Re: Should I capitalize pronouns for God?
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:56 pm
I think I may have been unclear. I was answering in English teacher mode, and I hope no one inferred that by my answer, I don't respect God. I revere and worship God (and I'm sure that the Zondervan folks do, too)--but that has nothing to do with the capitalization of pronouns for God.
It's just not the way the English language works. Look at any grammar book, in the chapter on capitalization of nouns. None of them will say that capitalization denotes respect. That's just not part of our language. Capitalization differentiates between common and proper nouns. Period.
If captialization denoted respect, you can see how many problems that might cause, because respect is largely a matter of personal opinion. I may not respect politician Joe Doe, but I wouldn't write "Please sign this petition to recall joe doe." Similarly, I have great respect for policemen, but I wouldn't write "The Policeman rescued the kidnapped child."
It's not theological, it's linguistic. Pronouns aren't capitalized.
That having been said--people should certainly feel free to capitalize those pronouns in their own writing. Neither capitalizing them nor leaving them lower case should be an occasion for drawing conclusions about the writer's respect or reverence for God.
It's just not the way the English language works. Look at any grammar book, in the chapter on capitalization of nouns. None of them will say that capitalization denotes respect. That's just not part of our language. Capitalization differentiates between common and proper nouns. Period.
If captialization denoted respect, you can see how many problems that might cause, because respect is largely a matter of personal opinion. I may not respect politician Joe Doe, but I wouldn't write "Please sign this petition to recall joe doe." Similarly, I have great respect for policemen, but I wouldn't write "The Policeman rescued the kidnapped child."
It's not theological, it's linguistic. Pronouns aren't capitalized.
That having been said--people should certainly feel free to capitalize those pronouns in their own writing. Neither capitalizing them nor leaving them lower case should be an occasion for drawing conclusions about the writer's respect or reverence for God.