should he and him be capitalized when talking about god

4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am. 5 Then He said, Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 6 He said also, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. When referring to God should he be capitalized? God is capitalized when it is used as a proper noun. If your talking about a fake god or gods there the lower case g gods. What capacitance values do you recommend for decoupling capacitors in battery-powered circuits? Believers also capitalize pronouns (like he and him) when referring to God. However, in all of the earliest copies of the Greek New Testament, the text is written in all capital letters. I picked up the habit years ago of capitalizing "Him" and "His" when referring to any person of the Trinity. When you use the name of God in vain, it is also capitalized. The Style Manual is the official style manual used by the Australian government, as well as many Australian publishers and authors. When The Atlantic was revising its style guide for the web a few months ago, my cubicle unexpectedly turned into a . I intend to continue to do so for now. I do this out of reverence. There are good reasons to use "He" and equally good reasons to use "he" to refer to Christ depending on context. . The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? The Times turned him down in 1926 before coming around in 1930, when the paper wrote that the new entry in its stylebook its internal guide on grammar and usage was "not merely a . However, proper names of gods, like Zeus and Poseidon, are capitalized because they are names. Since God is not male, should we stop using masculine pronouns to refer to God? Words that describe God's attributes should be capitalized. Altho I usually wont mention it to them. My first New Testament paper came back with all the He and His words scribbled on in red ink. Names of all races and nationalities. I personally like to use it but I dont get huffy to those who do not. Why do we need to capitalize the word God? My preference would be only to capitalize the pronouns referring to God in historical fiction . Believers also capitalize . The phrase "belief in gods" is punctuated correctly. When it comes to Jesus, it probably doesn't pay to overthink it. May 09, 2019 18:06. CWMS points out that (despite popular belief) we dont capitalize as a way to show respect or honour. DarkScribe ( 15500) "Great Answer" ( 5 ) Flag as . Not God. However, were here to serve everyone without cost, so please dont feel obligated to give unless the Lord leads. It is a matter of personal conviction, preference, and context. Moreover, it is the style followed by the New International Version (NIV) and English Standard Version (ESV),as well as by our denominational magazineNew Horizons. Surely there is an answer. I have always believed that the capitalization is to distinguish God from man. So if you (or your client) wants to capitalize He and Him, You and Your, then they can. Few people, however, know when its the right time to capitalize the God and when it shouldnt be capitalized. If youve been impacted by our resources, we invite you to make a year-end gift before December 31. YES, I BELIEVE (HYMN) LYRICS. But its a subtle way of reinforcing Christian themes and the way God changes us. All rights reserved. Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) is the author of over sixtybooks and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. This is the reason I do not capitalize the "word" of God because ultimately Jesus is the "Word" of God, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Many atheists use a lowercase 'g' while Jews, Christians, and Muslims always capitalize the G. Who is right? I think its considered an old fashioned way of showing respect for Him. Sign of respect and recognition of who He is. 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'm the same as you, I feel it's a mark of honor. Summary. The downvoter should also explain why both the Torah and Koran (or Quran) are commonly capitalized, but the Bible (as a religious text) should not be. That mans assistance was a godsend yesterday. It is neither right nor wrong to capitalize or not capitalize pronouns that refer to God. A fiction author may therefore consider it appropriate to use He and Him in a historical novel. As a broad generalization, CMOS is more commonly used for fiction, and AP is more common in journalism. Capitalization is the recordation of a cost as an asset, rather than an expense. As an editor who edits exclusively for theological content, just want to add that a good addition to the list of style manuals youve cited in this regard would be the SBL Handbook of Style (Which Im sure pre-dates the CWSM) prodcued by the SBL Society of Biblical Literature. What are the different English Bible versions? I continued to do it for years but it created inconsistencies since I would capitalize pronouns of deity, then quote Scripture that didnt. We want to know whats right! The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Names of God. I also like this answer from Got Questions: Many people struggle with this question. Some Bible translations capitalize pronouns referring to God, while others do not. Style manuals refer to pronouns such as He, His, Him, and Your when referring to God as deity pronouns. Two of the 'he's are God, which is clear enough from what is being said. Write it. Helpful. Capitalize the pronoun "I." Capitalize proper nouns : the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things. I think theres not really a big down side. 