My Agent Loved My Proposal. My instinct is to capitalise it as one would for the Bible: Everlasting Gospel. Examples include Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and Bennifer (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez). Note that writers should refer to Black people, not Blacks (which is considered derogatory). When quoting a conversation, simply think about whether that person is being directly addressed in the conversation. Should I have it capitalized? The phrase child of God would be lowercase as well. A good rule to follow is to capitalize them if they are used as proper nouns, as in the previous example. In the sentence "We christened her Lucy", should "christened" be capitalized? Is it only when you use these terms in a religious context? Learn how your comment data is processed. If youre writing a speculative fiction story set in a society with only one male, then his mother might call him Son as he would be unique in that setting. Are words from religions always capitalized? These include: As you can clearly see there are a lot of subtle nuances found throughout the English language. After all, it's the same one that we use when we write "my school" (a common noun) vs. "Canevin High School" (a proper noun). Lust Vs. Love: The Heart Of The Difference, Backward Or Backwards: A Foreword On The Difference, How To Express Condolences: Sympathy Cards And Messages, How To Use Figurative Language To Enhance Your Writing. I read all the instructions on the use of the word Bible; however, should it be capitalized in this sentence? Hi, Marcia. However, that is where personal preference and context come in: e.g., you might want to capitalize "Gospels" if you're using the term as a unique collective name for the canonical gospels of the Bible, but it is also a common noun so you could just use it descriptively to refer to "the gospels of the Bible." Some Bible translations capitalize pronouns referring to God, while others do not. Whether or not a noun is a common or proper noun often depends on how the sentence is written. Always follow the style of the translation being used. There is room for flexibility here in some cases, though. God is not only our Ruler and Creator; He is also our Heavenly Father. This would fall under the general category of reverential capitalization, but there are no universal rules for this. I'm finding a lot of inconsistency even within Bible translations for certain terms, particularly the Gospel vs. the Gospels or the Gospel of John; Epistle(s), the Word of God, This is the word Aside from preference, which of these should be capitalized? Well, before you do that, check out our guide to capitalizing religious terms. You wouldn't usually need to capitalize "grace," no. Let's review proper and common nouns briefly to avoid confusion. Today, Im looking at some other common questions around capitalization: Capitalize brand names to be consistent with the brand trademark, i.e. aunts Your email address will not be published. Robert Hudson spoke at PENCON (Christian editors annual conference) in May 2018, and he was incredible! I would suggest capitalizing them for clarity if necessary (e.g., if you need to distinguish between the Passion of Christ and "passion" more generally). Author Randy Alcorn capitalizes Heaven to emphasize an important truth to his readers, To underscore the fact that Heaven and Hell are real places, I am deliberately capitalizing them throughout the book, as I would other proper nouns, such as Chicago, Nigeria, Europe, or Saturn. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If you can do so, then you should capitalize the word. Is it proper to address mom as Mom orrefer to your favorite aunt as Aunt Viv? After school on Monday, Father took me to my karate class. Be sure to read the updated post here. And you'd always capitalize "Exodus" when referring to the book from the Bible. Avoid unnecessary capitalization. If you're using a specific style guide or writing for a specific publication, you might want to check for further advice. A man came asking for Sister Mary Eunice. Everyone remembers her Heaven and Hell Finally, we have heaven and hell. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. (ESV). Some Christian theologians and teachers capitalize Heaven because that is normal when referring to a specific location when writing. Or when referring to Jesus' death, should it be "the cross" or "the Cross"? "Christian" is still capitalized as an adjective (most adjectives based on proper nouns are capitalized in English). It is common, for example, to capitalize pronouns when referring to God, so you might want to opt for "Holy God, we praise Thy name." Patricks Day Or St. But we would not usually capitalize the same word when using it as an adjective in mass market or mass transit. It pays, then, to double check whether religious terms have other uses. But it is ultimately a matter of preference as long as you pick a clear and consistent style of capitalization. Present vs Present: Which One Is The Correct One? And that, at least, should be celebrated. His, her, your, our, their) preceding the word. then Exodus 33:19, "I will proclaim my name, the Lord", or I Kings 8:20, "I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord" and I Kings 8:33 "give praise to your name" plus Ezra 5:1 ,"in the name of the God of Israel" then Ezra 6:12, ""My God who has caused his Name to dwell there." Is It St. Write Tip | How to use Colons and Semicolons, Writing Tips | Tips for Writing Younger Characters, Book Review | Hook Your Readers by Tamar Sloan. I feel for Melindas loss, said the neighbor. Surely it is not wrong for us to think and talk about Heaven. