Just wondering what you all do. I've always capitalized, but my copy editor changed every instance to lower case. When the galleys went to the proofreader, she questioned the changes.
So...to capitalize or not?
So...to capitalize or not?
Medievalist said:The dictionary is great for this kind of question.
illiterwrite said:Uh, thanks for the great suggestion. I know it's usually capitalized (and I don't need a dictionary to tell me so), but I wondered if it's becoming more commonplace to NOT capitalize.
I'm referring to the Christian text.
veinglory said:I would say that it is sometimes capitalised and sometimes not. Religious publications may capitalise all sorts of things including Cross. Atheist writers/publications may or may not extend this courtesy--people outside a given faith typically don't give capitals even to gods. My few passing references to the good book were not capitalised by me or my editor. As a general rule much less capitalising is done these days.
Jamesaritchie said:You need a new editor. The Bible is always capitalized, and anyone who doesn't use a cap is simply wrong, these days or not. And it sure isn't going to make any reader, anywhere, trust you or your editor.
And "gods" should not be capitalized. "God," however, should be. One's faith has nothing to do with grammar or usage. Proper usage is not a coutesy, it's a matter of respect, and often of pure ignorance.
Do you have some authoritative reference for that? I would disagree.Bartholomew said:Gods, . . . all proper nouns.
"Gods" in a religious context is a proper noun. "Gods" in a fantastic context can be either.
alleycat said:Do you have some authoritative reference for that? I would disagree.
The word "gods" is what I'm referring to (not the word God, or the name of any specific god of whatever religion, or lack of).Bartholomew said:I'll nose around, but I've never seen Book of Shadows treated as a regular noun, let alone Buddha.
With "Gods," it really depends on how you're using it. Pagans treat it as a proper noun in common usage, but God is a proper noun because it is, technically, a name...
But let me find something that says one way or the other...
alleycat said:The word "gods" is what I'm referring to (not the word God, or the name of any specific god of whatever religion, or lack of).