Last modified on April 9, 2007, at 17:31

Conservapedia:Should the word "godless" be spelled with a capital "G"?

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This is a tricky one. Godless starts with the word "God" but it essentially means the opposite to God. Conceptually it doesn't deserve a capital but using the word "God" without a capital goes against the grain. --Horace 23:29, 28 March 2007 (EDT)

Would you call someone who believed in the Hindu pantheon Godless? --Mtur 23:30, 28 March 2007 (EDT)

I would think that such a person would have plenty of Gods. --Horace 23:36, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
Polytheistic deities are generaly refered to with a lowercase 'g'. It isn't being used as a proper noun in that case. --Mtur 23:39, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
I'm not sure that that is entirely fair. If I were talking about my friend Fred I would use a capital letter. If I had two friends called Fred I would call them "the Freds", not "the freds". I begin to suspect some cultural imperialism here. --Horace 23:47, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
I thought the word "god" was only capitalized when referencing the Christian deity?--Elamdri 23:53, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
Perhaps "godful" would be appropriate for polytheistic folk?-- Rob PommerTALK 23:57, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
And thus, I point you to the sages named Merriam and Webster on god who spake:
 1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as a : the Being perfect in power,
 wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe
 b Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal 
 Spirit : infinite Mind
 2 : a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers
 and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular
 aspect or part of reality
Hence, the Hindu pantheon are gods, not Gods as they fall into definition #2. --Mtur 23:58, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
I think this is pretty clear cut, as Mtur has so kindly pointed out, "god" with a lower case, refers more to deities in general, where as "God" refers specifically to the Christian God. The term "godless" would seem to apply to the lack of any god, not just the Christian God. Therefore, it falls under the second category, with a lowercase "g."