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.
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.