Do you use a capital letter on "god" within exclamations? I only do it if I am specifically referring to the Judeo-Christian deity, but not if I am using the phrase as an exclamation.
My reason for this is partly out of respect for my upbringing (if you knew my family, you'd understand), and partly because my characters are usually not of an organised faith. Therefore, it is incorrect for them to refer to a specific single god, and are only vaguely nodding in the direction of whatever lesser deity might be peeping at their activities. They are not referring to them directly.
Do any of you care one way or the other? Do you use one or both methods?
Ut incepit fidelis, sic permanet.
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I accept both in verifying. I understand that there are people who feel strongly on both sides. I only ask that the writer remain consistent through out the story.
I tend to always capitalize, because it is in fact a name, regardless of whose it is. I also do, out of respect. That's just me.
"We're on a mission from God."
As an ex-/borderline Christian, I capitalize it both out of habit and out of the knowledge that the characters in my stories mostly come from a similar background and are, indeed, referring to "God" not "god". If I ever do a historical piece set in ancient Greece or Rome or something (I have a degree in Classical Studies that is woefully underutilized in my current life), I would likely do something different.
jesus christ who cares? or should that be Jesus Christ who cares?
Oh Dog, someone ate all the cookies.
I'm with Poppet on the upper case "G" for the same reasons: it's a name, and it's respectful.
My latest story is a racy little piece about what happens when someone cute from work invites you over to watch Netflix and Chill. I don't, because experimenting with both has proven to me that dropping the caps results in less blowback from two types of readers:
Militant non-believers who are offended by capitalizing the name and thus bestowing 'legitimacy'
Believers who consider using the name blasphemy, and seem to be a great deal more offended by blasphemy when you use the capitalized version.
On the flipside, since I've made this decision years ago, the only person who regularly says anything about the caps is my editor. I can't think of a single instance where a reader has commented on the lower-case G, while I had a half dozen or so complaints about it when capped from those two camps.
For the same reason, I've all but dropped "Jesus" from my characters' exclamations of passion, and I avoid having 'god' appear at the beginning of a sentence if at all possible to avoid the necessity to capitalize it in that instance.
Sometimes, my characters demand the first word of sentence position, and I don't argue with them when they do. Compared to having it capped elsewhere, I've seen no commentary about it capped at the beginning of a sentence.
I would use "God", even as an exclamation, because whatever deity is being invoked, "God" is his/her name or title. Because of my Christian background, I use it quite a lot, as well as "Jesus Christ", which of course should always be capitalised. I've certainly never had any comments about this from readers on Lush, who presumably have other things on their minds when reading my stuff.
Are there any writers of other faiths on Lush who might have a different convention or preference? That would be interesting to know.
22 February 2024 - How about a quick plug for one of my filthiest recent stories? It's all in the title - Naked Pool Party Swingers | Lush Stories Please read, comment and maybe give it a ❤️ - or even a⭐ if you really enjoy it! Thank you! Annie xxx
Jesus Christ, it's "Oh God."
Big G works best for me for him up there!
Well, I was raised in a Pentecostal home, and, when referencing Him, I'll cap it. But I don't whine over big G/little g at all. I'm partially with RejectedReality on this one. The fanatics are more likely to complain at the capping than no non, but ...
I broke away from the Faith when I was a teenager, and practiced different paths of Paganism for many years, so not every instance do I refer to the Man Upstairs. My vote is for the cookies, really.
"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." -E.L. Doctorow
I grew up with God, but god is acceptable as well. I never take offense, unless offense is intended. Then again, isn't it spelled dog - not doG?
"I expect nothing. I fear no one. I am free." Nikos Kazantzakis
I use both ways in my stories, depending what I am trying to say.
For example:
"I thank God that you were here last night." Here I would use a capital letter on God, since I am referring to an actual "God".
But if I was using it as a way to express myself:
"Oh god, please fuck me harder." Then I would not use a capital since I am not using as a name, but as a way to express what I want.
In my personal opinion, using caps in the second example, is disrespectful. Just my thoughts though.
I do both, but it's not because of any religious thing, it is actually just because I'm quite lazy. I'll be honest, sometimes, I just can't be arsed to capitalise God. Sorry, God (that's not me blaspheming, I really am sorry).
I use both... I never really think about it, sometimes I do it properly sometimes I don't.
Oh god. I don't believe in god, but even if I did, I still wouldn't capitalize it.