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns Whats the Difference? Hi, Tammy. Gospel, when used as a direct replacement for the Bible, is capitalised. Examples: Lord, Almighty, Baby Jesus, Christ, Comforter, Counselor, Creator, Father, Godhead, Judge, King, Providence, Redeemer, Savior, Servant, Son, Sovereign, Trinity, Examples: friend, person, baby, child, boy, and man (Jesus is my friend. If I'm referring to a non-person after a religious description, would it be capitalized? Also, how about "the girl was catholic"would I capitalize or not? Queen Elizabeth, but the queen (or the Queen in the Commonwealth). a, an; a possessive pronoun a.k.a. In a religious context, proper nouns may include: However, there are some cases where the correct capitalization depends on how youre using a term. There are a few rules you must remember so you know what the proper way of writing it is. However, you should never capitalize the word "father" when it's following a possessive pronoun (a word that substitutes for a noun and shows ownership e.g. If the passage is from the point of view of the character you mention (e.g., if it is narration from their POV or they're speaking and you want to show that they emphasize certain words), capitalizing "Heaven" and "Hell" for that character but not other characters might be a good way of setting them apart. It would be best to check your style guide if you have one and also make sure this capitalization is used consistently throughout. We offer some general guidelines in this post, but there is plenty of scope for variation in creative writing. If you'd like an expert to proofread it, though, we can certainly help with that (just leave a comment noting the issue with capitalization when you upload it): https://proofed.com/proofreading-services/. But a quick google shows that some sources do use, e.g., "pre-tribulation" alongside "Great Tribulation," so there's room for variation here as long as your meaning is clear. As long as you stick with one or the other usage consistently throughout your piece of writing, then thats fine. as names of specific places). Most writers know the basics of capitalization: we should always capitalize the first word in a sentence, and we also capitalize personal names, place names, and other proper nouns. Ultimately, if you're not using a specific style guide, I'd say capitalizing could be helpful if you need to distinguish between "books" in general and books of the Bible (e.g., if, for some reason, you needed to clearly distinguish between the Book of John and a book belonging to someone called John). Custom WordPress Website by Blogging Bistro, LLC, Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Disclaimer. But it isn't necessary to capitalize it in other cases, and doing so might look slightly old-fashioned to some readers. We do mention that some people prefer to capitalize "Heaven" and "Hell" when referring to the Christian afterlife, and it's fine if you prefer to do so. Would you capitalize the word our when it is written with Our Savior? The word "dad" should only be capitalized when it's being used as a name. Do not capitalize heaven, hell, the devil, satanic. to learn more. Nouns refer to people, places, or things. When you're writing to your father and choose to call him daddy, then yes, you'll want to make sure you capitalize the word. Ive worked in the Christian publishing industry a long time as well. Should the phrase "end times" be capitalized, such as in end times prophecies? Why doesnt the Bible capitalize Heaven? *Style guides have been updated since this post was published. I disagree about non-capitalization of Heaven and Hell. @ 2021-2023 Copyright | All Right Reserved, link to How Soon After Death Do You Go To Heaven? For example would the event of the first sin be called "the fall" or "the Fall"? God is the most prominent example of something we only capitalize in certain cases. A grace is a short prayer or thankful phrase said before or after eating. For instance, do you know the answer to the question, do you capitalize "father"? Hi, Dani! Everyone remembers her Or how about the flood that was not just any flood but THEE flood (sometimes referred to as the Great Flood) with Noah's family, his ark, & all the animals? A utopian mental state, for example, isn't an actual place, so there is no place-name to capitalize. How Soon After Death Do You Go To Heaven? The Content Authority is where you will find great content, written by amazing writers, around topics like grammar, writing, publishing, and marketing. if I could borrow his car the day after the crash. Family member titles are capitalized when used as a title immediately before a persons name (I adore Aunt Lisa) or when the title is used in place of their name (Wheres the milk, Mom?). The answer to this question is actually quite simple: Proper nouns (a name used for an individual person, place, or organization) are always capitalized while common nouns (a noun denoting a class of objects) is never capitalized. Is this overkill or respectful? If Heaven is a place, and thats communicated in part through capitalizing the term, why doesnt the Bible do it? Glad this article and thread are helpful! Examples I was just about to clean my room, Mom. So go ahead and capitalize the names of those important family members in your life, but remember not to capitalize when using a possessive pronounor talking about family in general. Patricks Day? Hi, Tom. In other words, capitalize words such as Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis when they are used in place of the person's name. Lorraine