ZOMBIE FORUMS

Not to mention a quick way to jack up the post count.

Probably needs look in a dictionary created by an atheist. It wouldn't mention God but probably a higher being. Then you can have a whole new argument about whether there is or is not a God in existence.

I'm not trying to nitpick, but it stood out noticeably (at least to me ;). Anyhow, I meant "god" the noun, not "God" the being; I don't care to debate religion. As well, although "god" is not defined as specifically masculine, it is usually (in fantasy contexts) used to refer to male or indeterminant deities, whereas "Goddess" is used to refer to female ones.

It is worth noting that "man" is not defined as specifically masculine either (although it is suggested).

My reference is the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

-myndzi

The noun "god" is usually used to refer to a masculine divinity if you're a Judeo-Christian, yes. Most other use it as a generic synonym for "diety" - which you'll note doesn't have a gender connotation either.

And be careful about how you refer to dictionaries. The idea that "man" has no specific gender connotation isn't something that applies to everyday speech - it's an artificial distinction of language created to allow old-school grammarians to continue in the exclusive use of the masculine pronoun. You can actually single out the specific point in history at which scholarly institutions and dictionary publishers decided to artificially "de-gender" the masculine pronoun - and for the most part, the gender-neutral masculine exists only in dictionaries and scholarly work, having never made the transition into common usage.

As distinct from "god", which does appear as a gender-neutral term in the common usage, albeit mostly among non-Judeo-Christians.

- Sir Bob.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: SirBob on 2002-12-20 10:41 ]</font>

Interesting; thanks for the info. I will have to maintain, however, that in fantasy works I've mostly seen 'god', 'goddess', and 'deity' -- male, female, unknown/neither/whatever. This is not to say I can vouch for anything I haven't read

-myndzi

i guess in the end it comes down to personal preference.

Just FYI, they all agree that the god of all of the above is the same One God. However their interpretations of his 'miracles' and teachings, as well as who the prophets were differs. For instance, muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, but not the son of God, stuff like that.

The moderates agree with the official line... most of the time. That's why we watch the fundamentalists instead.

- Sir Bob.

Like one's sexuality!

...Why do i feel like i'm opening up a can of worms here?

You know, this has to be the weakest, most transparent attempt at a troll I've seen in a good while. I mean, I can't even bring myself to give some token points for effort.

- Sir Bob.