Hi, Mary. Also see Are Adam and Eve in Heaven? Thanks! Christian Editing participates in a range of affiliate advertising programs, includingthe Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. They believe its not a place, like Vancouver, British Columbia, or the Mediterranean Sea, but a utopian mental state. In addition to stylebooks, such as the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style, those who work in Christian publishing have additional style guides for religious terms. Use the surname on subsequent references. Hi, Scott. For instance, we would capitalize Catholic in the Catholic Church. But catholic can also mean all-embracing. And we would not use a capital C to write about someone with interests in a range of seemingly unrelated things (i.e., someone with catholic tastes). Yes, Bible is always capitalized, per CWMS. Do I Hire an Editor before Submitting to an Agent or Publisher? It is a matter of personal conviction, preference, and context. The simplest rule here is to make sure that you always capitalize a person's first and last names. 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. He is all-powerful and all-knowing, and He is full of love, mercy, charity, and compassion. Whether you are a writer, editor, or you merely refer to religious and spiritual terms as a Christian, these following tips can serve as a helpful guide. The Content Authority is where you will find great content, written by amazing writers, around topics like grammar, writing, publishing, and marketing. As with any writing technique, capitalization for irony or emphasis can become tedious to read if used too often: My suggestion is to capitalize no more than two terms for emphasis. If your character was named Sonny, then Son would be capitalized because it is a shortened form of his proper name. Capitalize pronouns (except relative pronouns) that refer to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Capitalize the title before a name. But if you do, let your editor know which terms youve chosen to capitalize. Or even if referring to musical compositions in general rather than one particular piece? Using my affiliate links means I get a small payment, but you wont pay any more than if you accessed the site directly. There is room for variation here. After school on Monday, my father took me to my karate class. Page 425 of The Christian Writers Manual of Style states: In references to books of the Bible, lowercase the word book, as in the book of Genesis, unless the version of the Bible being references capitalizes the entire phrase as a title, as does the KJV and some of its derivative translations. And you'd always capitalize "Exodus" when referring to the book from the Bible. Like godly wisdom, godly counsel, godly life. The names of God are generally capitalized (e.g. Luke 11:13 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your The word Motheris a proper noun standing in for the mothers name. I've just translated a story (into English). 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. Please see his About page for details. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. However, the Chicago Manual of Style and Associated Pressnow both state that black is lowercase when referring to a color, but capitalized when referring to a person or people group who identify as Black. Any pointers to consider? I am wondering about capitalization when referring to significant theological concepts or events. There's typically no need to capitalize those types of terms unless they're proper nouns in themselves. One of these nuances has to do with when you capitalize the word "father.". Home Dear Editor | Should I Capitalize Nicknames or Brand Names or . had been up to. Heres a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? Using capitalization for emphasis has the same issues as using. (referring elsewhere to a specific denomination or sect). 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. Do You Capitalize The Words "Freshman" Or "Freshmen"? 28. Do not capitalize heaven, hell, the devil, satanic. Also see Do Short People Go To Heaven? Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Please tell me is this is the proper way to write this sentence: Follower of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. http://www.christimcguire.com/spiritual-style-updated/, 5 Tips for Preparing for Writers Conferences. I need all the help I can get! God loves His children; He loves us with an everlasting love! But if you do, let your editor know which terms you've chosen to capitalize. Do I capitalize Heavenly Father? These terms are therefore nicknames or sobriquets, as they refer to one specific person. When a kinship name immediately precedes a personal name or is being used alone in the place of a personal name, you should capitalize it. Should Heaven Be Capitalized? The Answer May Surprise You 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). Thanks. As mentioned above, you should always capitalize the first letter in a proper noun. What if I'm writing a Christian character who would usually capitalize heaven, and they refer to it while talking. I know a lot of the larger houses are own by secular companies so I was curious how you see current changes. However, they should never be capitalized when they're only being used to describe a generic parental relationship, in which case you'd use their lowercase form. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! 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. "Dad" is a specific reference (when you say it you mean somebody different from when I say it), so it gets capitalized like any proper noun. Well, we are all going to emigrate in a very little while. Learn why people even ask the question. I do it consistently. I ask only because Bible scholars have written exhaustively on eschatological constructs such as Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib & Post-Trib with respect to the Great Tribulation, so, in essence, they are publications (as well as doctrines) & the titles of doctrines in published form do have capitalization rules that apply. 