Your Honor or Chief Justice and for a mayor in some countries is addressed as Your worship/worshipful Mayor and His (Her) Royal Highness, His (Her) Majesty (for Royal families), https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/awards-tributes/forms-of-address/. And I think youre right in that a lot of readers still expect to see He and Him. May 29, 2014. Why is he or him not capitalized in the Bible? If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Im thinking about this because the use of whom has come up several times recently in the editing of my blog posts and book manuscripts. Hope this is a helpful addition. If we go There or Without a doubt, It is a happy place! Only the actual word Heaven is capitalized, and industry standard is similar with pronouns referring to deity. What does the Bible say about capitalization? In this short section, we have three sentences in a row that start off "X he said". he him; male and female created he them. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. The names of gods and goddesses are capitalized. The only alternative would be to quote from NASB or NKJV, both of which capitalize pronouns of deity, but neither of which is my preference for purposes of clarity. I can't say I have given the capital C used in creation . Cite it. It is a matter of personal conviction, preference, and context. Its so easy for uncapitalised pronouns to slip through the cracks, therefore making the writing seem inconsistent. Others, believing the rules of English style should be followed, do not capitalize the deity pronouns. What tool to use for the online analogue of "writing lecture notes on a blackboard"? We don't have to capitalize the "g" when we refer to the Roman gods because they were named Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, etc. We also refer to Him with pronouns and other words: He, It, Him, His. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The Judeo-Christian god is named God, since they believe He is the only one. Wiki User. @MarcGravell: Yes, it depends on the context. How did Dominion legally obtain text messages from Fox News hosts? That includes Angels since we are a little bit lower than they. Those who capitalize God's pronouns often do so out of a sense of respect, desiring to give God honor over regular people by showing that even a pronoun of God is worth elevating. In the case of Christians, their god is rarely mentioned by name, so using capitalization is usually less distracting than using the name Yahweh. 8 Should the word Bible be capitalised? I also do this as a sign of respect. What are the different English Bible versions? Id prefer we keep grammar simple and let it be one rule for all to remain in consistency with its original intent. Acts 17:24-25: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in pronouns made by man, nor is he served by CAPS, as though he needed anything . This article will provide you the answers to spell it correctly. When The Atlantic was revising its style guide for the web a few months ago, my cubicle unexpectedly turned into a . She turned in the aisle, exclaiming, Oh, gods of grocery! We want to know whats right! Likewise if referring to the particular dev. Others do not. The Christian Writers Manual of Style states: Most publishers, religious and general, use the lowercase style in large part to conform to the two most popular versions of the Bible (the best-selling NIV and . If gods starts your sentence it should be capitalized (also read: Funny Christian pick-up lines). However, in all of the earliest copies of the Greek New Testament, the text is written in all capital letters. [closed], from your pastor, priest, or other trustworthy counselor, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Home Dear Editor: Should we Capitalize Pronouns Referring to God or Jesus? Your email address will not be published. This is a noun that names a unique entity, such as "Barbra Streisand" or "Donald Duck.". I personally like to use it but I dont get huffy to those who do not. Other forms referring to the one religious God also must be capitalized, such as Allah, Father, or Jehovah. I understand that the original languages did not differentiate but the capitals to honor diety, as with punctiation, were added later. In brief, bible, when referring to a holy book of religion, should be capitalised. I argue the same for capitalizing the New Earthif we capitalize New England, why not the redeemed creation that Scripture calls the New Earth? The subject came up about using capitalization for words referring to God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the I Am, the Man Eternal and the Trinity. Christianity Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for committed Christians, experts in Christianity and those interested in learning more. shawmino 6 yr. ago. Names of all races and nationalities. 