God...not G-d

[grumple]

In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayton asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school ... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued (there's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.). And we said OK. Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said OK. Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said OK

Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. Agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good.

Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet. And we said OK, they're entitled to free speech.

Then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. Let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in!

[hellinahandcart]

Oops, you beat me to it.

[G-dzilla]

I concur.

[Jemian]

if Muslims have a similar scruple about the Arabic for "Allah." They sure don't seem to have any problem with spelling their deity's name out in English.

Actually, they do. The arabic rendering of the name is considered extremely sacred to them. The entire koran is considered transcribed so very directly that the ink and the curlicues are special.

This contrasts with Christianity which generally holds the view that the original manuscripts were "God-breathed" and therefore inspired. Most of us think that while the Book should be respected, the paper and ink themselves aren't any more holy that any other paper and ink.

[dawn53]

Isn't the practice one of leaving out vowels, in order to not spell the name out completely?

Seems to me I remember that JHVH is the accepted way for denoting the word "Jehovah" in Hebrew.

[SkyPilot]

I can fully respect and appreciate that some devout Jews choose to spell out God as "G-d", but I do not agree with it. It is pure legalism to do so. Joe Lieberman bragged on the Senate floor how he sits in the dark on the Sabbath, and will not even answer the phone or switch on an appliance because he wants to be prove his faith. After that, he turns around Monday morning and votes in favor of a ban on Partial Birth Abortion. Gee, thanks "Holy Joe"--you're a real inspiration. However, I understand their desire to do so, and to respect the name of Yahweh.

The ancient Pharisees and Sadducees atomized God's law, to the point where Yeshua of Nazareth warned them of "straining at a gnat, but swallowing a camel." In the New Testament, Christians were encouraged to refer to the Lord as "Abba" (GALATIANS 4:6), which is almost akin to "Daddy." Further, this highlights the differences in the beliefs of modern Judaism and Christianity--that because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, we have the gift and right to be called the "children of God." Consider this from Luke 23:44-

"It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two."

That curtain seperated the Holy of Holies in the temple where God Himself dwelled with the rest of the holy temple. Read in the Old Testament what happened to those of went in there without permission? It wasn't something to be fooled with. Why was it torn completely at the very moment Chrst died? I believe is was symbolic of the fact that the separation between man and God had been removed because of the sacrifice of Christ...and God the Father wanted to make it known. Can you imagine what the keepers of the temple thought when that curtain was split?

The separation we have with God is healed through Christ, but I still cringe when I hear people get too Pal-sy Wal-sy with the Almighty. They can make the relationship with God sound frivolous "My buddy pal the Big JC told me!" Show a little respect for the Creator and King of the Universe. He is God after all, you know.

[Cachelot]

Do you not think that if fully spelling-out "God" really pissed Him off that He would've lightning-struck somebody for it by now?

hmmmmm.....

[whipitgood]

I totally agree that devout christians should show more respect for the name of G-d. Do you have any links to guidelines that we uninformed might read? I feel somewhat guilty whenever I use the name in emails or other casual communications.
I also believe that the Third commandment was meant to refer to ANY use of the name of G-d, especially the reference to one's own self as a believer.

[IronJack]

The question shouldn't be "How could God let this happen?" but "How could He not?"

How can you expect a God to create beings with free will, then expect Him to intervene every time those beings make bad decisions?

Secondly, why is it every time there's a disaster, either natural or man-made, someone cries out that God has abandoned us? Yet when times are great, nobody is standing on streetcorners praising God for all the bounty He has bestowed. God gets all the criticism, but none of the gratitude. If we're going to blame Him, then we have to credit Him too.

[holden]

Typing "G-d" looks to me more like it is a dirty word someone is trying to sneak past a language filter.

I'd say disrespect for respect-worthy things has been clearly shown on this thread. CP and others are being more reasonable in their usage that those who deprecate others propagating respect for God's Word.   It's a time-honored activity spanning millenia, not a typo to be compared to vulgarity, and for which the author's presumed intentions should be impugned. (Shame!)

OTOH, as Christians we believe we have been shown a better way; we should not be browbeaten by those who would that we not use the Lord's name when He's made it clear that it's use is available to us and encouraged as we "in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (ICor 1:2) and "ask anything in My name" (Jn 14:14, 16:23).   It's one glorious and powerful name, not an abbreviation built by those who put fences around everything that was sacred!

Man was not made for the Name.

HF

[foreverfree]

bump

[Hatteras]

"Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it."

People that forward anything that comes across their e-mail, from ramblings about God and Jesus to those tired old (insert famous politician's name here) jokes, are idiots to begin with.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Romans 14:5

[Amelia]

How can you expect a God to create beings with free will, then expect Him to intervene every time those beings make bad decisions?...God gets all the criticism, but none of the gratitude. If we're going to blame Him, then we have to credit Him too.

Excellent points!

[varon]

Christians and Jews believe that G-d's name should not be taken in vain or be dishonored. I wish more of us lived up to that.

So, by altering the spelling of God in written form is showing honor. Would one then show the same honor when speaking the word by saying "Gee (G) dash (-) dee (d)" as in "Oh my Gee dash dee" ?

[holden]

2Cor5:11

HF

[Dead Corpse]

Considering his name is JHVH, or IHVH depending on the script used, your little "G-d" tag is nothing more than pretension.

Which "God" are you trying not to offend? Thor? Odin? Zeus? They are all "God's"... yet you don't see the faithful saying "J-piter" or "Ath-na".

[Catspaw]

Considering his name is JHVH, or IHVH depending on the script used, your little "G-d" tag is nothing more than pretension.

Why is it my "little G-D" tag?" I'm not Jewish. However, unlike you, I respect my friends who are Jewish and choose to to spell "God" as "G-d."

[Hatteras]

I understand the reasoning and can respect the historical context in which people chose to write God's name but it does not make practical sense. If we know that "G_d" means "God" than why couldn't someone deface it just the same? To me, as a catholic raised in a parochial school by a 5 foot tall nun with a 4 foot lead-lined pointer, I take this to mean the writer is a coward and afraid to put God's name on display for cowardly reasons.

The writer of this piece is concerned about God being removed from the public view yet we shouldn't even include him in our own text? Sounds like the terrorists won right out of the starting block. Doesn't make any sense...

[elephantlips]

The author makes a very good and undeniable point: The era when God was allowed in schools and when this nation respected our Creator was vastly diffferent from the present times.