Why spell it "G-d"?

[fairyhedgehog]

I'm not at all sure this is in the right place, and it is probably a silly question. But why do people write "G-d"?

And it may be a related question as to why they write "Jebus".

I feel stupid asking but I haven't been able to work it out.

[Aetas]

I think its g-d because to speak god's name is blasphemy.

The jebus thing is just a joke i think. Not sure about its origin though.

[capsaicin67]

That's my take on the G-d thing as well. He's a very petty god and spends much of his time fretting over if people are "fearing and trembling and awing and submitting" and the like. It leaves rather little time for easing suffering and preventing death and fighting evil in any meaningful way.

As for Jebus, I believe that is harvested from The Simpsons. Homer called him Jebus once, I can't remember the context...?

[Sigma]

Homer: 'I don't even know who Jebus is' and 'Help me Jebus!' (or something along those lines) when being taken off to a remote Pacific island as a missionary.

[fairyhedgehog]

So is it mainly Christians, or at least theists, who write 'G-d'?

[Aimee]

I thought it was Jewish people who use G-d. The Christians I've known don't have a problem writing it out in full.

[hclincha]

I thought Hebrew was his mother-tongue and consequently should have no problem with god in writing.

[Chicken Girl]

Could it have anything to do with the fact that (ancient) Hebrew doesn't have vowels?

[EricK]

It is, as far as I know, a jewish thing. According to the OT, you are not meant to use god's real name. Of course, god's real name isn't "god", so they shouldn't logically use that prohibition to forbid writing "god". On the other hand, since they use the prohibition against seething a calf in its mother's milk to forbid eating any milk and meat together, one could say that they have a tendency to take ideas a little too far at times.

Eric

[Tom Sawyer]

Could it have anything to do with the fact that (ancient) Hebrew doesn't have vowels?

Then why not s-d-r and p-ss-v-r? Why only do it for this one word.

I just find it annoying when people say that.

I like the Jebus one, though - Simpsons' jokes are funny.

[Scifinerdgrl]

It's about not speaking or writing his name so as not to piss him off. Even though he's omniscient he doesn't seem to notice when people spell it G-d.

[Rhaedas]

What I find odd is that if writing the english version of God's name out is blasphemous, then it shouldn't matter HOW you write it out, whether it be YHWH, G-d, Jehovah, whatever. It's a lot like saying swear words is bad, but saying the dumbed down versions, like darn, gosh, or jeez are okay. Seems to me that it's the intent and not the actual thing said that'd be more important.

Hell (heck), for that matter, even "He who shall not be named" is bad enough if uttering reference to God is bad. If one lived in fear of that god, of course...

Besides, I though that God really didn't give out his name anyway...he basically told Moses that he is who he is, so deal with it (I am that I am), and Moses just used that as a reference, and later vowels were added to those letters to make Yahweh.

[premjan]

It is just that God is an unmanifest quantity so using his name takes away from our ability to reach him / her?

[Scifinerdgrl]

It is just that God is an unmanifest quantity so using his name takes away from our ability to reach him / her?

A very Taoist take on it!

[His Noodly Appendage]

Yeah, worrying about the label instead of the referent is just plain ridiculous.

Any word that refers to a concept is equivalent to all other words used to refer to that concept.

Anyone who disagrees can g0 f|_|ck them5elves.

What?! I didn't say any rude words! How can you possibly be offended?

[Queen of Swords]

But why do people write "G-d"?

I don't know, but now I want them to write Q_S.

[Alter]

They do it as a derivation of original restrictions on saying god. First there was yhwh, which they said they couldn't say, so they say adonai instead. But even *that* is too close, so instead of spelling out adonai they write yy. And the orthdox won't even say adonai, they say adoshem, I think.

So when they start using English, they take the same set of restrictions: (1) don't say yahweh or jehovah, (2) use the replacement name god, and (3) don't even dare to write god, write G-d.

[trendkill]

According to a certain part of the Torah, writing the name of God on something makes it sacred; destroying that thing then becomes blasphemy. Thus it isn't smart to write the name of God on something that is likely to be destroyed, like a piece of paper (or presumably an Internet server).