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. Sister Mary Eunice insisted she did not know the man. Spiritual Style | Christi McGuire | Christi McGuire Kim, PDF Is heavenly father capitalized For example, Heaven is an eternal state of blessing, sinlessness, and salvation. ): "The names of books of the Bible are not italicized. The English language is full of its subtle nuances, just like any other language is. And of course the CWMS has been updated since I wrote this post. He's going to have a talk with his father.). If "The Order" is the name (or part of the name) of the religious organization in question, then it is a proper noun and probably needs capitalizing. For example, how do you know whether to capitalize godly since it refers to God? On the other hand, "dad" is a common noun meaning "father" (anybody's). I guess now I am wondering about "the body and blood of Christ"Would "body" and "blood" be capitalized? So if you were referring to gods and goddesses in general, or any god or goddess where god is not part of their name, you would need to use a lower case g instead: Prior to Christianization, the Anglo Saxons worshipped the Germanic gods and goddesses, including ostre, the goddess of the dawn and spring. Surely it is not wrong for us to think and talk about Heaven. Also capitalize their variations mum, mama, mommy, mother, papa, pop, daddy, father, or any other words used to refer to one's parentswhenever you use them in direct address or in place of someone's name. I feel for Melindas loss, said the neighbor. . Hi, Jacob! Everyone remembers her. I have seen a niche Christian publisher with the same policy. One question remains: assuming reverential capitalization is being used, are possessive pronouns supposed to follow suite? An Introduction to Relative Pronouns With Examples, How SubjectVerb Agreement Works With And/Or, Religions and religious movements (e.g., Judaism, Methodism), Religious figures and deities (e.g., Jesus, Zeus), Religious holidays (e.g., Easter, Diwali), Titles when used with a name (e.g., Reverend Green). Christ is the One in whom we find salvation, Lowercase Relative Pronouns (who, whom, whoever, whomever) referring to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Obviously, if I were referring to a particular order of nuns, I would write: "The Ursuline Sisters", for instance, but if I was saying: "The sisters then went into the chapel", I'm suddenly not sure if it should be a capital 's' or not. As we mention in the article, if youre using Catholic in a religious context, e.g., in reference to a persons religion or that followed by a household, then this is normally capitalized. Print. Thanks! As with the example above, body and blood dont need to be capitalized as they are not proper nouns, but its your preference; the main thing is to make sure you are consistent in whatever you choose. So, for instance, you would say "We are here only by His grace," since the "He" in "His" is God. A utopian mental state, for example, isn't an actual place, so there is no place-name to capitalize. capitalize bible. Learn how your comment data is processed. However, terms of affection or endearment are not capitalized. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. Notice that we do, however, capitalize ostre in the example above, even though we use a lower case g for goddess. This is because ostre is the name of a goddess, so it is a proper noun. If Heaven is a place, and thats communicated in part through capitalizing the term, why doesnt the Bible do it? Instead, the title is being used as a proper noun similar to other respectful titles such as Miss, Doctor, Captain, or Professor. This was back in bible times (or Bible times). "Word" is a tricky one because it may be useful to capitalize to distinguish between the "Word of God" (i.e., as in the famous line from John 1:1, where it seems to be more of a proper name due to the use of the definite article) and any generic uses of "word" elsewhere. Ultimately, it comes down to clarity and consistency. Or "the exodus" versus "the Exodus"? There's room for flexibility here at least, as long as you use a consistent style of capitalization for similar usages of the word. What is the rule used when icapitalisating in such cases? Examples given include "Genesis; the book of Genesis" and "Job; the book of Job.". Throughout this article you have learned that this is a word that's capitalized only when it's used to replace someone's name (e.g. Hi, Melody. Though it seems that all the style-guides and capitalisation advice available on the Internet agree that the word kingdom in the phrase kingdom of God should be lowercased, I can find no clear information on whether it should still be lowercased when used by itself as a shortened way to refer to the kingdom of God (e.g. 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. Heaven and Hell Finally, we have heaven and hell. Hi, Ishfaq. autumn. All opinions are my own. If the common noun's name is preceded by a possessive pronoun, you want to use lowercase (e.g. 11 English Capitalization Rules: How, When, and Why If I were going to dwell in any place in this country, if I were going to make it my home, I would inquire about its climate, about the neighbors I would have about everything, in fact, that I could learn concerning it. When terms denoting family relationships are used as proper nouns (as names), they are capitalized. All Rights Reserved. The same applies to "epistles," as you could refer to the "Epistles of Paul" as a collective name for those books of the Bible, or refer more generically to the "Pauline epistles." If you edit for Christian writers,The Christian Writers Manual of Style is a must-have. It is a matter of personal conviction, preference, and context. The Christian Writers Manual of Styleincludes a comprehensive section on capitalization of Christian terms. So, I guess that's the western Christian answer. Revelation 