Some Christians choose to not spell out God out of respect for his name. It goes back to the Jews not writing the actual name of YHWH of God and leave out the consonants.
I think the bigger question is has he always left the consonant out of God or a new thing?
Part right and part wrong. It goes back to Jewish custom- yes. The consonants in YHWH have not been left out; it's the vowels, and that's because real Hebrew (not the stuff for kids and newbies) is written without vowels and this is true of any word- sacred or ordinary. The reason why God is spelled G-d by Jews is not because of the vowel or in imitation of Hebrew treatment of YHWH; it is because the word is considered sacred and sacred words must be cared for as though they will last indefinitely. Generally in Judaism, if something with a sacred word on it is ever damaged and retired, instead of being thrown out, it must be given a burial like a human. With that in mind, unless a person is a scribe reproducing a holy book by hand, there is never a reason to spell out sacred words entirely. Alluding to those words is sufficient. I suspect Pence did this because the deceased and/or the mourners are Jewish. I doubt Pence does it in other contexts.
But - curiously, in the letter to Nancy Pelosi re: the 25th, he said "So help me God"... I think that was from today. It was the last bit of what he said before he signed his name.
Probably the deceased (Sheldon Adelson) and/or the mourners are Jewish. It appears Pence is just trying to go above and beyond to be culturally sensitive. In ordinary contexts, I would not expect Pence to do it.
Yeah that’s really odd. As a “Christian” why would you spell it G-D?
Some Christians choose to not spell out God out of respect for his name. It goes back to the Jews not writing the actual name of YHWH of God and leave out the consonants.
I think the bigger question is has he always left the consonant out of God or a new thing?
Part right and part wrong. It goes back to Jewish custom- yes. The consonants in YHWH have not been left out; it's the vowels, and that's because real Hebrew (not the stuff for kids and newbies) is written without vowels and this is true of any word- sacred or ordinary. The reason why God is spelled G-d by Jews is not because of the vowel or in imitation of Hebrew treatment of YHWH; it is because the word is considered sacred and sacred words must be cared for as though they will last indefinitely. Generally in Judaism, if something with a sacred word on it is ever damaged and retired, instead of being thrown out, it must be given a burial like a human. With that in mind, unless a person is a scribe reproducing a holy book by hand, there is never a reason to spell out sacred words entirely. Alluding to those words is sufficient. I suspect Pence did this because the deceased and/or the mourners are Jewish. I doubt Pence does it in other contexts.
I can't believe I switched Consonants for Vowels. I must not have been awake yet. Thanks the more clear and detailed answer.
Something else I read from him yesterday spelled it out normally.
Now that is interesting.
But - curiously, in the letter to Nancy Pelosi re: the 25th, he said "So help me God"... I think that was from today. It was the last bit of what he said before he signed his name.
Probably the deceased (Sheldon Adelson) and/or the mourners are Jewish. It appears Pence is just trying to go above and beyond to be culturally sensitive. In ordinary contexts, I would not expect Pence to do it.
That's a very good point. Hmmm.