"God" vs "G-d".... What's That All About?

[arwalden]

What's the purpose of typing a dash instead of the "o"?

[7th_Sephiroth]

1. some of are actually offended by that word

not everyone believes the same lies

[StopTheMorans]

4. SNAP!

incoming! :nuke:

[tridim]

2. Gawd only knows.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. Orthodox Jews do not write out the name of God

In the Hebrew Bible, the name by which God calls himself is written without vowels (YHVH) and is never pronounced aloud. Instead, when reading the Hebrew Scriptures aloud, people substitute "Adonai," which means "Lord."

I first saw this when I moved to the East Coast, and I didn't know what to make of it at first, but then someone explained it to me.

If you look at advocacy ads (say, concerning Israel or anti-Semitism) placed in the New York Times by Orthodox Jewish organizations, then you'll see this spelling.

[terrya]

11. That explains the title of the film "Trembling Before G-D"

It's a film about gay and lesbian Jewish people and how they've reconciled their sexual orientation and their religion.

Thanks for the explanation.

T

[arwalden]

27. Yes... I Saw That Film

I think it was on the Sundance Channel. I don't recall many details about it, but I do recall the emotions I had while watching it. Although there were some heartwarming and funny moments... the sum total of the film left me feeling sad and angry.

[arwalden]

21. "Making It Worse? How Can It Be Worse?! -- Jehovah! Jehovah! Jehovah!"

Well, that helps to explain the stoning of the blasphemer scene in the "Life of Brian".

Thanks for the explanation, Lydia... although it still sounds pretty illogical to me. And in a way, it also strikes me as being a bit "showy" and pretentious. (Not that anyone who does it IS actually pretentious... it just appears that way to me.)

Whether it's written as "god" or "g-d", the MEANING is the same. It's still a grouping of written (typed) symbols that refer to the same thing and are (I assume) pronounced the same.

-- Allen

P.S. I'm reminded of the folks who think it's okay to call someone a "b*itch" because they aren't actually typing out the word "bitch".

[KittyWampus]

36. The Meaning Is The Same? No, A Rough Analogy Would Be To Say

H2O and Water are the same thing.

Water is commonly understood by all as the stuff you drink and wash stuff with.

H2O has many more connotations. Within those 3 SYMBOLS is an entire level of meaning completely missed by those who have not studied Chemistry.

It's not just the literal word.

Reality has many more dimensions then the superficial & materialistic.

[arwalden]

38. LMAO!

>> H2O and Water are the same thing. <<

Thank you. I learned something new today.

>> Water is commonly understood by all as the stuff you drink and wash stuff with. <<

It's also the 'stuff' that flows in rivers and streams, it falls from the sky, and we flush our toilets with it.

>> H2O has many more connotations. Within those 3 SYMBOLS is an entire level of meaning completely missed by those who have not studied Chemistry. <<

Interesting. Exactly how many more connotations does it have? Can you elaborate on that interesting statement?

And no... "HEXAGONAL" magnetized water doesn't count. :eyes:

>> It's not just the literal word. <<

I don't understand what you mean by that. What exactly are you talking about... water? H2O? deities? Please explain.

>>Reality has many more dimensions then the superficial & materialistic. <<

Oh... just go ahead and say it. Don't be afraid to use the word "quantum" or "multidimensionality".

[fluffernutter]

33. thank you, i thought it had something to do with this

but i wasn't sure exactly what. you've finally cleared it up.

[Mistress Quickly]

5. In some religions

it is a no-no to actually write out the name, so the don't.

[CatBoreal]

6. According to my Jewish friend...

typing G-d is more respectful to the Cosmic Muffin than typing the full word.

[Ravenseye]

16. I prefer C-smic M-ffin

I get offended when you write out C-smic M-ffin with all the letters.

Please show some resect to The B-g Ch--se

[rockymountaindem]

7. Some people,

Jews mostly (although it might be done in other religions) prefer not to write "God" on things because whatever it is will one day decay, rot, wind up in a landfill etc. Therefore, in an effort to respect God, they write G-d instead, which isn't really a word so no matter what happens it won't be an offense to God to say, throw it in the trash.

Personally, I usually try to write G-d when using paper, but here on the internet it's all virtual anyway, so I see no problem writing God when using the net.

