But if different people do things different ways, then why are you so insistent on your way being the only way. I don’t care how you use it, but I’m defending my position.

You really came off like your way is right and that’s it. That seems kind of rude. And that’s one of the things that theists try to hold against us.

God is not a name and I don’t think you have convinced me otherwise. If everyone uses it differently, then I am not expected to know all their rules.

If you don’t see a point in arguing further than don’t. But I won’t change my mind because you said its the only right way. I have a say and can make my point, too.

I’m not saying there’s only one right way. From a grammar standpoint, there’s no question that capital “G” is called for when referring to the primary monotheistic deity, just as it would were we talking about Gilgamesh. But that doesn’t mean you have to follow that rule. I’ve simply been trying to say that, in my opinion, there’s no good reason not to. IOW, there’s no debate about what is correct grammatically. But I respect your right to deviate from that if you want to. It’s not as though English grammar rules were written in stone. If you want to make a statement about your contempt for Christians, Jews, or the Judeo-Christian deity, that’s certainly your right.

On the Jewish thing, I’m descended from Jews myself, but most of my family stopped practicing a couple generations ago. My mother was even born in a Jewish hospital. I’ve been to Jewish events my whole life and still have some relatives who are devout. Some Jews avoid saying/writing “God;” some don’t. If you’ll read the post I linked, you’ll see that this is actually due to a misinterpretation of a passage in Leviticus.

Anyway, I certainly don’t mean to come across as saying there’s only one right way here. My suggestion is that you just follow the normal grammatical rules. In my opinion, not doing so won’t accomplish anything and will just irritate religious people. It’s like showing up to debate them in a Speedo–it’s just disrespectful out of the gate and will only cause trouble. If we ever expect any of them to listen to us, it works against that. But that’s just my opinion–please do whatever you’re comfortable with. I have been wrong before and certainly could be here. Either way, I’ll keep reading your blog with enthusiasm, just as I do every day :-)

I guess I don’t see the point of discussing this further. You’re certainly entitled to do whatever you want. But the argument that the Christians have it wrong because they are referring to a being that you (and I) believe does not exist does not hold up logically. As I and others have already said, his existence or non-existence does not matter in this case. I don’t happen to believe Jesus of Nazareth actually existed, either, but I still uppercase the name when discussing the character from the Bible because it is a proper name.

FWIW, I do not use capital pronouns when referring to the Judeo-Christian god (or any other). That’s one case where I think they’re taking the concept too far and are using incorrect grammar themselves. I use the same rules with their god that I do with any other–I capitalize the name if it’s a proper name, and I lower case pronouns for it just like I would for any other deity.

BTW, I didn’t mean to insinuate you don’t know basic grammar in case it came across that way. Just stating my position.

BTW #2, not all Jews write God as G-d. I have several relatives who are Jewish, and they don’t. I’ve written in more detail about this in my What’s in a Name post.

Thanks anyway but I don’t plan on flip-flopping my position any time soon. I strongly believe that god is not a proper noun or name. I have taken an abundance of English classes so I know “the rules”.

Just because Christians use “God” as a name for their god, it doesn’t mean I have to accept it without a say. I think they use incorrect grammar. Oh, but their god is too holy to have a lowercase “g”…

I rarely talk about a specific god because they are all equal in my eyes. Its selfish of the Christians to think I’m referring to their god. And if I were referring to the Jewish god, I’d have to spell it “G-d”.

Infidelis Maximus, are there special spelling rules for each god that you think I should know?

I for one am sick and tired of hearing how we have to kiss their ass and not offend.

I am Offended when I see “in god we trust” on my cash. That’s the last non-entity I would trust.

If the conventional wisdom dictates we respect their poppycock, I reject the conventional wisdom. It obviously has not worked for thousands of years.

When I’m discussing something about god, it is not about their god (anyone is selfish to think that). It could be any god. I could be referencing Zeus or one of the many Hindu gods.

I’m not trying to piss anyone off…to be honest it didn’t even occur to me until angelsdepart pointed it out.

I try to use proper grammar in other facets, but in this case I just don’t believe its a proper noun.