Of course, as someone already pointed out, the name of God in Judaism is not the English word "God"; thus the particular Jewish custom of omitting the "o" doesn't appear make too much sense. Nevertheless, it is customary for many.

[fairyhedgehog]

Thanks, all of you.

I had got hold of the totally wrong end of the stick and couldn't work out which group of people was not saying 'god'. Someone said something about Google and I was even wondering if people didn't want to be googled as posting about gods!

So now I know - it is the Jewish heritage. Makes a lot more sense!

[Wyz_sub10]

I don't know, but now I want them to write Q_S.

I usually write it that way on my chem notebook with a big heart that says "TruLuv4Evr".

[August Spies]

So is it mainly Christians, or at least theists, who write 'G-d'?

as others have said, it is a jewish thing.

Could it have anything to do with the fact that (ancient) Hebrew doesn't have vowels?

no... I mean, it wasn't "god" in hebrew, it was Jehovah or whatever.

[Alethias]

It's a jewish thang. If you say his name and call too much attention to your self and have too much sin in your wicked lil heart, he just might dead you on the spot. If you spell his name out and his written name gets abused or misused in some way, he might just not only strike you dead, but also anyone who reads it and is not pure of heart might get deaded by him too.

Not writing out god or using g-d is just silly anyway, cause it's not even the name people get so het up about. A transliteration of that name would be YHWH, or Yahweh, or Jehovah. The actual Hebrew letters are יהוה . Wiki also has an article about the Tetragrammaton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh)

Jeebus is just a corruption of Jesus, used to refer to the deity of christians when the user wants to be slightly derogatory towards the guy. Most christians take a fairly strong degree of offense when you use this casually in conversation, btw.

editted for typos.

[Alethias]

another point:

why g-d, and not g_d or g*d or g^d or g#d or g@d or g!d or g~d?

Personally, i think g@d looks kinda kool, and would be my corruption of choice if i felt a need to do such a thing.

[King Rat]

I was under the impression that the name 'god' was more of a human nickname for this particular diety.

[Aristophanes]

Hebrew does have vowels, they are just seperate from the alphabet. I speak hebrew.

Has is ever occured to anyone that those biblical "prophets" were actualy just schizophrenics?

assuming they ever existed at all...

these guys obviously would have had delusional minds and suffered from halucinations.
Note that back in the day, people with epilepsy were thought to be possesed by demons.

[Pendaric]

This looks like GRD material to me.

[steamer]

The person that writes G-d is a person that wants others to believe that their invisible magic monkey is not just an ordinary invisble magic monkey, but one that would give a f-ck how they wrote a single word that isn't even his name.

These people are very concerned that their god is going to get them even if they fuck up a tiny little bit.

[Fencesitter]

Thanks, all of you.

I had got hold of the totally wrong end of the stick and couldn't work out which group of people was not saying 'god'. Someone said something about Google and I was even wondering if people didn't want to be googled as posting about gods!

So now I know - it is the Jewish heritage. Makes a lot more sense!

Now I'm confused too.

I had heard of the Jewish thing. But it seems to me, if memory serves me, which it doesn't always, that the people that were writing G-d were mainly atheists. Hmmm.


Fence

[Wallener]

It is just that God is an unmanifest quantity so using his name takes away from our ability to reach him / her?

That's pretty darn close to the Jewish view of it. By restricting ourselves in the writing of G-d we have a regular reminder of the Ineffability and Mystery residing at the heart of our existence. This is independent on any individual's conception of that Ineffability.

[Sr. Zonules]

This looks like GRD material to me.
Blasphemy!! You should say: "This looks like G-D material to me," as to not upset the iidb diety!!

On a (more?) serious note, this g-d thing reminds me of the "He-who-must-not-be-named" thing from Harry Potter. Grow up, people!!

-Z

[Wallener]

why g-d, and not g_d or g*d or g^d or g#d or g@d or g!d or g~d?


