Capitalize Names Of
Fictional Characters
Peter Brossy
From: "peter brossy"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Help and feedback
Date: Monday, March 12, 2001 3:06 PM
Hi Cliff
I am a somewhat active atheist, and have set up a website -- South African Free and Critical Thinkers Association www.geocities.com/
I occasionally try and put in my two cents worth -- I always say to atheists not to refer to any God or god, as this effectively reinforces the premise that there is one. Rather always refer to a belief system, or the god of a belief system. It's a simple and somewhat pedantic thing to do, but it effectively totally undermines any (deliberate and continued) attempt by Christians to assume there is a god in the way they speak and argue.
For example: "I believe god said this" becomes "I believe the god of the bible said..." or better still, "I believe the Biblical god, if he exists, said...." When I discuss religion with people or Christians, I confirm we will seek the truth in the discussion to which they eagerly affirm, and then ask them if they can prove the existance of a god, which usually is responded to argumentatively but with a final No, after which I confirm we will talk about the god of their belief system rather than any other god of any other belief system (one can insert that it is presumptuous to assume their belief is necessarily true while others are not, and like comments) -- it really rattles them to try and do this, but as they have just agreed to lack of proof, they have little option. Straight away, they are not able to forward much of their normal crappy arguments, and they are on the defensive -- sometimes they walk away aware that they will not get far in the discussion.
You are obviously in a better position than most to put time, effort and money into this fight for which you have my support and hearty congratulations. I always feel it is better for atheists to try and get together and pool their efforts, to more effectively spread the word and influence we have -- or even could have.We especially need to have well thought out structures for a number of different niche situations, such as some fun books to read to kids, explaining the myth and harm of religion in kids fun and principled format, something for doubters, something for structuring arguments on specific topics. Any ideas or good books you may have are appreciated -- I have read things like McKinsey's Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy (which I use a lot), Joseph Wheless, Thomas Paine and others -- but there is nothing that is really structured along specific lines. I believe that if we atheists (the better read and informed of us), were to try this, it would bring out better focus on how to counter religion an specific lines...??? I have long wanted to find books for kids (an especially good indoctrination method used by Christians, and also start up a ex-religious or non-religious support site and association. Any ideas, books or web-sites?
Regards
Peter Brossy
InPRO PC Software Training
From: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To: "peterbrossy"
Subject: Re: Help and feedback
Date: Monday, March 12, 2001 5:14 PM
The question of how to refer to the biblical god as a fictitious character becomes simple once we agree to see it from the writer's and an anthropologist's viewpoints. As a writer, I follow the conventions suggested by the major style sheets, and as an anthropologist would do, I keep in mind (and in print) the point that this belief system is one of many. As a philosophical and scientific standpoint, I remind myself and my readers that all we can agree, at this point, is that we're dealing with claims: we are not talking about the object of either the claim that gods exist or the claim that gods do not exit.
I disagree with Madalyn Murray O'Hair and others who think that the word God, when used as a proper noun (a name), ought to be set in lowercase. Many who do this admit that they're doing this out of spite, or, at minimum, out of disrespect. If I were to be self-consistent, I would need to set the names Santa Claus and Pinocchio in lowercase as well. (These tend to be the same people who always set the word Atheist in uppercase. I would like to see a move to urge, say, Encarta or Merriam-Webster's, to allow atheist to be set in uppercase when used as the name of a people group, just like both works allow the for the word Evangelical when used as a people group.)
It's much easier (and more disarming) to say "the Bible god" or "the biblical god" (biblical, as an adjective, is lowercase, but Bible, as the name of a book, is uppercase). However, once I've introduced a particular god this way, if that god has the name of God, I will, on occasion, revert to saying, "Well, since God said this..." -- but only after I have established that we're referring to that particular god, and only after I have established that we are dealing with an alleged god whose existence I dispute, and only out of convenience, to make the text read more easily. Sometimes I will enclose the name God in quotation marks, because this alerts the reader that I am using an unordinary meaning: "Well, since 'God' said...." Since there are so many different understandings of Jesus, I will say, "the biblical Jesus," or "the Jesus of the Gospels," of "the Jesus of Evangelical Christianity." Since Jesus is a proper noun, I can't think of a reason to set it in lowercase, any more than one would set the term Lou Gehrig's disease in lowercase, although other disease names, such as influenza, are set in lowercase. Ditto for the word Christian: the term Christ is commonly seen as a proper name, so I will set the word Christian in uppercase.
By balancing my insistence that all we can agree on is that Christians claim that "God" exists with my show of respect by using conventional English when making this insistence, I think I go far when establishing credibility for my positive message -- that atheists are not necessarily wicked, spiteful, vindictive, or otherwise undesirable characters. At least I show that we don't need to be gratuitously so.
As for books, I have listed almost all the books I've read in the Letters section. Since this is closing in on a thousand different files, perhaps it's time to put together a list of my personal collection -- which is only those books I've been able to track down for which I've justified spending money. Existing at or below the American poverty line, I must be careful with my expenditures.
Cliff Walker
"Positive Atheism" Magazine
Five years of service to
people with no reason to believe
Material by Cliff Walker (including unsigned editorial commentary) is copyright ©1995-2006 by Cliff Walker. Each submission is copyrighted by its writer, who retains control of the work except that by submitting it to Positive Atheism, permission has been granted to use the material or an edited version: (1) on the Positive Atheism web site; (2) in Positive Atheism Magazine; (3) in subsequent works controlled by Cliff Walker or Positive Atheism Magazine (including published or posted compilations). Excerpts not exceeding 500 words are allowed provided the proper copyright notice is affixed. Other use requires permission; Positive Atheism will work to protect the rights of all who submit their writings to us.