Does a belief in a god show lack of education?

[Sheldon]

Obviously it is in your head to simply use a small g in order to mock. Sorry, I can't respect that.

You need to calm down and read what I said then, as you are very wrong.

 

[Sheldon]

I'm giving you the rule for the English language. It doesn't really matter what people WANT.

Except you are applying it as you want, and not seeing that god is not a proper noun in an atheistic context, and since I am an atheist that is the only context I ever use it.

 

[Sheldon]

Because when the idea is that there is only one God, that God is THE God. It's not a matter of "deserving." It's simply a matter of using good English grammar.

You understand that idea is not one that atheists believe right?

 

[Sheldon]

That is correct. For all practicle purposes, "God" is a proper noun when you are referring to the one and only, even if you don't believe in him. It is no different than capitalizing Shiva or Loki.

I don't believe there is a "one and only" deity, thus it is never a proper noun when I use it, and while Shiva and Loki are proper nouns, god is not. unless you are using it in the context you are citing, and I never do, obviously.

 

[Sheldon]

I do not believei in Thor, but I still capitalize the word. In monotheism, "God" functions as the name for God.

Is there more than one Thor?

it is a name, a label that refers to one specific god.

Not to an atheist, obviously.

It has nothing to do with your personal beliefs, just as Thor had nothing to do with mine.

Except Thor is a proper noun even to an atheist, just as Santa Claus is to you, but atheists don't believe there is one god, that's why they don't capitalise it, as in the context they are using the word it is not a proper noun. It's not bad grammar, just your misunderstanding of how it is being applied.

 

[Sheldon]

A name/proper noun is a word that applies to one specific person, place, or thing. Thus "God" is no different than "Zeus," since when it is capitalized is referring to a very specific god.

As I have said repeatedly the word god does not ever apply to one specific thing for me, as I am an atheist, because I don't believe the word god refers to a specific deity, but to thousands that humans have imagined.

 

[night912]

Because when the idea is that there is only one God, that God is THE God.[/B] It's not a matter of "deserving." It's simply a matter of using good English grammar.

As I said to someone else a moment ago, it appears that your desire is to use a small g in order to stick it to monotheists. Sorry, I can't respect that. You don't get to change what is good grammar to make a point that you can easily make by using a sentence such as the one above.

I'll give you the "reason." I've edited grammar books before, and I'll do it again now. "God" is effectively the name of the monotheistic God. Using a capital G is exactly the same thing as capitalizing Loke or Shiva. It looks to me like athiestic propaganda has infiltrated certain webistes. It doesn't change anything. If its a name, you capitalize it. That's the rule.

Wrong. Capital "G" God is the name of A monotheistic god, not the name of all monotheistic gods. It looks like you claiming to have edited grammar books before, can't be accepted at face value due to you demonstrating that you are willing to say false things in order to make your argument appear as if it's true. Spitting out conspiracy theories does nothing to help your argument.

Saying, "the monotheistic god" and/or "the Abrahamic god" is equivalent to saying, "the monotheistic god" and/or "the Greek god." You don't get to change what is good grammar for your type of theistic belief.

And doing some psychological projection is not something that can be respected, when trying to show that someone is wrong.

You're free to believe in whatever you want but whether something is true/right or false/wrong, it's not contingent on your beliefs.

 

[Wu Wei]

I've seen it said to people here on numerous occasions that they are not highly educated if they believe in a god.

I've seen it said to some that claim that a god has spoken to them that they are possibility suffering of mental illness.

Do you think these hold truth's?

Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno is the director of the Vatican Observatory, has a Ph.D. in planetary science, was a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” -- Albert Einstein

Nope I do not think a belief in a god show lack of education

 

[IndigoChild5559]

To me (and many others) that is still just the idea of "a god" like all the others, so why does it deserve capitalisation when the others don't?

Becuase "God" is the name of the monotheistic God, for all practicle purposes. So capitalizing God in the monotheistic sense is no different than Captializing Thor or Zeus.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I don't believe there is a monotheistic god, so calling it "the" monotheistic god might apply to your belief, but I hold no such belief, thus to me the word god is never a proper noun, as it is one of many thousands.