wondered what her grandmother They believe its not a place, like Vancouver, British Columbia, or the Mediterranean Sea, but a utopian mental state. Instead, we should simply choose to step back and take a look at how the word is functioning in the sentence. What do you think of this? But there is one exception: they are not capitalized when they follow possessive pronouns such asher, his, my, our, your. Its easy to get confused about whether you should capitalize family names in your writing. This is true even when referring to the Christian concepts of heaven and hell. Take Matthew 5:18 from the NIV Bible, for instance: For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. He said it was because he didnt want to give the devil any honor (although thats not why we capitalize proper nouns). God is the Father of our spirits. In the past, it was common to capitalize the first letters of pronouns when referring to religious figures. If you were writing a prayer, and said "God, we thank you for.", would you capitalize you? Hi, Steve. Do you capitalize department names? This grammatical rule should look familiar to you. This is incredibly helpful! This is quite unusual in modern writing. Capitalize the names of major events in the life of Jesus Christ in references that do not use his name. Most style guides recommend the lowercase "godly," although some prefer to capitalize all words that start with "God," so either should be fine as long as you're consistent (and you're not using a style guide that specifies using "godly"). possession? ), Capitalize Adjectives That Are Part of Gods Name, Examples: Almighty God, Anointed One, Divine Savior, Good Shepherd, Great Physician, Heavenly Father, High Priest, Holy Father, Holy Spirit, Promised One, Sovereign Lord, Suffering Savior, Suffering Servant, Supreme Being, Wise Creator, Refer to the Holy Spirit as He, not It. Thanks! He was not Saved, until he read the Bible. Whatever you choose, you just need to make sure you continue to follow this consistently. Use the surname on subsequent references. I like to find out all I can about it. Hi, Riley. It should be our Savior., Hello Christi, http://www.christimcguire.com/spiritual-style-updated/, 5 Tips for Preparing for Writers Conferences. (13) How much more shall your heavenly Father. The English language is full of its subtle nuances, just like any other language is. St. Peters Church, New Life Church, the Roman Catholic Church), but not when used more generally (the church as the people, the building, or a service). Get the Facts. Church is capitalized when part of a name (e.g. When writing about religious sisters and referring to them indirectly, should 'sisters' be written with an upper or lower case letter? One of the best resources is The Christian Writers Manual of Style by Robert Hudson (Zondervan, 2004). For example: In that final example, capitalizing Son will be a subtle hint to readers that this character is the Jesus figure which is why its important not to capitalize son if its merely being used as a term of endearment. WORRY NOT, GOD IS ALL-SUFFICIENT! Is It Advance Notice Or Advanced Notice? I don't believe that Father is okay with you and Joyce being together alone. You only need to capitalize proper nouns, but if you prefer to capitalize certain words to show they have a religious or spiritual context, or your style guide requires it, then thats fine. To my mind, they are proper nouns (i.e., they refer to a specific biblical convenant, which is a unique, singular thing). I've never done this, but it just came up and I couldn't say for sure. I am an affiliate for many of the products and services I recommend on this site. I believe that heaven exists. (the, a, an) in front of family titles used as common nouns. If it is just a lyric from the song and there isn't a lyric sheet available to see how the terms are usually capitalized, and you're not following a specific style guide, then it may just be a matter of preference. Capitalize other words in line with dictionary usage. In other words, you should only capitalize the word "father" when it's being used in place of the person's real name. Words such as lord only need to be capitalized if they are used as an official title with a name, but often reverential capitalization distinguishes a religious usage from a non-religious usage. The main provisos are that you should try to use a consistent approach to capitalization throughout each document, and you may want to check your style guide if you're writing for a particular organization or publication. Heaven is the great desire of all Christians. Leaving it uncapitalised when using it by itself looks like it would be confusing. I was reading through the Book of John; or, Using capitalization for irony can feel like the equivalent of asking the reader if theyve got the joke. But when referring to the "heaven about us" or the "heavens" as the atmosphere, it should not. However, if you do use reverential capitalization, there are two key rules to follow: You can apply reverential capitalization in other situations as well, but it is most common with pronouns. It depends. Some writers prefer to use reverential capitalization, as mentioned in the article and some of the comments here, as it helps to distinguish a religious usage from a non-religious one. