Why Do Jewish People Write "G-D" When spelling out his name?

Factual Questions
1

Whenever I am reading an article or essay by a person of the jewish faith, they always refer to The Creator as “G-D”.

My guess is that it is out of respect, but what is the story behind it?

2

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=100183 and http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=94264 are just two of the many threads on this. please try the “search” function more often.

3

Here you go.

and here.

Zev Steinhardt

4

Missed it by less than a minute!

Zev Steinhardt