NationStates Jolt Archive

How many names does god have? I'm asking this mainly because of the number of times I see the H in him (when referring to God) capitalised. I can understand God being capitalised because that is his name and it should be, it's the right thing to do, but it just seems grammatically incorrect to capitalise him or his when referring to God. I don't go round and ask my friend Chris to borrow His DVD.
The only way I can possibly understand this would be if God's names actually included Him and His. In which case it would be perfectly acceptable to go round worshiping His, which plainly doesn't sound right (in fact it sounds a little bit like you're worshipping some kind of giant snake deity).
As an additional point I also take issue with 'the Lord our God'. As far as I understand it, god should not in this instance be capitalised at all as you are describing the Lord as your god. For example, it would be incorrect to write, Bob our Fishmonger.

What do the rest of you think? Am I right, am I wrong, do I have my priorities mixed up to the point of absurdity?

PS. I don't care about any person’s beliefs (or lack thereof). This is not a dig at Christianity it is a dig at the incorrect use of capital letters, it's just that I've seen a lot of people using Him's and His's. I don't care if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, Satanist, Buddhist, Hindu, Agnostic or of any other belief system for that matter, if you are capitalising words that shouldn't be capitalised then I take issue with you!
Anybody who starts poking fun at anybody else for their beliefs gets a slap round the head. If you give me your address I will personally ensure it's delivered.

I join you in your upholding of the Sanctum Grammaticus!

How many names does god have? I'm asking this mainly because of the number of times I see the H in him (when referring to God) capitalised. I can understand God being capitalised because that is his name and it should be, it's the right thing to do, but it just seems grammatically incorrect to capitalise him or his when referring to God. I don't go round and ask my friend Chris to borrow His DVD.
The only way I can possibly understand this would be if God's names actually included Him and His. In which case it would be perfectly acceptable to go round worshiping His, which plainly doesn't sound right (in fact it sounds a little bit like you're worshipping some kind of giant snake deity).
As an additional point I also take issue with 'the Lord our God'. As far as I understand it, god should not in this instance be capitalised at all as you are describing the Lord as your god. For example, it would be incorrect to write, Bob our Fishmonger.

What do the rest of you think? Am I right, am I wrong, do I have my priorities mixed up to the point of absurdity?

PS. I don't care about any person’s beliefs (or lack thereof). This is not a dig at Christianity it is a dig at the incorrect use of capital letters, it's just that I've seen a lot of people using Him's and His's. I don't care if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, Satanist, Buddhist, Hindu, Agnostic or of any other belief system for that matter, if you are capitalising words that shouldn't be capitalised then I take issue with you!
Anybody who starts poking fun at anybody else for their beliefs gets a slap round the head. If you give me your address I will personally ensure it's delivered.


I look at it this way, Uncle Vulgarian - a name is a name. Names are capitalized. Capitalizing 'his or 'her' or 'their' is really only an issue for the individual adherent. Some people really feel strongly about that. Personally, I don't. If you're describing the 'God' of a differing religious group though, you might choose whether or not to capitalize those terms, depending on your own belief systems. I wouldn't say it's mandatory, though it might be considered respectful.

You should capitalize Him, His, Lord, etc when referring to God if you believe in Him (heh). It's a sign of respect for God and don't try to compare that to talking about some friend. I don't worship my friends, I worship my God. It's not a case of grammar.

Dobbs Town got it right, it's a sign of respect. Hope that cleared up your question.

I think the rule is that "his" and "her" are only capitalized when starting a sentence or referring to God, a King, or a Queen. "Lord" is capitalized when it starts a sentence, used as a title for a mortal (e.g. "Lord Kelvin", after whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named), or when referring to God.

When talking about mortals, you wouldn't capitalize these words. They're capitalized when referring to God because... I don't know why, but I would speculate that it's meant as an act of reverence.

--The Democratic States of Cogitation

It's meant to piss us non-religious types off! :p because there are enough grammatical rules as is...