There is no requirement that it be a "-". It doesn't even have to be the vowel being masked out, "-od" or "Go-" work equally well. The standard form, though, is easiest to interpolate IMO.

[Eldarion Lathria]

Blasphemy!! You should say: "This looks like G-D material to me," as to not upset the iidb diety!!

On a (more?) serious note, this g-d thing reminds me of the "He-who-must-not-be-named" thing from Harry Potter. Grow up, people!!

-Z
You mean Old Moldywarts? It always strikes me as foolish and cowardly to say "He who must not be named". If saying the name gives it power call him "Whatsisname" or "Whatdyecallem".

"It's the suppression of the word that gives it power." Lenny Bruce.

Eldarion Lathria

[jaded_revenge]

Well you see, this god of there's is a very bizarre god, who may punish them for writing all 3 letters of what is not really his name.
That said, he is also a very stupid god, as even though we ahev all picked up that g-d and god are the same people, god himself possible hasn't.
Though cowboy seems to believe that g-d tricks google, soperhapsgod uses google to see whoiswriting his name, then sends them to hell.

[thebeave]

another point:

why g-d, and not g_d or g*d or g^d or g#d or g@d or g!d or g~d?

Personally, i think g@d looks kinda kool, and would be my corruption of choice if i felt a need to do such a thing.

Those are good. How about g0d (that is not an "Oh", it's a "Zero"). It's easier to read, and it should be good enough to trick *cough*God*cough* into thinking you're not referring to Him.

[TexasAWOL]

Here's my 2 cents worth.
Way back when the Torah as we know it today, was being written, there obviously were not printing presses, to print a mass number of Torah Scrolls.

Therefore, each Torah scroll, has to be HAND WRITTEN BY A RABBI, known as a Scribe. This was a very "high -honor" duty"- and there were a very select few Rabbis that were honored to write the Torah.

With everything having to be hand written, and hand delivered, there was always the possiblility that there would be lootings, and the possiblity that these Torahs (which took at least one year to write, which made them every valuable)... the Scribes did not want the name of their Deity (God) whome they refer to by many names, to wind up in the hands of people that would not treat the "words of G-d" with respect- it may have been desecrated. Therefore to PROTECT the sacred name of The Almighty, they left out the vowels, or referred to him as "haShem"(meaning: "the name") etc. It is also true that the Jewish people DO "honor" the name of GOD, and to this day, the more "observant" (Ultra Orthodox) Jews do not spell out the name of G-d.
This was so that if a Torah scroll were stolen, the "name" of G-d would not be desecrated. Seems silly to the unbelieving outside world, but it is NO laughing matter to Jews.
Even to this day, Torah scrolls are hand-scribed, written by hand, and sell for anywhere from 15k (for a "restored one) and up to around 40-60k for a brand new one....

shalom-
TEXASAWOL :wave:

[jaded_revenge]

Perhapswe can spell god in 1337 speak (leet speak).
So G0i)

[TexasAWOL]

Here is some info "cut and pasted" from an Orthodox website: www.askmoses.com
******************************************************
Why do many people write God with a dash ("G-d")?
It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d, and this prohibition applies to all languages. We, therefore, insert a dash in middle of G-d's name, allowing us to erase or discard the paper it is written on if necessary.
******************************************************
Shalom, TEXASAWOL :) :wave:

[TexasAWOL]

Perhapswe can spell god in 1337 speak (leet speak).
So G0i)


Ummm. I'm not quite with it, :rolleyes: what is 1337 speak?
Thanks...
TEXASAWOL :wave:

[Queen of Swords]

Ummm. I'm not quite with it, :rolleyes: what is 1337 speak?

It's another way of saying "leet speak" or "elite speak", I think. Best not to use it if you want to be taken seriously.

[Xrikcus]

It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d, and this prohibition applies to all languages.


Surely... by definition if writing the name of God with a - becomes accepted, then G-d is a name of God and hence they are writing the name of God in the "English with the name of God spelt G-d" language? As a result they cannot write it G-d...