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. While this is true in almost every language known to humankind today, it's still important to not only know that it's there but to also know what to do about it. It is neither right nor wrong to capitalize or not capitalize pronouns that refer to God. use standard capitalization for Samsung, but nonstandard for iPhone. Not to do so would imply that Heaven and Hell and the New Earth arent real places. If you edit for Christian writers,The Christian Writers Manual of Style is a must-have. Instead, the title is being used as a proper noun similar to other respectful titles such as Miss, Doctor, Captain, or Professor. For example: We occasionally use capitals to indicate humor, irony, or for emphasis: The key is occasionally. Would these be capitalized in an MLA formatted paper? Meeting the author of CWMS was like meeting a celebrity for us editors! You could replace them with proper names without changing the rest of the sentence. If you want to capitalize "Lord" and "Savior" to clarify that they refer to Jesus, feel free, but since you name Jesus explicitly as well it would still be clear without the non-standard capitals. A character in my story is Padre McCaffery. Quick Answer - Chambazone.com, Five Reasons to Enter a Writing Contest (and Five Contests to Enter). For instance, it is fairly common to capitalize "Word" when discussing the "Word of God" as this often refers to a specific religious concept (i.e., the Logos), not just words as we use them in day-to-day speech. I need all the help I can get! And if you really want to capitalize those terms as a mark of respect for their liturgical significance (and there's no chance capitalization could lead to a lack of clarity for whatever reason), then feel free to do so. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Ive been in Christian publishing for over 10 years, first as an editor at LifeWay Christian Resources, and now as a freelance contributor. Should confirmation be capitalised such as "there was a confirmation service" ? But are their titles capitalized? Required fields are marked *, By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Do not capitalize names that refer to common nouns: Those two men are fathers or This class is for expectant mothers. Also see Do Short People Go To Heaven? But unless you're referring to the part of the church in question by a specific proper name (i.e., perhaps a church community has assigned a unique name to part of their church), there wouldn't usually be any need to capitalize any of those terms as they're all common nouns. But the word "name" in "Jesus's name" is being used in the same way we'd use it to discuss any person's name, so capitalizing that term would be less helpful (and could even be confusing). So, it seems logical to accord Jesus the same courtesy as you would his heavenly father and capitalize Him, while Mohammed was just a man and his pronoun should remain uncapitalized. This makes good sense. I provide professional freelance manuscript assessment, copyediting and proofreading services for writers of Christian fiction and non-fiction books, stories and articles. Hi, Jacob! We will all remember Aunt Bessie When used generically in a sentence such as: "my dad said to visit him," then the word dad is lowercase because it is a generic noun. The Word is capitalized when referring to the Word of God, Word of Life, Word of Truth, or when referring to Jesus (e.g. No, you would not. To some extent it is a matter of personal preference (assuming you're not using a specific style guide), but it would be unusual to capitalize adjectives or other modifiers. xxvi (footnote) [2] Source[3] Source[4] Source. Even if a title isnt being used to directly address someone, it is always acting as a proper nounand should be capitalizedif it replaces a persons name. In general, a word is considered a nickname if it refers to one specific person. Examples given include "Genesis; the book of Genesis" and "Job; the book of Job.". If there is a style guide that, for example, your publisher has asked you to follow, then its best to check there first. Thank you for posting! The simplest rule here is to make sure that you always capitalize a person's first and last names. Helping Christian authors achieve their publishing goals, Dear Editor | Should I Capitalize Nicknames or Brand Names or . Do capitalize proper nouns. When terms denoting family relationships are used as proper nouns (as names), they are capitalized. Capitalize north, east, south, west only when they come at the beginning of a sentence or refer to specific geographical locations. If you are using the word 'Father' or 'Dad' as a proper noun, then you should use a capital letter. , but Id really like to borrow your car. I only promote those products and services I have personally investigated or used, and which I believe deliver value. This comes under the category of reverential capitalization; you dont need to capitalize unless the word is a proper noun, but its your personal preference. And it may be acceptable to capitalize those terms in such circumstances, but it is difficult to say without seeing the document. The names of God are generally capitalized (e.g. Gospel: Whether to Capitalize Depends on Meaning, Examples: heaven, hell, paradise, garden of Eden, kingdom (Gods kingdom; kingdom of God). So, for instance, you would say "We are here only by His grace," since the "He" in "His" is God. He asked the lord for grace. Many people capitalize the "Holy" in terms like "the Holy Spirit" and "the Holy Bible," and while "Holy God" seems less common, this is ultimately a matter of preference (unless you or your organisation has a style guide you're following, in which case it might have guidelines on capitalization you can use). Many people will read through a book and be confused by why the word "dad" or "father" is capitalized in some places but not in others.
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