# Why the spelling restrictions with the word "god"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334 "2008-12-09T00:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/21 "2008-12-09T20:55:43Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > As a pagan, I struggle with this. 😉 Not that you’re wrong, you’re quite right. I mean that I struggle with my own usage of God(s), god(s), Goddess(es) and goddess(es). I do find it insulting that only one god gets the capital letter, yet I understand that it’s common practice and why. > > Generally, I personally use lower case if I’m speaking of them in a literary or mythic sense, and upper case if I’m speaking of Them devotionally or personally. But I won’t even claim to be consistent on that. Mostly agreed. 🙂 When speaking of the God and Goddess, capital. I tend to invoke Athena in ritual work but then it would be goddess Athena. Goddess is not her name, Athena is, so that gets the capital. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/22 "2008-12-09T21:06:28Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > The Easter Bunny doesn’t have a proper name, his descriptor IS his proper name. The Christian deity has a proper name, and there is no reason to use that spelling quirk other than to take a snide poke at other faiths. The use of Him, His, etc is even more obnoxious and less justifiable grammatically. In the contemporary protestant faiths I am familiar with, God’s name is..wait for it
“God”. It’s His proper name. It’s not a stand-in for another word or spelling. If confusion with Jesus (also God) and the Holy Ghost (also God) is a problem, they call the other third of the Trinity “God the Father”. He is a triple threat. Yahweh, YHWH, Jehovah, Elohim, etc., are considered historic or former or alternate names for God. The God. The One whose name is God. Accept no sustitutes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/23 "2008-12-09T21:29:16Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Mostly agreed. 🙂 When speaking of the God and Goddess, capital. I tend to invoke Athena in ritual work but then it would be goddess Athena. Goddess is not her name, Athena is, so that gets the capital. I capitalize it in that sense, as I would capitalize the Q and P in the titles of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama, or even the M in Mister Antinor. But I’m not willing to go outside and fight over it or anything. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Eklektik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Eklektik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eklektik)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/24 "2008-12-09T21:35:16Z")
Ah, so God is his name AND it’s a title
 like Judge Reinhold! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/25 "2008-12-09T21:37:04Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I capitalize it in that sense, as I would capitalize the Q and P in the titles of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama, or even the M in Mister Antinor. But I’m not willing to go outside and fight over it or anything. 😉 Your way makes sense as well. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/26 "2008-12-09T21:42:17Z")
These explanations all make sense as I can see the historic context in which they were developed. However, one thing still nags at me: Who came up with these semantics? Does God himself have any rules on how his name is to be written? To the poster who wrote that people were not supposed to pronounce Elohim or Yahweh, did God tell that to people? Whats the punishment if you do? ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/27 "2008-12-09T23:45:49Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > In the contemporary protestant faiths I am familiar with, God’s name is..wait for it
“God”. It’s His proper name. It’s not a stand-in for another word or spelling. > > If confusion with Jesus (also God) and the Holy Ghost (also God) is a problem, they call the other third of the Trinity “God the Father”. He is a triple threat. > > Yahweh, YHWH, Jehovah, Elohim, etc., are considered historic or former or alternate names for God. The God. The One whose name is God. Accept no sustitutes. This is simply not true, and was certainly not written as _“The One whose name is God”._ It may have been _copied_ wrong, and subsequently _translated_ wrong, but it wasn’t written that way. ETA: A “stand in” is _ **exactly** _ is what it is/was. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/28 "2008-12-10T02:50:35Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > This is simply not true, and was certainly not written as _“The One whose name is God”._ > > It may have been _copied_ wrong, and subsequently _translated_ wrong, but it wasn’t written that way. > > ETA: A “stand in” is _ **exactly** _ is what it is/was. I fail to see your point. Are you saying my observations about growing up in a fundamental Christian family are inaccurate? Are you misunderstanding me? I take back nothing I said. Other families and environments may be different, but I experienced a handful of Christian protestant environments (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, non-demoninational Christian, Baptist and Quakers) and, to the best of my recollection, that was the way it was. God was the name for God. Yahweh, Elohim and others were mentioned, historical and biblical, but not contemporary names. “Our Father” might be considered a substitute for God’s name, but God wasn’t a substitute for anything. It was quite different from a Jewish experience, which I was introduced to much later in life. I found the contrast quite interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/29 "2008-12-10T08:02:14Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > it’s an asinine rule, and a bigoted one at that. The Christian god HAS a proper name, and using the capitalized version of the word is nothing more than a subtle religious propaganda tactic. Just because we’ve done something for a while doesn’t make it correct, rules are meant to be revised. > > Acid-Who doesn’t believe in any God, god, gods, or other permutations of the word. But those proper names (JesĂșs, Manuel) are also capitalized when they refer to, say, my classmate JesĂșs Cristo or to Manolo GarcĂ­a
 😛 The capitalized God is a proper name. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/30 "2008-12-10T09:25:35Z")
Exodus 3:14-15: 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . \*\* This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ " (Some versions have “I am that I am.”) 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. God has quite a long name (”'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"), which apparently has been shortened to the nickname, “God,” such as Algernon would be shortened to “Al.” Or he has a very short name, “I AM.” But he doesn’t go by “I AM” much anymore. 😃 I don’t think he’s ever actually identified himself with a name as we know it; he’s used more descriptives, like “Baker” or “Smith” became actual names through use. So I tend to think “God” is his job that became what we use as his name. Just my two cents. And God only knows who decided what words to capitalize. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/31 "2008-12-10T10:49:36Z")