[Dryhad]

It's funny. God is a name used by mortals to refer to YHWH without using the name of the divine or something. But it worked too well, and now people think that God is a sacred name as well. If Christianity sticks around for a while longer, we may have people praying to --d. Or G--. Or eventually just ---. Which could get mighty confusing.

[Hedshaker]

It looks like good old fashion superstition to me....


Or-it :p

[Asha'man]

It looks like good old fashion superstition to me....

More than just a simple superstition, it's drawn from the idea of "naming" magic. If you know something's "true" name, you have power over it, and can command it. That's why God didn't let the ancient Hebrews know his real name for so long, and then why it was supposed to be kept secret and not used once they did know it.

Addendum: In addition to commanding something by knowing it's name, you can also work other magics by using the name of a powerful entity. In the ancient Jewish story Toldoth Jesu, the evil rabbi Jesus steals the name YHWH from the temple, and then uses it to work his magic and fly around.

[premjan]

Sikhs call God just "Satnam" or "the true name" which eliminates direct reference to God.

[premjan]

Is there any magic to the Hebrew Calligraphy? I.e. does the shape of God's name have any significance?

[Hedshaker]

More than just a simple superstition, it's drawn from the idea of "naming" magic. If you know something's "true" name, you have power over it, and can command it. That's why God didn't let the ancient Hebrews know his real name for so long, and then why it was supposed to be kept secret and not used once they did know it.

Addendum: In addition to commanding something by knowing it's name, you can also work other magics by using the name of a powerful entity. In the ancient Jewish story Toldoth Jesu, the evil rabbi Jesus steals the name YHWH from the temple, and then uses it to work his magic and fly around.

It's just that, I grew up in a very superstitious atmosphere. We were Catholics and my mom was, on reflexion, the most superstitious person I've ever known. In our home, no one put shoes on the table or brought open umberellas indoors and heaven help a visitor who offered third light. I have a life times bad luck on broken mirrors alone. Why should I not believe it when my own mom told me I would get seven years bad luck if I broke a mirror?

It took quite an effort to shift it from my consciousness I can tell you, and even now I can relapse and find myself touching wood or throwing salt over my shoulder.... *shudder*

The point is, I think....... from small superstitions grow big superstitions and it's peoples inability to out grow them that propergates them.

Being, for some mysterious/mystical reason, afraid or not allowed, to print the word god sounds exactly like superstition to me.

Orbit - who doesn't do superstition cus it's bad luck.

[Alethias]

Is there any magic to the Hebrew Calligraphy? I.e. does the shape of God's name have any significance?This is an interesting question.

There are Dead Sea Scrolls that have the false god's name written in a different script than the rest of the scroll. The Hebrew language has gone through multiple alephbets(alphabets) over the centuries. It currently uses 2 separate alephbets; one for normal handwritten day-to-day communications and an entirely separate alephbet that is used in printed materials and torah scrolls. The tetragrammaton(YHWH) in the dead sea scrolls was written in the hebrew alephbet that pre-dates the babylonian captivity. It seems that babylonian hebrew scholars felt that using the name of god written in this ancient alephbet imbued the object with magickal properties. Furthermore, there are multiple names of god, each with different meanings. There is a whole field of jewish mysticism dedicated to the study and use of the false god's name.

[Dharma]

Most religions are based on "magical names of that ONE", however I dont think their priests have decided to put dashes where vowels ought to be.

I think in Jewish tradition, correct me if I'm wrong, only the priests are supposed to directly take the name of that diety anyway, and that only once a year in a temple ritual.

In Islam you have Allah and people saying Allah all the time without any direction in the Quran that it shouldn't be said.

In Christianity you have the name of Christ Jesus, which can be said any time.

It's more cultural tradition with the diety Yhwh. I'm not sure if the same is applied to the El-him. :)

[kaelcarp]

I d-n't kn-w, but maybe it's just that f-r s-me pe-ple, the letter - d-esn't w-rk well and they have t- put s-mething in place -f it.

