God with a Capital “G”

Whenever a moral issue is being debated and God is brought up, one question seems to never fail to make an appearance: “To which god are you referring?” Even though I believe this is a disingenuous question, I will attempt to answer it before we go any further so that you, the reader, will understand exactly “to which god” this blog – in its entirety – refers.

First, let’s explore why the Christian God is spelled with a capital “G” while other references to a “god” or “gods” are not. The name “God” is exactly that – a name; a proper noun; therefore it is capitalized. The term “god(s)” is a noun (but not a proper noun), that serves to describe a thing. Should that “thing” have a name, such as “Buddha” or “Thor”, the names would be capitalized just as we do with God. Christians also often capitalize pronouns (“He”, “His”, “Me”, “I”… none of the silly pronoun stuff that we’ve been bombarded with the last couple of years) referring to God to show reverence, but this is not done with other gods. Additionally, “God” would never be preceded by the letter/word “a” because there is only ONE “God” with a capital “G”.

But God has other unique qualities and attributes not claimed by any other god or recognized by others. At least one of these qualities and attributes are always at the crux of any moral debate or discussion where there is mention of God. A person trying to argue for or against God already knows by the context of the question or conversation that it is specifically God – not merely “a god” – that is being discussed (even if God’s name was missing capitalization).

God with a capital “G” is the only entity to take credit, and the only entity to whom credit is given, for so many things I can’t possibly list them all and still get to the actual reason I’m writing this, but let’s talk about the attributes that are usually most relevant to discussions of this nature.

God takes credit for all of Creation. And many of us, even some who aren’t technically Christians (those who have not repented or accepted Christ into their hearts), give God credit where credit is due. For those who would argue the Big Bang Theory or some other accidental creation, the term “accident” negates any credit being given. Accidents are not planned, therefore cannot be given credit for purposefully creating something.

God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere at all times). No other entity has claimed such things, nor has any other entity been given credit for such things.

No other “god” is an actual entity with whom we are invited to have a personal relationship. No other gods are called upon in times of distress. No other gods are credited with listening to and answering prayers. Only God with a capital “G” claims and receives credit for these things. No other god except for Satan, and he is still called “he” with a little ‘h’ and a ‘god’ with a little ‘g’. Satan’s name is capitalized because it is a proper noun. And although yes, Satan can “answer prayers”, there’s a reason it’s called “making a deal with the devil”.

Other gods’ names are not “taken in vain”. Why is that, do you suppose? Have you ever heard somebody yell out, “Satan damnit!” or “Buddha damnit!” or “Oh my Thor!”?? No, the very people who do not believe in Jesus desecrate His name. If other gods’ names WERE taken “in vain”, it wouldn’t really be in vain because those gods don’t actually have a holiness to them that commands reverence. And, since other gods are fictional, they are already without meaning, so it wouldn’t be taking a name in vain rather than it would be confirming the empty meaning of the name.

But, the most important attribute of God with a capital “G” is that He is the only one that offers a plan of Salvation, which we will discuss later in a different post.

Whether or not you believe in God’s existence is irrelevant to the discussion as this is not an argument of existence, but rather defining who God is in comparison to other gods in order to clarify about whom we are speaking for the entirety of this and all other posts where God is referenced.