When you say, "I don't believe in a monotheistic god," that is an appropriate use of the lower case g, because you are refering to that god concept among amny god concepts. However, in most situations, when one is discussion the monotheistic God, we capitalize it because it is for all pracitcle purposes the name of that god. You wouldn't use a lower case z for Zeus, for example.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Yes Thor is a name, but god to an atheist is a generic term.

Then I have to correct you, because for all practicle purposes, "God" is the name of the monoetheistic God.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Again I disagree, as the word god to an atheist like myself does not apply to one specific thing. Zeus is specific, whereas to an atheist like myself god is generic.

But 'God" IS specific. It refers to teh god who is the creator of the universe and who does not compete with other gods. It is, essentially, a name for a particular god.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Yes and no. It can be either.

God is a god, so I could speak of "the Jewish God" or "the Jewish god" and both would be correct. Your religion has a god; your religion's god is referred to as "God" (edit: among other names/titles/etc.)


Right. And likewise, there are situations where capitalizing "god" isn't appropriate. I see some monotheists go overboard and capitalize "god" every single time they use the word, which tends to get in the way of clear communication.

All monotheistic versions of God, whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Deist, Lakota, all refer to the one and only creator of the universe who has not other gods to compete with. It's a NAME.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

You understand that idea is not one that atheists believe right?

AGain, belief is not the issue. I dont' believe in Santa, but I still capitalize Santa when speaking of him, even though really there are many who are considered saints.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Wrong. Capital "G" God is the name of A monotheistic god, not the name of all monotheistic gods. It looks like you claiming to have edited grammar books before, can't be accepted at face value due to you demonstrating that you are willing to say false things in order to make your argument appear as if it's true. Spitting out conspiracy theories does nothing to help your argument.

Saying, "the monotheistic god" and/or "the Abrahamic god" is equivalent to saying, "the monotheistic god" and/or "the Greek god." You don't get to change what is good grammar for your type of theistic belief.

And doing some psychological projection is not something that can be respected, when trying to show that someone is wrong.

You're free to believe in whatever you want but whether something is true/right or false/wrong, it's not contingent on your beliefs.

I disagree. Different monotheists have different versions of God, but all acknowledge this god as the one and only God, creator of the universe, with no competition from other gods. Therefore, "God" functions as a NAME. It is SPECIFIC.

 

[Sheldon]

But 'God" IS specific. It refers to teh god who is the creator of the universe and who does not compete with other gods.

I don't believe that.

It is, essentially, a name for a particular god.

Not to me, as I am an atheist.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

All monotheistic versions of God, whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Deist, Lakota, all refer to the one and only creator of the universe who has not other gods to compete with. It's a NAME.

Yes. The name for a god (small "g").

 

[KWED]

I'll give you the "reason." I've edited grammar books before, and I'll do it again now. "God" is effectively the name of the monotheistic God. Using a capital G is exactly the same thing as capitalizing Loke or Shiva. It looks to me like athiestic propaganda has infiltrated certain webistes.

Ah yes, the "atheist grammar conspiracy" argument.
And don't forget the "King James Bible grammar conspiracy".

It doesn't change anything. If its a name, you capitalize it. That's the rule.

But god isn't a proper noun like Loke or Shiva or Jehovah. You might as well claim we should be capitalising ghost or horse.
Are you sure you've "edited grammar books"?

 

[KWED]

I do not believei in Thor, but I still capitalize the word. Why? Because it is a name, a label that refers to one specific god. In monotheism, "God" functions as the name for God. It has nothing to do with your personal beliefs, just as Thor had nothing to do with mine.

So where do you stand on capitalising "he", "him" and "his"?

 

[KWED]

Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno is the director of the Vatican Observatory, has a Ph.D. in planetary science, was a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

There are indeed a few top scientists who still believe in god.

“science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” -- Albert Einstein

That quote is often mined by religionists. Never really sure why, although I can understand why they never include its context.

A more self-contained Einstein quote on religion is...
“The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely primitive, legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can change this for me.”

Nope I do not think a belief in a god show lack of education

But a lack of education does make belief in god more likely.