[Dharma]

I d-n't kn-w, but maybe it's just that f-r s-me pe-ple, the letter - d-esn't w-rk well and they have t- put s-mething in place -f it.

:rolling:

Yes, generally people put a dash in "curse words" to make it acceptable in a forum such as this, so that you'll never guess that someone's actually 'cussing you. That '-' makes it a 'polite' way of cursing.

"f-ck you"
"Sh-t"
"d-mn you!"

of course you make it even funnier and less offensive by putting in smiley faces:

You're ST :) PID

are you offended? Nah...how can you be offended since I put in a smiley face?
Vowels are evil :devil1:

[Alter]

Now let's all thank the I-U that we cleared that up, and get on to other topics!

[Hedshaker]

Now let's all thank the I-U that we cleared that up, and get on to other topics!

I find the topic quite interesting

[TexasAWOL]

Sikhs call God just "Satnam" or "the true name" which eliminates direct reference to God.

Good point- Jews do the same thing: they say in Hebrew: "haShem" which means "the name".....

Nice to meet you- that was a good point you brought up! :cool:

Peace-
TEXASAWOL

[TexasAWOL]

Is there any magic to the Hebrew Calligraphy? I.e. does the shape of God's name have any significance?

If you look at aerial satellite photos of Israel, there are hills that look just like the Hebrew letter "shin" (sheen).....
the Hebrew letter shin looks like a W with a dot over the point of the letter all the way to the right....

whether you give a hoot about any of this, the pictures ARE interesting. ;)

Shalom-
TEXASAWOL :wave:

[CowboyHeretic]

The best reason in the universe:

Exd 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

[Alethias]

The best reason in the universe:

Exd 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Shouldn't that be "Thou shalt not take the name of the L-RD thy G-d in vain"?
:rolling:

Just teasin' ya a little, CH :)

[CowboyHeretic]

Shouldn't that be "Thou shalt not take the name of the L-RD thy G-d in vain"?
:rolling:

Just teasin' ya a little, CH :)

I don't mind being the butt of a GOOD joke! Cute! :D

[Columbus]

Shouldn't that be "Thou shalt not take the name of the L-RD thy G-d in vain"?
:)But neither lord nor god are actually names. They're concepts with definitions. When one is refering to a particular one, capitalization is a sign of respect. But neither are names of anyone.


CowboyHeretic The best reason in the universe:

Exd 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. I wondered if you were ever going to respond to this. It was obviously addressed to you.

Doesn't "take His name in vain" have a more specific meaning than spell out the word? I thought it was about swearing and things like that. I am sure that He is looking favorably upon your efforts to talk sense to the heathens. :D No matter how you spell.

Tom

[CowboyHeretic]

But neither lord nor god are actually names. They're concepts with definitions. When one is refering to a particular one, capitalization is a sign of respect. But neither are names of anyone.


I wondered if you were ever going to respond to this. It was obviously addressed to you.

Doesn't "take His name in vain" have a more specific meaning than spell out the word? I thought it was about swearing and things like that. I am sure that He is looking favorably upon your efforts to talk sense to the heathens. :D No matter how you spell.

Tom

Taking His name in vain or Blasphemy means using religion for personal gain, such as when a TV preacher says Jesus told him to have you send in your paycheck right away.
The heathens are our brothers and sisters. ;)

[firebird]

That's my take on the G-d thing as well. He's a very petty god and spends much of his time fretting over if people are "fearing and trembling and awing and submitting" and the like. It leaves rather little time for easing suffering and preventing death and fighting evil in any meaningful way.

As for Jebus, I believe that is harvested from The Simpsons. Homer called him Jebus once, I can't remember the context...?

You funny, you funny.

fb

[premjan]

If you look at aerial satellite photos of Israel, there are hills that look just like the Hebrew letter "shin" (sheen).....
the Hebrew letter shin looks like a W with a dot over the point of the letter all the way to the right....
whether you give a hoot about any of this, the pictures ARE interesting. ;)
Shalom-
TEXASAWOL :wave:
I seem to remember some letters on a hill in Hollywood, but those are probably not the same kind...There's also the giant animals in the Atacama sand...