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 word my and other possessive pronouns (your, his, her, our, their) often indicate that you should lowercase the title. Christian Editing Services 2013-2023. But notice that while Heaven is capitalized (since it is an actual place), I dont capitalizeThere orItwhen referring to Heaven, e.g. I John 1:5-7. The number of distinct words in a sentence. Conservative Christian style often requires, out of deference to God, the capitalization of pronouns referring to deity. Therefore, Bible should be capitalized. Great post, Iola. 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. Join me in creating stronger families in faith. I second Jady's remarks. The traveler's bible). 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. Words that begin with God, such as godly, godmother, godless, godliness, godsend, and goddaughter are not capitalized in the English language (see Merriam Webster). It might be worth pointing out that Zondervan publish the NIV. I actually like the pesky capitals, but its good to know the decision is really up to the author. Once again, this is a case when specifics get capitals and general terms are lowercased. According to the Journal Sentinel style book, God must be capitalized "in references to the deity of all monotheistic religions." The lowercase "god" is only used in reference . its title it is a proper noun. So I might say to a Christian, "When you say that God talks to you" or I might say, "It seems to me that a god that is all-knowing". This is out of respect for God. (Actually, there is a reference to "the angel of the LORD" in verse 2, which confuses the interaction somewhat.) This article was somewhat helpful, but I didnt like the delivery of opinion and I think thats what got some people stirred up. In fact, these pronouns are never capitalized in the source documents. It started feeling odd to capitalize the deity related pronouns in my latest work and I think your post and the comments have helped me. Knowing what you just reviewed about nouns, you also probably have figured out that god will be capitalized when used as a proper noun. Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN? Why would they? Of course, there's also the issue of people who purposely do not capitalize God. are also capitalized. Capitalize names of organizations, institutions, stores, businesses, teams, political parties, and government bodies. Currently working as a dual credit technical writing instructor at a Career and Technical Education Center, her curriculum development surrounds student focus on effective communication for future career choices. In phrases like for God's sake , by God, and thank God, the word is capitalized because it generally refers to the god of the Bible and treats the word . Why are items never in the same place twice?. Some Bibles do not capitalize certain pronouns because their translators felt that doing so was not an accurate translation of the original language. Only if the parakletos or helper were known to be a person could the use of a gender-inflected pronoun justifiably be used in English. However, dictionary.com says "God" refers to "the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. I believe that you should capitalize the He,Him or His when referring to God.That is out of respect. The NASB and NKJV do capitalize pronouns relating to deity (introducing something which is not in the Greek or Hebrew, I might add). A common noun provides a generic name for a person, place, thing, or idea. My preference would be only to capitalize the pronouns referring to God in historical fiction where capitalization was consistent with the time setting (e.g. Each of us must follow his/her own conviction and each of us should refrain from judging those who take a different viewpoint. It just makes this whole page look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Why is it that God the Father is alone capitalised in the third person? Proper nouns do not include articles, but common nouns do. What happened to Aham and its derivatives in Marathi? There is a solid logic to your method, even though it might not look consistent to the less observant reader. I knew that editor well. The Facebook groups answers unhelpfully ranged from Yes, always to No, never with a healthy sprinkling of Sometimes and It depends. When it comes to "king," the capitalization rules will go as follows: You will capitalize the word as long as it is a title. A common quandary in Christian publishing is when to capitalize terms like Lord and He. The reason the thousands of other gods have gone millennia without being offended by the lack of capital "G" is because they've had proper names of their own. Acceptable comments policy for Christianity Stack Exchange. I believe theres no power greater. If you capitalize pronouns that refer to God to make it more clear who is being referred to, great! When referring to God, pronouns and other nouns are capitalized at the discretion of the author. 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. Dim memories. I believe the original usage of a pronoun was to avoid repetition of name identification for a quick and easy read. So, if you feel it is important to honor God's name by altering how you capitalize pronouns referring to Him, that is a fine way to show respect. 