"Him" or "him"?
Who is God to us, and do we capitalize his pronouns?
Before I begin, dear reader, I would like tell you my favorite knock-knock joke:
Knock knock
Who’s there?
To
To who?
Ah, actually it’s “to whom.”
Anyone who has worked with me, has read my previous stuff, or has known me for a moderate amount of time knows that I am what I like to call a “grammar enthusiast.” I have never needed a Grammarly subscription, I have “Capitalize My Title” saved to my Google Chrome bookmarks, and I am known to “have opinions” about the Oxford comma.
It’s a blessing and a curse: a blessing because it helps me to know I’m better than everyone (lol, I kid), and a curse because friends reach out to me to proof their lengthy essays (I guess it’s better than them asking get a ride to LAX or something).
It is with this innate attitude that I dive into all books I read. I am an avid reader, as I am sure we all are on Substack. Given the nature of my background, I love reading about faith and spirituality, but something trips me up every time I read a popular book about God:
Almost all popular Christian authors capitalize God’s pronouns (such as “He,” “You,” or “Him”).
You might be thinking to yourself, “Well yeah, doesn’t everyone capitalize God’s pronouns? He is God after all.”
It’s in observing this passive attitude that I would now like to start an internet fight.
God’s Pronouns Are Not Capitalized
Open a Bible (if you don’t own one, they’re free on the internet). Allow me to use the King James Version of Psalm 23, starting with a copy-and-paste of verses 1 through 3:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
You will notice that, except in the beginning of each line in this poem, the word “he” and “his” are not capitalized. In fact…
The King James Version, the English Standard Version, the New International Version, the New Revised Standard Version, and pretty much all other major translations of scripture do not capitalize God’s pronouns.
What’s more, the nonreligious Chicago and AP manuals of style agree that God’s pronouns are not to be capitalized. (Others probably also agree with this, but I haven’t checked.)
So Why Do We Capitalize “Him”?
So if the official ruling is to refrain from capitalization, why do Christian books and pastors continue to capitalize pronouns when referring to God even when they are not prompted to do so by scripture or style guides? From what I can tell, here are the reasons that people would go against common scripture translations and secular grammar gurus (spoiler alert, none of them are good reasons):
Reason 1: “I feel like it.”
Fair enough. I guess do your thing, I’m not a cop.
Reason 2: “It’s more reverent to capitalize His pronouns.”
You think that you are more reverent than the King James Version of the Bible?
The audacity!
The absolute hubris!
Check out this continuation of the King James Version of Psalm 23 (verse 4 and 5):
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Notice first that the uses of “thou” (the old-timey version of the second-person pronoun, “you”) and “thy” (“your”) are not capitalized.
Notice also the simple fact that the KJV uses the word, “thou.” When writers and translators from the olden days used the word “thou” instead of the word “you,” they did so to express familiarity in their relationship with the referenced individual. “Thou,” “thee,” and “thy” were informal, “you” and “your” were formal.
We don’t separate formalities like this in English anymore, but this practice from the past is similar to the Spanish usage of tú vs. usted. When you are speaking Spanish with someone who is considered above you in rank, age, status, etc., you would use “usted” when talking with them. Conversely, while speaking with someone of less formal status such as a close friend or family member, you would typically use “tú.”
With its word choice, the King James translation purposefully shows not only that we need not capitalize God’s pronouns, but that the reader can infer that God is a close friend, not some distant, unapproachable overlord. God is a tú, not an usted.
Sure, God is supposed to be respected and revered, but we can revere him with our lives and actions. Revering him with formalized pronouns is not necessary.
Reason 3: “The English translators got it wrong!”
Nah, you got it wrong.
In case we aren’t aware, the Old Testament of scripture, where Psalm 23 is found, was not originally written in English. It was written in Hebrew. There were no capital letters in the ancient Hebrew language.
At.
All.
“But Travis,” you say, “the ancient Hebrews would have capitalized God’s pronouns if they had a system differentiating proper and common nouns built into their language!”
That is what is called a “speculative argument”: no one can know for sure if that claim would be true, so you can’t use it in this internet fight.
Also, if that were the case, then the New Testament, which was originally written in Koine Greek (a language that does have a system for capitalizing proper nouns) would have capitalized God’s pronouns as well.
Guess what.
It didn’t.
The English translators did not get it wrong. The originators of scripture actively chose to refer to God without rigid formality, which I think gives God an appropriate air of familiarity, closeness, and friendliness.
Again, God is not a distant, impersonal tyrant. God is our friend. God is our close, loving, well-adjusted, not-insecure father. It’s okay for us to treat him like he is.
Reason 4: “Idk, I still feel like it.”
Again, fine, do whatever you want. I’m not a cop. Capitalize “You,” “He,” “Him,” etc. when referring to God.
But just know that when we capitalize God’s pronouns, we unconsciously reveal what we believe about him: that he is a scary, unapproachable king who may lop off our heads for accidentally calling him “thou.”
Scripture does not refer to God this way, and neither will I.
So, did I make you angry and uncomfortable? It’s okay, sometimes we get worked up when talking about theology. It’s only natural. Let me know your disagreements in the comments; I still love you, dear reader.
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