[leccy]

Besides, I though that God really didn't give out his name anyway...he basically told Moses that he is who he is, so deal with it (I am that I am),


Are you sure you're not mixing him up with Popeye?

[Killer Mike]

I really dont see what the big deal is about using G instead of g. I mean its Santa not santa. Its Zeus not zeus. Its Superman not superman.

I would not place too much emphasis on the G vs the g. It does not matter anyway.

[EricK]

I really dont see what the big deal is about using G instead of g. I mean its Santa not santa. Its Zeus not zeus. Its Superman not superman.

I would not place too much emphasis on the G vs the g. It does not matter anyway.
But god isn't a name, it is more like a job description.

Just as we say "the architect Bill Peterson" we can say "the god Zeus".

The thing is that the jews and christians have tried to claim that there are no other gods besides their one. This is despite the glaring evidence to contrary in the OT and NT (eg You shall have no other gods before me, I am a jealous god, my god why have you forsaken me. etc etc etc)

Eric

[Stormlight]

Taking His name in vain or Blasphemy means using religion for personal gain, such as when a TV preacher says Jesus told him to have you send in your paycheck right away.

Is it ok to use Jesus' name in vain? Or better: Why is it ok to write Jesus and not God?

[whichphilosophy]

Hebrew does have vowels, they are just seperate from the alphabet. I speak hebrew.

Has is ever occured to anyone that those biblical "prophets" were actualy just schizophrenics?

assuming they ever existed at all...

these guys obviously would have had delusional minds and suffered from halucinations.
Note that back in the day, people with epilepsy were thought to be possesed by demons.

We don't really know for sure about the biblical prophets or the accuracy of what they said, and possibly if they all existed.

We haven't advanced much since then. ECT was fired into people brains because (and is still beleived) a grand mal epileptic fit is part of getting rid of insanity. The rest of course is that it damages the brain to produce a change.

[steamer]

The best reason in the universe:

Exd 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Umm, his name is Y-hw-h.

Thats Yahweh, The cosmic muffins name is Yahweh, not god.

[steamer]

Is it ok to use Jesus' name in vain? Or better: Why is it ok to write Jesus and not God?

You forgot the h-ly sp--k.

[PopeInTheWoods]

In Islam you have Allah and people saying Allah all the time without any direction in the Quran that it shouldn't be said.
<slight derail> True, but in Islam isn't there a prohibition on artwork depicting Allah or Mohammed or somesuch? And don't some fundie Muslims extend that to disallowing drawings, statues, or photographs of any people?

[Dryhad]

Umm, his name is Y-hw-h.

Thats Yahweh, The cosmic muffins name is Yahweh, not god.
No, the whole point of the name is that it can't be pronouced by mortal tongues. If you can pronounce it (i.e. Yahweh), then you're pronouncing it wrong (unless, you know, you transcended to the rank of deity and didn't tell us).

[bleubird]

And, for some reason G-D needs lawyers.




bleu

[ELECTROGOD]

Jesus Christ! That's a lot of goddamn effort mulling over some more strange rules that mankind seems so adept at creating. :rolling:
Holy Moses! I doubt that it would even transfer from one language to another (usually doesn't).
Dali-fuckin'-Llama! It's got to be one over-sensitive "godbeing" who would take offense at someone using their name (note to self: should have created them mute). :Cheeky:
(another note to self: should have provided at least one goddamn shread of evidence of my existance so my followers would have something to justify their time spent making up wierd little rules in relation to me) :devil3:

[Magic Primate]

No, the whole point of the name is that it can't be pronouced by mortal tongues. If you can pronounce it (i.e. Yahweh), then you're pronouncing it wrong (unless, you know, you transcended to the rank of deity and didn't tell us).

My understanding is that the true pronunciation of name Y-hw-h or YHWH is unknown due to the language it was written in not having vowels (much like ancient Egyptian). But I'm not a linguist and I may be wrong. Its generally pronounced 'Yahweh' or 'Jehovah'. 'God' is not a name but a description.