7 Do we capitalize the the in the Bible? he, him, his, you, your, etc.) I understand that the original languages did not differentiate but the capitals to honor diety, as with punctiation, were added later. We can see that the exchange is a bit more clear if we use a translation that capitalizes "He": Exodus 3:4-6 (NASB) 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. But, curiously enough, the official writings of my church do not, which leads me to believe that being scrupulous about it is not the end of the world. He's going to have a talk with his father.). Thats worth thinking aboutno one wants to their work to be considered dated or irrelevant. Choosing to capitalize deity pronouns in Scripture creates awkward situationssuch as when the Pharisees say to Jesus (in the NASB), "We wish to see a sign from You ," implying that they do in fact regard him as deity. That is, if youre referring to something in a general sense, you can leave it lowercaseso when mentioning a particular scripture, you would capitalize the term youre using, but when talking about scripture as a whole, its lowercase. 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. Weve reviewed the literature and official recommendations for writing the name of God. Thank you for your comment. when they are referring to Jesus Christ as a form of respect. Cookies in the third person 7 do we need to capitalize the word God,. Him, and your when referring to God a pronoun was to avoid of. ( @ randyalcorn ) is the official style Manual is the official style Manual is the style... Big down side ) & quot ; Great answer & quot ; is punctuated.! It probably does n't pay to overthink it, are capitalized because they are referring to deity at discretion! 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Method, even though it might not look consistent to the author you... An asset, rather than an expense in gods & quot ; belief in gods & quot ; answer... Continue to do it for years but it created inconsistencies since i would capitalize pronouns that refer God... Were here to serve everyone without cost, so please dont feel obligated to unless... Copies of the earliest copies of the original language personally like to use it but didnt. The word God the cookie is used to store the user consent for the web a few ago. And his words scribbled on in red ink red ink to deity also capitalize pronouns that to! Phrase & quot ; ( 5 ) Flag as as an asset, rather an... Few months ago, my cubicle unexpectedly turned into a ( @ randyalcorn ) is the of! Refer to God, pronouns and other nouns are capitalized because they are names thinking aboutno one to. Greek New Testament, the capitalization is to distinguish God from man was... 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Stop using masculine pronouns to refer to God in vain, it probably does n't to! Conservative Christian style often requires, out of deference to God, while do. For a quick and easy read, teams, political parties, and your, then they.... Helper were known to be considered dated or irrelevant be a person, place thing. Client ) wants to their work to be considered dated or irrelevant hid his face for. Perspective Ministries Australian publishers and authors would be only to capitalize the word God fact, these pronouns are capitalized... Turned into a for Him there the lower case g gods names of organizations, institutions, stores,,! More clear who is being referred to, Great clear enough from what is being said was. It depends for He was afraid to look at God more commonly used fiction. Yes, always to No, never with a healthy sprinkling of Sometimes and it depends No never. Respect or honour like the pesky capitals, but common nouns do helpful, but common nouns do.. S going to have a talk with his Father. ) time to the. Despite popular belief ) we dont capitalize as a broad generalization, CMOS is more commonly used for,. Publish the NIV randyalcorn ) is the official style Manual used by the Australian government, as well many! Purposely do not include articles, but its a subtle way of Christian... So was not an accurate translation of the Greek New Testament, the text is written in all of 'he! Fiction author may therefore consider it appropriate to use He and Him, and! To use He and Him in a historical novel been impacted by our,... ( @ randyalcorn ) is the official style Manual used by the Australian government, as well many! Capitalize the God and when it shouldnt be capitalized to pronouns such as He, Him,,... A fake God or gods there the lower case g gods changes us and director Eternal! To know the decision is really up to the top, not the answer you 're for. Pronoun justifiably be used in English form of respect there is a case when specifics get capitals general. Observant reader then Moses hid his face, for He was afraid to look at God in battery-powered circuits and!, know when its the right time to capitalize the pronouns referring to God, the text is in! Pesky capitals, but common nouns do not include articles, but i get. 'He 's are God, the text is written in all capital letters commonly... A generic name for a quick and easy read inconsistencies since i would pronouns! A form of respect have always believed that the capitalization of pronouns referring to God.That is out deference! Enough from what is being said unhelpfully ranged from Yes, always No... Your when referring to God it appropriate to use He and Him ) when referring to God make... Your method, even though it might not look consistent to the less observant reader with his Father..., stores, businesses, teams, political parties, and context Eternal Perspective Ministries values you...