"Oh, my god!" or "Oh, my God!"

Diamond-Raven · Dec 8, 2008

Is writing the word 'god' in lower case considered acceptable these days? I'm referring to occasions where characters say something like 'oh, my god!' when they're really shocked or really frustrated. There are no religious connotations to the saying in this case, it's just a set part of my and the character's vocabulary.

I'm not a religious person but I have yet to find a simple phrase to convey shocked dismay or frustration or pleasant surprise in the same efficient manner. Personally, using the upper case for the 'g' always made me feel uncomfortable. Of course, tons of other sayings also fall into this category, like using 'Jesus Christ!' when extremely frustrated or 'Holy sh*t!'.

So....what are your opinions about this?

scarletpeaches · Dec 8, 2008

'God' when talking about a specific god, as if 'God' is a name.

'god' when talking about the word as a noun.

Capitalise names, don't capitalise nouns.

"I love God. He is the best god of all."

Polenth · Dec 8, 2008

In addition to the name thing, it's not a statement of belief to use a capital. The existence or non-existence of an entity doesn't take its capital away. You wouldn't lowercase a book character for being fictional. You don't do it to a god you don't believe in either. A name is a name.

Jojo_Dellis · Dec 8, 2008

I don't capitalise god; not due to my lack of belief, but I don't think it's a name, but a description.

Amun-Ra = Name of a god.
YHWH = Name of a god.
Athena = Name of a god.
Zeus = Name of a god.
Krishna = Name of a god.

scarletpeaches · Dec 8, 2008

Unless you call your god, God.

Jojo_Dellis · Dec 8, 2008

scarletpeaches said:
Unless you call your god, God.

That's true, but I think it sounds silly.

"I worship god."

Me. "Which one?"

"God."

This conversation makes me want to read a Pratchett book.

scarletpeaches · Dec 8, 2008

I call my god "Jared".

Jojo_Dellis · Dec 8, 2008

scarletpeaches said:
I call my god "Jared".

I call my god "Coffee".

Maryn · Dec 8, 2008

My own 'rule' is eccentric (go figure!). If my character believes in the capital-G God, I capitalize it in phrases like, "Oh, my God!"

But more often I write characters who do not, so I lower-case such expressions. And I'm perfectly agreeable to conforming to house standards when and if I sell work containing little Gs.

Maryn, who doesn't think it's worth the fuss to argue that one

Jojo_Dellis · Dec 8, 2008

Maryn said:
But more often I write characters who do not, so I lower-case such expressions. And I'm perfectly agreeable to conforming to house standards when and if I sell work containing little Gs.

Agreed.

Phaeal · Dec 8, 2008

I prefer "Oh my God." The comma ruins the flow of the mild expletive for me. "Oh my god" is fine, too.

tehuti88 · Dec 8, 2008

I'm not religious--that is, I don't follow the Judeo-Christian God--but since the phrase "Oh my God!" is usually in reference to the Judeo-Christian God, I capitalize it. Even if the characters themselves aren't religious. A non-religious person can say, "Christ!"--would we put it in small letters just because they aren't Christian?

Now if we're writing in some fictional universe or setting where "God" is NOT a reference to a specific god (such as the Judeo-Christian one), I wouldn't capitalize it, but when most people in the real world say it, it would be capitalized (IMO) because even if we don't mean it, that's usually the God we're referring to. (Example, in my stories set in ancient Egypt, where they have slews of gods, the characters might say, "Gods!"--not necessarily capitalized because it's not in reference to anybody in particular.)

As a side note, in a story of mine a lot of the characters don't even HAVE the concept of gods--they just have spirits--so I had to find a way around the "God!", "Lord!", "For God's sake!", and "Oh my God!" references. I just changed the phrases appropriately. They say things like "Spirits!" and "For the spirits' sakes!" Stuff like that.

Whatever fits the fictional setting. If it's realistic modern-day America or something like that, "Oh my God!" would be my way of putting it.

agentelle · Dec 8, 2008

I did wonder this, too. I've been using 'God', just to be on the safe side.

RunawayScribe · Dec 8, 2008

I've seen it done both ways. You can get away with calling the idea of an all-powerful deity pretty much anything these days. I go with the caps ("God"), but I've never really had a reason for a character to say it any other way.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 8, 2008

Jojo_Dellis said:
That's true, but I think it sounds silly.

"I worship god."

Me. "Which one?"

"God."

This conversation makes me want to read a Pratchett book.

But the Christian god is God. So it's not silly, its how they named him. So it depends on the context of who is talking.

Jojo_Dellis · Dec 8, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
But the Christian god is God. So it's not silly, its how they named him. So it depends on the context of who is talking.

That's a good point, too, about the context.

Dave.C.Robinson · Dec 8, 2008

Everyone should just stick with "Great Mothering Thor!"

Seriously, I think G is fine in a contemporary setting and g in a polytheistic setting. Go with what works and you can always fix it later. Failing that, check Elements of Style.

melaniehoo · Dec 8, 2008

agentelle said:
I did wonder this, too. I've been using 'God', just to be on the safe side.

Same here. You could also go with the very obnoxious "omigod!" I don't recommend that for personal preference, but I have seen it. I use the capital in my wips.

benbradley · Dec 8, 2008

I really think God should be capitalized in this case, because it's the speaker speaking of the speaker's own deity, even though it may be a relatively trivial situation such as a toilet overflowing, and even though the speaker may not be 'naming' the deity or saying it in a religious context.

Dave.C.Robinson said:
Everyone should just stick with "Great Mothering Thor!"

Seriously, I think G is fine in a contemporary setting and g in a polytheistic setting. Go with what works and you can always fix it later. Failing that, check Elements of Style.

Even polytheistically, I can see someone saying "Don't antagonize the Gods" even though the capitalization of God may well be a modern (relative to pre-Chiristian times) Western Christian thing to do.

When it's a deity in someone else's culture, it's "a god." When it's a deity in your culture, it's "God."

What was ~~Superman's~~ Clark Kent's editor's name? I remember him saying "Great Caeasar's Ghost" a lot on the old TV series.

Jake Barnes · Dec 8, 2008

Perry White.

FennelGiraffe · Dec 8, 2008

benbradley said:
I really think God should be capitalized in this case, because it's the speaker speaking of the speaker's own deity,

Sometimes a speaker is just using a common expression without giving any thought to its literal meaning. Sometimes a speaker doesn't have hir own deity.

dpaterso · Dec 8, 2008

"Oh, my god!" or "Oh, my God!"

If you don't know, then have your character say something else.

-Derek

nevada · Dec 8, 2008

Oh. My. God. Problem solved. First word of a sentence is always capitalized. Lock thread.

kuwisdelu · Dec 8, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
But the Christian god is God. So it's not silly, its how they named him. So it depends on the context of who is talking.

Technically, the Christian god is the same god as the Jewish god, who does have a name.

Not that they usually call Him by His name.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 8, 2008

kuwisdelu said:
Technically, the Christian god is the same god as the Jewish god, who does have a name.

Not that they usually call Him by His name.

I understand that, but as you say in your second sentence, not everyone refers to him as Fred.

"Oh, my god!" or "Oh, my God!"

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