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Which is better? "god" or "God"?

Sometimes people type "god" and other times they type "God". Which is right? Is there a time where one is better?

  • 13 votes
  • 5 votes
#god
Monkey 7 Sep 19
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13 comments

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1

It is a funny that the results shows both choices as "God" so it is unclear which is the most voted.

1

It depends on whether you are using the word as a pronoun or a common noun.

0

It's a propper noun referring to a certain being. It will be capitalized weather, God exists or not. Like Jehova, or Allah. It's just a name.

0

I'd need a 3rd option to answer this one. Lowercase god refers to any god, while God generally refers to the Judeo-Christian god. Thus, the questions "Do gods exist?" and "Do you believe in a personal god?" are asking about any god, while "Do you believe in a personal God?" is a theological debate one can have within a Christian church, where the existence of their God is unquestioned, but his personal responsiveness to prayers is the point of the question. Capitalizing God is correct where it is the name or title of the supernatural being in question, and is no more a form of worship than capitalizing the name Jane when talking about someone named Jane, even if Jane is just a fictional character in a classic novel.

1

I'm a writer, therefore grammar is important to me.
If you're using "god" as a generic term, such as "look at him, he's like a Greek god," then it's lower-case g. If your using it as the title, let's say, "God is watching you, and it's creepy," then it's upper-case. I always defer to the Chicago Manual of Style.

0

Definitely lower g. It's a title, afterall. Yahweh is the proper name of the Abrahamic god, and should always be capitalized. But even the president doesn't get his title capitalized... why should a figment of one's imagination?

1

Depends if your using proper english god would be lower case but if you name a god it would be proper noun . The work god alone isnt a proper noun.
So lower case

0

I go out of my way to make it lower case. I know, petty, but I can't stop myself. I actually usually just replace it with invisible sky daddy.

0

I actually lower-case it because I know how it gets under the skin of the fundamentalist. Then again, I'm the kind of person that likes to stir the pot, so to speak. 🙂

0

There are so many good that it is ridiculous to capitalize one and even then can't be sure which one they mean sometimes. I capitalize for grammar, but no other reason.

3

I stopped capitalizing god when I determined I was an atheist. It probably seems silly but I just don't feel that god deserves a capital letter since s/he is not real. It would be like capitalizing "fairy" or "gremlin" or "ghost".

1

I only capitalize god when it's the first word of a sentence, because I choose not to acknowledge or exalt it as a personally recognized title. However, which is right, or better, is a matter of the established rules and traditions of where you live, (i.e. when in France, do as the French) and whether you acknowledge and comply.

3

Not believing in God is no excuse for poor English.

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