Should "Is there a trend toward not capitalizing the word "Bible"?" have been closed?

Question

Regarding Is there a trend toward not capitalizing the word "Bible"?

If you talk to my Pastor he'd tell you that it's not JUST an English issue, it's also a matter of what the Church is willing to accept. From a doctrinal perspective pushing back against a culture that increasingly show a lack of respect for God and His word. (note the capitalization of "His" to show respect.).

When I read the question, it's obvious that the OP IS asking if this is becoming acceptable within the Church, which makes it a doctrinal issue, or AT LEAST a matter of what's being tolerated within Christian Culture and therefore on topic.

Answer 1

We have many other questions about Christian language, such as the phrase tag, and other questions such as these:

• Is there any substantive difference between the verbal reference "second Corinthians" and "two Corinthians"?
• Why do some Christians use a period instead of a colon in verse references?
• What might the capitalization of the word "church" indicate?
• Why is it that God the Father is alone capitalised in the third person?

So the broad topic of Christian use of language is on-topic. (We could probably do with a new tag for these questions actually! Any suggestions? Maybe just christian-language?)

Is this specific question on-topic? I lean towards no:

• The inclusion of the discussion of the Koran suggests it is really asking about a general trend in English orthography. Asking whether there is a trend to no longer capitalise religious texts would be a great question to ask at English Language & Usage.
• The talk of the Bible being "devalued" or "demoted" and of "political in-correctness" implies the usage described and asked about is really in society at large and not specifically among Christians, which makes it off-topic.
• I also don't see how the question could be answered objectively. There surely are some people who do deliberately devalue the Bible by refusing to capitalise it, but answers to this question are likely to rely on anecdotes and devolve into a discussion of the decreasing relevance of Christianity in Western society.

I think for the question to be reopened it should be edited to:

• Ask only about the Bible
• Make it clear that it is asking about the language of Christians and not society in general
• Ask for specific evidence, for example from Christian books and blogs

Answer 2

Is there any reason to think the answer to "Is 'bible' becoming an acceptable form of 'Bible'?" different than "Is 'r u' becoming an acceptable form of 'are you'?"

If not, then it's just an English question (or perhaps a broader language question, as the same phenomenon likely occurs in many/most/all languages).

(My personal theory/hypothesis: Both are increasing for precisely the same reason: In the past, using written language implied a level of education that it no longer implies. In the more immediate past, the proliferation of less formal communications media (email, facebook, SMS) has further added to sloppy orthography.)

This litmus test, if accepted, might put an unreasonable burden on the asker, in the sense that they might need to demonstrate that the questions are distinct.

But on the other hand, there's a reasonable site, full of experts on the subject matter, where both questions can be asked (EL&U, namely). And if they were to say "Gee, 'r u' is explained by X, but 'bible'... I dunno, ask a religion expert.", that would be grounds to ask here.

Answer 3

I'd say it's as topical as "AD & BC" vs "CE & BCE" I certainly believe Christian Culture should be topical, especially since it is informed by tradition (which ought to always be topical).

But, if we go that route, I've got a backlog of questions from my unsuccessful attempt to start a Catholic Culture stackexchange!