Comments on Word-wise: Capitalizing nouns: Are these "common" conventions...

Thank you for the "got questions" link; ...

2012-02-06T11:10:11.395-05:00

Thank you for the "got questions" link; I love that site! I prefer to capitalize the personal and possessive pronouns for God and Jesus, but I'm finding that it isn't done near as much now as in the past.

And as always, AnnaLisa, I can count on you to help when I have confusing issues such as this! Thank you for the article!

"My advice is decide what you are going to do...

2012-01-27T10:30:35.848-05:00

"My advice is decide what you are going to do and then be consistent!"

Agreed! IMO, that's the single most important editing guideline, no matter what the specific question.

Thank you for posting that good link (answers written by authorities other than editors give us a good round discussion, I think) as well as clarifying the c/Church and c/Catholic questions. "Church" especially is one that I can accurately identify as correct or incorrect but have a hard time putting a finger (or explanation) on why.

I'll take the bait. As a rule, I never capita...

2012-01-27T08:17:00.082-05:00

I'll take the bait.

As a rule, I never capitalize pronouns for God or for Jesus; but that's just me. My advice is decide what you are going to do and then be consistent! Here is a very good article on the subject: http://www.gotquestions.org/capitalizing-pronouns-God.html

The difference between "church" and "Church." In general, "Church" is used 1) in reference to the name of a specific institution: "Northside Presbyterian Church;" or 2) in reference to all Christian institutions throughout the world: "The Church follows the teaching of Jesus Christ;" or 3) in reference to the eternal collection of all God's saints in heaven and on earth: "Darren Jones has entered into the Church eternal."

Regular "church" is used when referring to the church generically or in a non-special way. "There will be a potluck at the church this evening," "Many churches gather for worship on Sunday morning," "Where do you go to church?"

It is a similar distinction between "catholic" and "Catholic." "Catholic" refers to our Roman Catholic brethren, whereas "catholic" uses the meaning "universal" and refers to all Christian churches.

You surprised me on that one, Ben. I was kind of h...

2012-01-26T14:18:35.411-05:00

You surprised me on that one, Ben. I was kind of hoping you might offer us a non-layman's explanation of the difference between "church" and "the Church." And yes, that's a welcome mat!

I was taught in college that pronoun capping was only done in reference to Jesus, not God (which always seemed to me a little like congratulating the egg while disregarding the chicken, if that makes sense). I don't know how long ago the standard changed, but the most current versions of both Chicago and AP go a step farther and say not to cap for either.

That solution would eliminate the confusion, but obviously it would also be very offensive to many. That's just about the definition of counterproductive proofreading.

Perhaps the K.I.S.S. principle applies? I think if I were in your position, I'd stick with just capping the usual personal and possessive pronouns (He/Him/His, You/Your/Yours, Who/Whose, as well as the Thy/Thine you find in other translations). Treating nearby nouns like name and great power as Holy Pronouns By Extension would only add more complication.

My pet peeve is capitalizing pronouns for God &...

2012-01-26T12:58:53.705-05:00

My pet peeve is capitalizing pronouns for God & Jesus. There are several reasons it bugs me, but chief among them is the lack of consistency. It also makes the text annoying to read.

Example: Psalm 66
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of His name; [or is it His Name?]
give to Him glorious praise.
Say to God, 'How awesome are Your deeds!
Because of Your great power, Your enemies cringe before you. [or should it be Your Great Power?]