Here’s a riddle. What does God have in common with Owl, the character from the popular children’s book series and television show “Little Bear”?
Easy! Both have names identical with their natural kinds. Owl is an owl and God is, er, a god.
Of course, monotheists believe that God is the only token example of the divine type “god”. That’s the first of many differences between God and Owl. But this similarity is still worth keeping in mind because sometimes we use the word “God” as a proper name to refer to the token of the type. And other times we use the word “god” to refer to the type itself. Consider:
God as proper name: “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret.”
God as general type: “God is that being than which none greater can be conceived.”
Now you might be thinking, “Does it really matter?” But it does matter. For one thing, one of the main aims of Christian theology is to show that the one whom Christians call “God” is indeed a token example (and the only token example) of the general type of divine beings.
To sum things up, God is god and the only god is God.
Just make sure you don’t confuse God and god.