> [@Eklektik](#): > > Ah, so God is his name AND it’s a title
 like Judge Reinhold! > > 😉 No, more like Major Major 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/32 "2008-12-10T12:44:23Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > God - The only one that is a proper noun, because he’s one of a kind. Something Ive been pondering for awhile Doesnt the bible kinda say theres more than one god? its: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Not: “Im the only one.” So its God because were meaning this God not just any god. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/33 "2008-12-10T12:50:03Z")
> [@Westrogothia](#): > > Something Ive been pondering for awhile > Doesnt the bible kinda say theres more than one god? While I personally believe that yes, it does, the more common (and Christian) interpretation is that it’s warning against idolatry. Not in the sense of worshiping statues, but in the sense of making anything in your life - money, food, working out, politics, your job, even your family - more important than God. Putting anything else before God, making gods of mundane nongodlike things, is Bad, mmm’kay? ---
**Author:** ![schindler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@schindler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schindler)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/34 "2008-12-10T16:33:35Z")
> [@Westrogothia](#): > > Something Ive been pondering for awhile > Doesnt the bible kinda say theres more than one god? > > its: > “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” > > Not: “Im the only one.” > > So its God because were meaning this God not just any god. 🙂 to have another god, is to worship another god. That needn’t mean said god exists. If your boss says “and I don’t want you working at any other business”, and you ask, “not even JP Flannigans?” Lol you get my point. JP flannigans (i assume) doesn’t exist. But you serve your boss, and your boss exclusively, regardless of what nonentities you believe in. I assume that to be a simple reading of that passage, although I’m sure there are scholars who say that the Pentateuch refers to other gods as though they do in fact exist. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/35 "2008-12-10T22:38:46Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I fail to see your point. Are you saying my observations about growing up in a fundamental Christian family are inaccurate? Are you misunderstanding me? I take back nothing I said. Other families and environments may be different, but I experienced a handful of Christian protestant environments (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, non-demoninational Christian, Baptist and Quakers) and, to the best of my recollection, that was the way it was. > > God was the name for God. Yahweh, Elohim and others were mentioned, historical and biblical, but not contemporary names. “Our Father” might be considered a substitute for God’s name, but God wasn’t a substitute for anything. > > It was quite different from a Jewish experience, which I was introduced to much later in life. I found the contrast quite interesting. _What I’m saying_ is that God’s name is not “God”, any more than your name is “man” or “woman.” I don’t doubt your observations, and I don’t [think] I’m misunderstanding you. However, God’s name is"Yahweh"; or some close variation of it, and rendered most commonly as “Jehovah” in English. In the bible texts where “God”, “Sovereign Lord” or “Lord” appear in your bible they are in fact “stand ins”; replacements for the name Yahweh which is the proper name of God, and the name that appeared in the original text. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/36 "2008-12-10T22:48:06Z")
**Musicat** , **the raindog** is a Jehovah’s Witness. They have very definite ideas about the name of their god. ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/37 "2008-12-10T22:55:57Z")
> [@schindler](#): > > to have another god, is to worship another god. That needn’t mean said god exists. If your boss says “and I don’t want you working at any other business”, and you ask, “not even JP Flannigans?” Lol you get my point. JP flannigans (i assume) doesn’t exist. But you serve your boss, and your boss exclusively, regardless of what nonentities you believe in. > > I assume that to be a simple reading of that passage, although I’m sure there are scholars who say that the Pentateuch refers to other gods as though they do in fact exist. The “you should not have any other businesses” also rather assumes there are in fact other businesses out there looking to get my attention. If in fact there were no other businesses my boss would have no need to tell me. unless he was a real dick, but then I rather think he would say something like. “Im the only god
 ehm
 boss there is.. and dont you forget it
” ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/38 "2008-12-10T23:06:43Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > **Musicat** , **the raindog** is a Jehovah’s Witness. They have very definite ideas about the name of their god. Timeout. For the purpose of this discussion, I’ll gladly assume the position of _atheist_ and invite you, as well, to share your thoughts on the subject. The simple fact is, in the original texts the name “God”, “Sovereign Lord”, or “Lord” did not appear. If **Musicat** wishes to take the position that “my church taught me that”, or that it appears as “God” (etc) in his translations, you’ll have no argument from me. However, every single Christian denomination I’m aware of would _not_ claim that God’s name was actually “God.” ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/39 "2008-12-11T00:32:00Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > However, every single Christian denomination I’m aware of would _not_ claim that God’s name was actually “God.” I don’t think this is relevant to the capitalization question though. To take a different tack - Anh Quang Cao was just elected as a representative from Louisiana. People call him Joseph. Joseph is properly capitalized even though it is not his “actual” name. The same rule holds even if the person wasn’t called that contemporaneously, or doesn’t ask to be called it. If you have a friend who you call “Biff” you would capitalize it, even if it’s not his name. The general rule is that when using a name to indicate a specific person, it’s a proper noun and should be capitalized. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/40 "2008-12-11T00:37:05Z")
You asked if the original bible told to capitalize God’s name. No, it didn’t; the original bible was in hebrew. Us Israelis don’t need to capitalize! AND we have less letters! (But we have vowels under the letters, so
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