3 eternal God Eucharist Exile (biblical event) See also H.quotation marks. The official . I knew that editor well. Find it. @hammar in your estimation, do atheists care that many Christians and most Jews would not want the name of God to be pronounced or see it written? Laziness. I only promote those products and services I have personally investigated or used, and which I believe deliver value. However, respect for God and His name does have precedence, both from the Ten Commandments ( Exodus 20:7) and from the Jewish traditions surrounding the name of . There are always questions about grammar and capitalization when it comes to God. They are capitalized neither in the King James Version of the Bible nor in the English Standard Version. Plural gods are always lowercase, unless beginning a sentence, or unless it's the proper name of the gods (Zeus, Poseidon). Why are there so many Bible translations, and which is the best? The old practice of capitalizing pronouns of deity has been done in very few Bible translations historically, and was abandoned by most Christian publishers years ago. English speakers also traditionally capitalize the pronoun He in reference to God. There was simply an alphabet, no capital letters at all. Those are hardworking, but godless people. Harry says: April 30, 2011 at 8:42 pm. All rights reserved. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Do you capitalize him when referring God? But they also allow for author (or publisher) preference. This rule of thumb applies fairly broadly in Christian publishing. We only capitalize the "G" in the . But I've begun to doubt that practice, at least for published writing (I don't wish to police others . CORRECT: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. Over the years Ive been asked my opinion about authors using pen names. Zondervan (publishers of the New International Version of the Bible) recognize that the major style guides dont address many of the style issues raised by those writing for a Christian audience, so they publish their own style guide (written by Robert Hudson). Of course, its every individuals freedom of choice! But now I see it both ways. No, I havent heard of that before. The reverse is almost impossible without a careful proofread. As everyone prayed, Elie felt like "an observer [and] a stranger" because he had disconnected . Capitalize names of organizations, institutions, stores, businesses, teams, political parties, and government bodies. Each of us must follow his/her own conviction and each of us should refrain from judging those who take a different viewpoint. For example, the group of people becomes the Debate Club, the classroom becomes English 101, and the girl becomes Mary. 11:6 KJV. Why do we need to capitalize the word God? The name or title of any specific deity is capitalized just like any other name, so when "God" is used to refer to "the one God" (in other words, in any monotheistic religion), it is capitalized. The purpose is to respect the name of God and avoid writing it (the name is sacred and if its not written it cannot be destructed by man later). For example, God is capitalized in these sentences because it names the religious, monotheistic god (note the lack of definite or indefinite article): When the word god is used as a common noun, it is usually preceded by an article and is a good indication that you must keep the word in lowercase. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek were all written in what we would call uppercase. God is capitalized when it functions as a name. Surely there is an answer. He's going to have a talk with Father.) What is reverential capitalization and how does it apply for when to capitalize God. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Yes Christian Bible should be capitalised. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church explains it this way on their website: We follow the style, which does not capitalize pronouns relating to deity. Capitalization lets readers know whether a gender pronoun refers to God in the biblical text or to a human being. However, if you feel it is . Therefore, Bible should be capitalized. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The debate over whether we capitalize He/Him when talking about a member of the Trinity isn't without merit. I have multiple translations of the Bible in my possession, and some capitalize only for God, some for God and Jesus, some for neither. (But watch me!) I prefer double, because its dead easy to use Words Find and Replace function to change all double quotation marks to single. Sign of respect and recognition of who He is. If youve been impacted by our resources, we invite you to make a year-end gift before December 31. The only alternative would be to quote from NASB or NKJV, both of which capitalize pronouns of deity, but neither of which is my preference for purposes of clarity. Privacy Policy. Capitalize family relationships when used as proper nouns . These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The same rule applies to the name of a music group. Christian Editing Services 2013-2023. Over 1.5 million copies sold! 2 What does the Bible say about capitalization? It can get a bit complicated the way I'm choosing . Thank you for your comment. It not only shows reverence, but sometimes increases clarityas in Jesus and Peter were talking, and then suddenly He said to him, Look out. But where its not possible, i.e. Write it. A fiction author may therefore consider it appropriate to use He and Him in a historical novel. ; male and should he and him be capitalized when talking about god created he them shouldn & # x27 ; when talking about a member the... To store the user consent for the cookies in the Bible t without merit God in.. 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