Yahweh was a local god of the Hebrew tribe who did all sorts of loving things for them like sending plagues and helping them to slaughter people in battle. This was the god that Moses communed with on the Mount. YHWH was interpreted rather negatively by the early Christian Gnostics.

It's not at all clear that this was the same god of Abraham (referred to as 'El' - same root as 'Allah') who was originally the chief of a pantheon of divine beings called the Elohim. The Elohim were latter classified as angels. This is why in the older passages in Genesis, God speaks in the plural 'we', not due to some linguistic ('royal we') convention as is claimed by some apologists.

There was a rivalry for many years between those Hewbrews who worshipped the old pantheon which included the god 'Baal' and the goddess 'Astaroth'/'Astarte' (also corresponds to Aphrodite). YHWH was as we know 'a jealous god' and he was jealous of no one more than Baal and Astaroth. The YHWH cult won and mythology as well as history is written by the victors. So Baal and Astaroth were latter classified as demons (Beelzebub anyone?).

Baal and Astaroth were probably Canaanite versions of Osiris and Isis and there are some credible (but unproved) arguments that the whole monotheism idea arose from the 'Heretic' pharaoh Akhenaten's monotheistic cult.

For more information see here:
http://www.iidb.org/vbb/archive/index.php/t-63802.html

[Dryhad]

My understanding is that the true pronunciation of name Y-hw-h or YHWH is unknown due to the language it was written in not having vowels (much like ancient Egyptian). But I'm not a linguist and I may be wrong. Its generally pronounced 'Yahweh' or 'Jehovah'. 'God' is not a name but a description.
I don't know if that's the reason, but it is my understanding that the Jewish faith sees it as a word that cannot be pronounced.

[Dharma]

<slight derail> True, but in Islam isn't there a prohibition on artwork depicting Allah or Mohammed or somesuch? And don't some fundie Muslims extend that to disallowing drawings, statues, or photographs of any people?

I think that's in all conservative circles of Abrahamic religions.

[Eldarion Lathria]

In English at least, you have the word backwards it's D-g, not G-d, Dog not God.

Basil the Basset Hound.

[Hedshaker]

I stand by my earlier posts on the subject. It's nothing but idiotic, childish meaningless superstition. A person can easily type the word Dog or Gog but not God. Why? Because of some daft Voodoo that has been indoctrinated into their minds. Surly that alone should tell them something...! Even their fellow theists can type the word God, GOD, GOD


It's just three little letters :huh:

It doesn't get more patheitic than this folks. This is the pinicle of human supidity, IMHO.

Orbit

[Tybalt]

People do not realise that the Christian god has a name, which is Yahweh/Jesus, and find it rude to right 'God' which they think is the name of the Christian god, so they remove the 'o', and Jebus is a refference to The Simpsons, where Homer says 'A missionary, but I don't even believe in Jebus!' and later on in the episode, 'Save me Jeeeebus!'

[Columbus]

It doesn't get more patheitic than this folks. This is the pinicle of human supidity, IMHO.

Orbit Misspelling pathetic and pinnacle and stupidity in a post where you judge someone this harshly for a personal spelling quirk that harms no-one is proof that it does get more "patheitic". :down:
Tom

[Dharma]

the '-' is a T in morse code, and so there is another provision for the dash.
the dash in morse is '- · · · · -'

so God in morse code would be,

--. --- -..


so God, er G-d would be spelled: --. -....- -..

that is one painful way to say '-'

:)

[Dharma]

Misspelling pathetic and pinnacle and stupidity in a post where you judge someone this harshly for a personal spelling quirk that harms no-one is proof that it does get more "patheitic". :down:
Tom

you're wrong. Obviously it seems people are offended. So it does harm someone, it's imposing one religion's view on God on people who don't have the same view, it's also promoting a very closed minded world view.

There is a huge difference between an actual name of God used for ritual purposes which people might not pronounce, and the word "God" which is a generic term.