21:1-4, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. Heaven is both a place and a state of being. [3], References:[1] Heaven by Randy Alcorn, pg. As noted in this post, the only things you should always capitalize are proper names (e.g., words that refer to a unique person, deity, or thing, such as "God," "Bible" and the names of books of the Bible, names of festivals like "Passover," names of people and places). A good rule to follow is to capitalize them if they are used as proper nouns, as in the previous example. If youre writing biblical fiction that features God, Jesus, and their relationship, then it would be appropriate for God to call Jesus Son rather than son.. The official profile of the word faith . Well, before you do that, check out our guide to capitalizing religious terms. Robust, real-time communication assistance, Write, rewrite, get ideas, and quickly reply with GrammarlyGO, Features to polish, grammar, tone, clarity, team consistency, and more, Writing assistance on 500,000+ apps and sites across your devices, For desktop apps and websites like Word and Gmail, For sites like Google Docs, Gmail, and LinkedIn, Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes, Format citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago, When terms denoting family relationships are used as, (not as names), theyre not capitalized. Jesus also made clear in the Gospels that Heaven is an actual place as well. Is it only when you use these terms in a religious context? An easy way to remember this rule is to consider whether or not you can replace the word dad with an actual name. Child should be lowercase, even when its referring to Jesus. his, her, their). Some people imagine that heaven is merely a heightened state of consciousness. Thanks! a Requiem Mass) or a related musical context (e.g. Capitalization Rules-A Quick Guide | Grammarly The main question that comes up around capitalizing Christian terms is Should we Capitalize Pronouns Referring to God or Jesus? However, it's not necessary according to most style guides (e.g., AP style suggests using lowercase, and Chicago style says only to capitalize these terms in religious publications). Examples include Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and Bennifer (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez). Hi, Brandy. Nor, incidentally, would you need the comma before "until.". The Catholic priest was reading to his congregation from the book of Matthew. If there is a style guide that, for example, your publisher has asked you to follow, then its best to check there first. Hi, Oluwaseun. I know this is an old thread and I don't know how long y'all maintain them for, but just in case: should names of church doctrines, like the priesthood of all believers, be capitalized, or in quotes, or something like that? Hi, I am trying to reference a song, Holy God, we praise Thy Name, I am not sure if Thy and Name should be capitalized. I know the crash was serious, Dad, but Id really like to borrow your car. Today, Im looking at some other common questions around capitalization: Capitalize brand names to be consistent with the brand trademark, i.e. Page 103 of the newest version (4th) of the Christian Writers Manual of Style shows these examples: the child Jesus, Christ child. The word "father" should be capitalized whenever you're using it instead of a person's proper name. Is Heaven a real place or just a spiritual state of awareness? Hi, Janelle. Hi! ), 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. We can receive a sure testimony of . Names of all races and nationalities. Hi. I expect to live there through all eternity. As with most cases of reverential capitalization, this is largely a matter of preference. One of the best resources is The Christian Writers Manual of Style by Robert Hudson (Zondervan, 2004). This is true even when referring to the Christian concepts of "heaven" and "hell." Take Matthew 5:18 from the NIV Bible, for instance: Required fields are marked *, By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Is It Advance Notice Or Advanced Notice? Get the Facts. Most sources seem to use the lowercase "faith" in all circumstances (e.g., even though. Looking online, it seems that "the Apostle John" and "the apostle John" are both fairly common (although "John the Apostle" seems to be the most common proper name). Bible times, Bible belt, Bible school, etc. Hi, Laura. Thanks for any help! However, there are many religious terms that have second meanings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. ?-- We note a change here also, the one highest gift of the "Holy Spirit" taking the place of the wider and less definite "good things" in Matthew 7:11.The variation is significant, as belonging to a later stage of our Lord's teaching, and especially as spoken probably to some of the Seventy, who were thus taught to ask boldly for the Spirit . But if you are using 'father' or 'dad' as a common noun, you shouldn't capitalise the 'f'. Your email address will not be published. It can also be traced back to late Old English where it means "one who exercises parental care over another. I don't believe that Father is okay with you and Joyce being together alone. Thus, it would be wrong to say they need to be capitalized as standard. According to the Bible, Heaven is a place, but its not just a place. 12 Expressive Quotes From LGBTQIA Authors On Their Experiences, when used as a title immediately before a persons name (, Instead, the title is being used as a proper noun similar to other respectful titles such as. I was reading through the Book of John; or, Capitalize titles like mom and dad when using them to address someone or as a name. Christian Editing Services 2013-2023. to learn more. When writing about religious sisters and referring to them indirectly, should 'sisters' be written with an upper or lower case letter? Correct: My dad is the best. Tag Archives: Heavenly Father Capitalized. However, when the terms are used as common nouns (not as names), they're not capitalized. Id really be interested in what changes you view have happened in recent years. This way all your family get togethers will hopefully be free from mistakes and drama. For instance, you wouldn't capitalize dad when you say something like, "I think my dad is fantastic" because dad is merely a word that's being used to describe a familial relationship. Hi, Diane. Learn to revise your novel in two weeks (even if you dont know where to start) so you can stop procrastinating, start revising, and reduce your editing costs. Thanks for your question theres no time limit! Author Randy Alcorn capitalizes Heaven to emphasize an important truth to his readers, The Scriptures are Gods truth to His people. