I am referring to the change in the capitalization of pronouns when referring to the Deity. Over time, I have seen the tradition/rule change. It used to be that all writers would use the capital letter for a pronoun when representing God or Jesus. But rarely, now. I see it (or don't see it, as the case may be) everywhere. In Bible devotional books. In study books. In articles. Maybe I am just old-fashioned and "King James influenced," but I think he and him should be He and Him.
I am not sure why the change.
The cynical side of me says it is a sign of our culture. We no longer show respect for most things, so caring about showing respect in pronoun-use just follows suit. Could be.
The paranoid side of me says it is a plot. It is a Satan-driven conspiracy to lessen our (sub)conscious awareness of God. Could be.
The skeptical side of me says it is the simple apathy of people, in general, and Christians, in specific. We just don't really care enough to take the trouble to show the reverence. Could be.
The practical side of me says it doesn't matter. This was a Elizabethan or Jacobean writing tradition which has no bearing on our writing methods, today. Could be.
Which is it? I don't know. The reality is that none of these reasons are that great. There is not one of these that I would be proud to claim as my reason. Probably, all of my "sides" are right. There is a bit of each that makes up the answer. I just do not know.
What do you think? Have you noticed it, too? Share your thoughts. I would love to know if I am the only one that is bothered by this.
Bottom line, I want to do all I can to show God, Jesus, and the Spirit all of the honor and respect that He (or They, if you prefer) is/are due. It seems that how I refer to Them in writing is just as relevant as how I act. It is all how I show my attitude toward Him -- my actions, my deeds, my words - written and spoken. I for one will hold on to the capital letters. It is no conundrum to me.