The dash in this case is inappropriate, as is a dash in the word "hashem".

[Thomas II]

I'm not at all sure this is in the right place, and it is probably a silly question. But why do people write "G-d"?

And it may be a related question as to why they write "Jebus".

I feel stupid asking but I haven't been able to work it out.

They spell it G-d out of fear...

[MonCapitan2002]

I think its g-d because to speak god's name is blasphemy.

The jebus thing is just a joke i think. Not sure about its origin though.
I thought it was only blasphemous if it was taken in vain.

[Columbus]

you're wrong. Obviously it seems people are offended. So it does harm someone, it's imposing one religion's view on God on people who don't have the same view, it's also promoting a very closed minded world view.
Being a gay man in a homophobic society I have been forced to learn how to distinguish between someone being offended and someone being harmed. Would you explain exactly how anyone is harmed by CowboyHeretic's peculiar spelling? Explain how this use of the term G-d promotes or imposes anything on anyone.
I've had to come to terms with the morality of imposing one's beliefs on someone else by censoring them. I don't like it, even if it's censoring beliefs that I don't agree with. So you will have to explain to my satisfaction how anyone is being harmed by the use of this term or I will fight for CH's right to use it.

What I will actually do is insist upon my right to hear whatever CowboyHeretic feels like posting. I want to discuss things with him and you have no right to interfere with me! If you think you're being harmed by his posts then you have the right to go away. Use it.

Tom

[Dharma]

Being a gay man in a homophobic society I have been forced to learn how to distinguish between someone being offended and someone being harmed. Would you explain exactly how anyone is harmed by CowboyHeretic's peculiar spelling? Explain how this use of the term G-d promotes or imposes anything on anyone.
I've had to come to terms with the morality of imposing one's beliefs on someone else by censoring them. I don't like it, even if it's censoring beliefs that I don't agree with. So you will have to explain to my satisfaction how anyone is being harmed by the use of this term or I will fight for CH's right to use it.

What I will actually do is insist upon my right to hear whatever CowboyHeretic feels like posting. I want to discuss things with him and you have no right to interfere with me! If you think you're being harmed by his posts then you have the right to go away. Use it.

Tom

Excuse me, but there are many people who can claim "persecution" not just homosexuals and that will not be used to censor this conversation that we're having.

Religious persecution and censorship is one result of spelling God "G-d" which is another form of mental and spiritual censorship by which self presumed "My God is better and scarier than your God which is why we spell it G-d" people would like to segregate themselves. The spelling itself is good old fashioned preistly fear mongering since all it does is overreach in interpretation their own commandments.

Christians like cowboyheretic using it simply to "copy cat" an injunction made by a few Jewish priests to include the generic term 'God' in the same category as Yhwh. One would think that priests ( :rolleyes: , priests will never learn) of the jewish order, who have also been spectacularly persecuted, would not try to start another dangerous trend, which "monkey see, monkey do" fundie Christians would use - misuse for their own ends.

So considering you feel persecuted as a homosexual, I wonder how you would feel if people put you back in the closet by spelling it "h-m-s-x--l"...with an implication that this is what no decent person in society should say or be.

[Hedshaker]

Misspelling pathetic and pinnacle and stupidity in a post where you judge someone this harshly for a personal spelling quirk that harms no-one is proof that it does get more "patheitic". :down:
Tom

When I went to school dyslexia had not been recognised yet, so those of us who suffered with it were indeed considered stupid. But people back then, unlike you, at least had ignorance for an excuse :down:

Oh, and you have no idea of the reasons why I consider superstition the pinnacle of human stupidity. :down: :down:

Orbit

[Hedshaker]

I've had to come to terms with the morality of imposing one's beliefs on someone else by censoring them. I don't like it, even if it's censoring beliefs that I don't agree with. So you will have to explain to my satisfaction how anyone is being harmed by the use of this term or I will fight for CH's right to use it.


Maybe you should now call upon CH and his buddies to champion your right to be g-y.

Good luck with that one :huh:

Orbit