Writers in the English-speaking world love having codified rules for writing. Those rules give us an absolute way of writing something correctly. Even if you don’t know
Why bother capitalizing?
This is a surprisingly messy topic, one which probably ranks very low on things worth arguing about. Yet the term “Grammar Nazi” exists because writers are very opinionated on everything being written a certain way, leaving us clutching our pearls when someone uses the wrong form of there/their/they’re.
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
The debate over whether we capitalize He/Him when talking about a member of the Trinity isn’t without merit. Those who capitalize God’s pronouns often do so out of a sense of respect, desiring to give God honor over regular people by showing that even a pronoun of God is worth elevating. Others don’t see it as necessary, whether they hadn’t even considered it or simply prefer to stick to the regular rules of grammar. (Apparently, there are also those who don’t want to capitalize God’s name at all because doing so would require them to believe He exists. So… that’s a thing).
This is likely a topic that will never be resolved, and even those who capitalize the pronouns don’t take the same measures as those who write G-d, refusing to even write out the full name out of respect. However, the topic is an incredibly interesting one that, at the very least, gives us pause as we consider just how highly we regard God’s name, if not in our writing than at least in our thinking.
A history of reverence
Before the advent of the printing press, making copies of the Bible was quite the process. Not only did the handwriting itself take a long time, but the materials they wrote on were rarely smooth. Papyrus was little more than fibrous plant leaves pressed together, and the later switch to animal skins made sure the documents lasted longer but were still riddled with imperfections that made the process arduous.
More than that, scribes of that time had very specific rules to follow when copying the Bible. These weren’t like our grammar rules today, but rituals they had to follow out of respect for the sacred task they were performing. Though there were many steps and precautions taken, 3 such rituals can help us reflect on how highly we regard the name of our creator:
- The scribe had to wash himself and his pen before writing the name of God. God’s name was held so highly that even the act of actually writing it required a person to acknowledge their unworthiness.
- A page was rejected if two letters touched or the words of the new document didn’t line up exactly with the old. Furthermore, if 3 pages had errors, the entire manuscript had to be restarted. We thank God for their diligence as it has preserved God’s word over the centuries!
- Nothing with the word of God could be destroyed. God’s word was so precious to them that they couldn’t even throw out something with a typo.
Doing all of this by candlelight using sub-optimal writing equipment sounds like a nightmare. Yet the Jews held God’s word with such reverence that there was no room for shortcuts or sloppiness. It sounds extreme, especially #1, but their motivation not only makes sense, but gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves as well.
Commanded to honor His name
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
What seems to be a cut-and-dry commandment is actually one that is misunderstood today. In Sunday school, we’re told this means not to use God’s name as a curse word. Yelling “Oh my God!,” or using its cousin OMG, is what this verse forbids. Yet looking at the context of the verse reveals so much more. This subject truly deserves it’s own article, but let’s briefly look at why God commanded this.
In the days of Moses and Egypt, there was no form of Bible. Moses hadn’t yet written the first books of the Bible, so no one could really point to anything and explain God’s will. What they had was prophets who spoke to the people for God. However, an issue that plagues the modern church today presented a potential disaster back then.
How easy would it be to stand up and say “God told me you should give a double portion of food to my family tonight to show you love Him more than food!” No one wants to go against a prophet, especially after having just witnessed their miraculous delivery from Egypt. Who knows, maybe God would test His people by pointing out their greed.
Eventually, you would have conflicting prophets arguing over what God said. Confusion would break out, and eventually the “word of God” means very little because anyone can invoke His name and get what they want.
“God revealed that you should marry me.”
“God said you should give me your tent.”
“It’s the will of God that we stone this family (who insulted me yesterday).”
Thus God’s command not to use His name in vain. It’s not just about using it as profanity, but using it in any way that was anything but true and reverent. God took this so seriously that He even ordered false prophets to be put to death in Deuteronomy 13.
This is what led the Jews to take God and His word so seriously. This is why they eventually wouldn’t even speak His name aloud, instead using other names or titles for God. Their entire focus was on the majesty of how big God is and how unworthy we are.
How should we treat God’s name?
Today, we have many ways we honor God and His word. Some treat the written name of God uniquely, some won’t let any book sit on top of their Bible, and others simply reverence God and the Bible in their hearts and minds. It’s still a common practice not to write the full name of God on anything that might be destroyed or deleted (from a command in Deuteronomy 12), including writing G-d on digital content that might be printed.
So how do we honor God in what we say and do?
But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)
So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin. (James 4:17)
In the end, how we write God’s name is a matter of conscience. There’s no outright mandate in the Bible that tells us to capitalize pronouns or omit the “o” in God’s name. What matters is that however we write His name, we’re convinced that it’s what we ought to do as individuals rather than as a global requirement.
You may have noticed that my own articles capitalized God’s pronouns. I don’t find it more holy, nor do I even tell my children it’s how it must be done. It actually became my personal conviction in high school when I learned of the scribes’ rituals we just discussed! At the same time, I write God’s name as it is because my conviction doesn’t require otherwise, and to write it as G-d would be done to display my own righteousness rather than simply follow my conscience. Who knows, perhaps a future conversation with another believer will have the Holy Spirit convict my conscience.
Regardless of where we land on small matters like this, let’s extend grace and maturity to those who do something different. It’s often difficult to separate personal conviction from Romans 14:23 and absolute condemnation from Exodus 20:7. Instead, let us all seek to please God and bring Him all the glory due to Him!
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)