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. Just make sure to apply capitalization consistently! God is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. 17 Oct. Matthew, NEW TESTAMENT. Use Sister or, if applicable, Mother before the name of a nun. Its really personal choice as to which words you capitalize in this context, but as the adjectives youve listed relate to God, while its not necessary to capitalize them, you still can follow the reverential capitalization rule. We are going to spend eternity in another world Is it not natural that we should look and listen and try to find out who is already there and what is the route to take? Other believers dont capitalize the word, not necessarily because they dont believe its a real place, but because they are inclined to follow the words conventional spelling. But you also (sometimes) capitalize the first word of a quote. If you were referring to the Christian deity, for instance, you would need to capitalize the G in God: But some words, like god, can be either proper or common nouns depending on how we use them. 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. If you (or your institutions style guide) have a preference for capitalizing "Name," then thats entirely your choice. @ 2021-2023 Copyright | All Right Reserved, link to How Soon After Death Do You Go To Heaven? Examples of "Heavenly-father" in a Sentence | YourDictionary.com on first reference before the name. Patricks Day Or St. Why do people capitalize the G in god? Hi, Anna. But, use lowercase when the words are used with his name. As a rule, you do not need to capitalize these terms. "Christian" is still capitalized as an adjective (most adjectives based on proper nouns are capitalized in English). Grammarly helps you communicate confidently READ: What does processing mean on YouTube upload?Do you capitalize faith? 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). Oftentimes you'll see it both capitalized and in lowercase when you're writing to a friend and refer to their daddy. President Abraham Lincoln, but the president. Otherwise, use what you prefer, but the only thing to remember is to make sure its consistent throughout your book. 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? The man I called Father throughout my whole life was the man who was married to my mother. Some Bible translations capitalize pronouns referring to God, while others do not. I don't believe that MLA style has any guidelines on the capitalization of religious terms in particular. Proper noun: I went to the mall with Cousin Jenny. 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. Good luck with the style guide either way, and let us know if you need anyone to proofread it! Hi, Jodie. I'm trying to develop a style guide for consistency, and I lean toward not capitalizing. 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. From my understanding of capitalizing of religious words, the keep it simple, if they refer to or are used in a religious context or are proper religious nouns, one would capitalize. Unless you're using them as part of a title or proper noun, those words don't usually need to be capitalized. , but Id really like to borrow your car. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. 26 votes Permalink Report Abuse. You only use disambiguators like "my" or "a" with common nouns ("my dad", but not "my Dad" just like you wouldn't say "my John . Daniel's seminary degree is in Exegetical Theology. possession? 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. 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. 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. Youd just need to check your style guide though if youre using one. I like to find out all I can about it. 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." In contrast, the Bible teaches that Heaven is an actual place, which followers of Christ will one day inhabit. This scripture may be found in the Book of John or Book of Psalms. Rule: When you use the complete . The devil is usually lowercase, but his name is capitalized. Hi, Sheri. What about capitalization of the subject of God's (and Jesus', etc.) Not to do so would imply that Heaven and Hell and the New Earth arent real places. You wouldn't capitalize heavenly and hellish though. *Style guides have been updated since this post was published. I'm going to dinner at Mario's with Father on Friday night. In the OT the NIV uses both "Name" and "name" often when God is speaking or referenced. Are parts of churches capitalized? I read all the instructions on the use of the word Bible; however, should it be capitalized in this sentence? For example, the word Dad is capitalized in the sentence I went fishing with Dad this morning even though the speaker is not talking directly to their dad. For example: Second Corinthians 1:1 says, . Queen Elizabeth, but the queen (or the Queen in the Commonwealth). Or should that be Hell? This is because when we use the word to refer to one supreme being, the word becomes a proper noun. For example: A title used alone may be capitalized when used in direct address. However, it may depend on how and where you are using these terms (e.g., the Society of Biblical Literature recommends only capitalizing "Law" when "the term refers to a division of the canon," which would make "law of Moses" and "Mosaic law" correct).