# It;s God, not G-D **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 28, 2000, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-s-god-not-g-d/30978 "2000-08-28T00:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-s-god-not-g-d/30978/61 "2000-10-06T18:38:31Z")
I know this thread’s been dead a while, but since I haven’t been around since it was active, I’m just now seeing this and have something to add that might clear up some of the confusion. Not spelling out G-d has nothing to do with G-d not _wanting_ us to spell His name (I’m sorry, but I have to laugh at that notion - LOL). It’s also got nothing to do with pronouncing or saying it or even about writing it. Nor is it about using it in vain. Here is a reference (which, ironically, spells out the word/name G-d throughout, while explaining why it isn’t supposed to be done). From: [http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm](http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm) > [@](#): > > **Writing the Name of God** > > (bolding mine) > Jews do not casually write **any** Name of God. This practice does not come from the commandment not to take the Lord’s Name in vain, as many suppose. In Jewish thought, that commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and is a prohibition against swearing by God’s Name falsely or frivolously (the word normally translated as “in vain” literally means “for falsehood”). > > Judaism **does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God.** However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better. > > \ > > It is worth noting that this prohibition against erasing or defacing Names of God applies only to Names that are written in some kind of permanent form, and recent rabbinical decisions have held that writing on a computer is not a permanent form, thus it is not a violation to type God’s Name into a computer and then backspace over it or cut and paste it, or copy and delete files with God’s Name in them. However, once you print the document out, it becomes a permanent form. That is why observant Jews avoid writing a Name of God on web sites like this one or in newsgroup messages: because there is a risk that someone else will print it out and deface it. > > \ I hope this answers some of the above questions/concerns. ---
**Author:** ![filthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@filthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filthy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-s-god-not-g-d/30978/62 "2000-10-07T13:59:55Z")
andros Member ## quote: ## Why doesn’t someone ask him how he wants it spelled? ## I did. He said it’s spelled “H-a-r-o-l-d.” I thought ‘Harold’ was an angel 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-s-god-not-g-d/30978/63 "2000-10-07T16:18:11Z")
A couple of observations: The “generic he” is a misnomer, wrong, and just plain offensive. When talking about people, “he” is as much as a generic as “white” is. I’ve always wondered about the term Jehovah: Why would (insert whatever you use here) have a name that includes two letters (j and/or v) not found in over 50% of the world’s languages? ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-s-god-not-g-d/30978/64 "2000-10-07T16:45:27Z")
I don’t have a problem with people using G-D, but it irritates the hell out me when people correct the way I spell “god.”\* I do not capitalize because I choose not to acknowledge any specific one when a deity conversation is ensued through writing. Just because I choose not to acknowledge your beliefs in my writing _does not mean_ I am disrespecting them. It just means I am speaking from my point of view using the spelling of what I choose as my beliefs. You don’t change the way you spell when you address me, so why should I change mine adressing you? \*This one girl I go to school with will proofread people’s papers, crossing out every “god” and replace it with “G-D,” completely defeating the purpose of why she uses G-D. I don’t think she realizes why she is supposed to use it instead other than that it is supposed to make it a document to not be destroyed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-s-god-not-g-d/30978.md?page=3)