[EstimatedProphet]

8. Hebrews don't type out God

It's against their religion to directly refer to God. That's why they say Yahweh-"he who cannot be named"
Or so I have always heard

[unblock]

23. jews do not speak the tetragram aloud

god's name is not to be uttered out loud, so jews use 'adonai', to refer to the name of the lord.

written down, the tetragram (yhwh) is ok. it's written without any vowels (or in hebrew, the diacritical marks) because in hebrew, these are only used to guide pronounciation. hence it's called the tetragram, because it has 4 letters and is the only word without written without vowels (diacritical marks).

regardless of the above, it's considered disrespectful to permit written words such as "god" to become worn, dirty, torn, destroyed, etc. this is why "g-d" is used instead. "god" is ok in books and of course in the torah.

different jews approach "g-d" in the internet in different ways. most seem to not have a problem with writing "god" on an electronic medium.

[Debbi801]

26. This is also why any religious documents that contain...

reference to G-D are given a proper burial in a Jewish cemetary once the books can no longer be used because they are in disrepair. Every couple of years, my kids' religious school has a "funeral" for the documents, books, etc.

Debbi

[arwalden]

32. That's Interesting.

[mopinko]

9. not supposed to use the name

but how can you cram it down everyones throat without talking about it? so that's the fix.

[jmowreader]

18. You're talking two different groups of people

The ones who cram it down everyone's throat--fundamentalist Christians--don't have any problem with writing God all over everything.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Orthodox Jews do not proselytize

except for small groups, such as the Lubavitchers, who try to get people of Jewish heritage to adopt Orthodox practices.

But they do not try to convert either atheists or people who believe in other religions.

[bobbobbins]

10. he who must not be named

[7th_Sephiroth]

12. they Worship Voldemort?

lol

[arwalden]

15. Sounds Like Something From Harry Potter.

[Jesus H. Christ]

34. You kids these day.

Can't even recognize Lovecraft when you see it. Sheesh, what are they teaching in the schools these days?

[jmowreader]

13. Throwing away the name of God is a sin to some

Specifically, Jewish people. They aren't ever supposed to throw away a piece of paper that has God's name written on it.

But if you write G-d, it's not technically God's name and you can throw that away.

[BurtWorm]

14. It's against the Torah to write God's name.

Oddly enough, God's name is actually not "God," according to Torah, but "Yahweh" ("YHWH").

[kick-ass-bob]

20. YHWH is really just a breath

that's where it comes from - God is the same as breathing.

ooh, deep.
:D

[kick-ass-bob]

17. I use that when I am cursing...

and being blasphemous.
:shrug:

[Done]

19. It is believed that...

once you write the name of God on a piece of paper, that paper is sacred and can't be easily disposed of. This does not actually apply to the more generic word "God", but still G-d is often used.

[Inland]

22. And the explanations don't make sense, do they.

Since a word is just a combination of letters, which are themselves arbitrary symbols, changing another arbitrary symbol for another STILL spells "God". That is, if you say "'-' is what we put in the place of 'o'", then there is no difference.

Of course, even before you get to that point, you have get past the obvious fact that "God" is a title.

So here's the answer. It is an act of piety that doesn't have any reason besides piety. There's a lot of that.

[arwalden]

25. That's Pretty Much The Same Conclusion That I Was Arriving At...

... after reading the explanations in this thread. All in all, it just seems to be a bit pretentious.

Anyway...

Thanks everyone! I have a much better understanding of it now!

-- Allen

[ZenLefty]

24. I don't know. I'm a B-ddh-st.

:shrug:

[Dukkha]

28. maybe that's why Satan has so many names

He is refered to in the Bible as:

Satan
The Devil
The Serpent
Lucifer
The Evil One
The Dragon
The Prince or Ruler
The God of This World or Age
The Prince of the Power of the Air
The Accuser of the Brethren
The Tempter
Belial
Beelzebul
Abaddon, Apollyon
The Proud One
The Father of Lies
A False Angel of Light

[arwalden]

29. Some Of Those Sound Like Brand Names...

... for dildos.

[CatBoreal]

30. You forgot....

Bill O'Reilly.

[Inland]

31. No, the reason why you don't use a demon's name is the fear he will

appear as if you summoned him.

Ever hear the expression, "Speak of the devil"?

[Dukkha]

40. well it doesn't work when we use * for Bush

He keeps showing up!

[GOPBasher]

35. I think in the Jewish religion, it's a sin to write "God" because

you're writing it on something that can be destroyed. It's something like that.

[KittyWampus]

37. There Are Many Words For God's Many Aspects. YVHV

or the Tetragrammaton is that aspect of Reality that goes beyond Man's Conscious ability to grasp.

That you don't utter it out loud or write it in full alludes to the fact that there's an aspect to Existence that our Limited Understanding cannot see fully.

Sort of like a circuit that can only handle a small amount of energy can't be subject to a lightening bolt without being fried.