Why do I see a lot of people spelling God with a dash in the middle? (G-d)?

Question

Just curious if they thought it was a bad word or something.

Answer 1

Jewish custom. It is generally forbidden to write the full name of the divine so that the name cannot be desecrated.

A Torah scroll, when retired, is given full burial honors in a Jewish Cemetary to honor the fact it contains the written name of the divine.

Answer 2

No - it comes from Judaism.

When one writes down the name of God it is never to be erased. Ever. It is considered sacred.

So to avoid commiting this sin, and to show reverence they take out the vowels. Traditionally written Hebrew often has no vowel marking, and never has them on the name(s) of God for this reason. Some Jewish people extend this to the English spellings of God and Lord.

Answer 3

Part of it is a Jewish tradition where not only the name of God, but the very word God is sacred and should not be spoken or typed. The same goes for writing YHWH.

I've known of others who write it like that because they are lazy. I highly doubt every single person who writes "G-d" is doing it in respect to the Jewish tradition.

Answer 4

Jews do that I think because they respect God's name too much to spell it all out.

Answer 5

That's how Jews spell God.

Answer 6

This is a Jewish tradition. They believe that the name of God is so holy that you shouldn't write it on anything that can be thrown away or deleted.

Answer 7

The Jew thing referenced above is correct. They don't even destroy holy books. They bury them.

Answer 8

Some people do it because they don't want to acknowledge Him.

Answer 9

They are trying to show us how intelligent they are.

Answer 10

It's a very silly AMERICAN Jewish neologism based on the PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN idea that their god's name is God.