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From: smb@ulysses.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: God's gender and name
Message-ID: <733@ulysses.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-Dec-83 14:15:24 EST
Article-I.D.: ulysses.733
Posted: Fri Dec  9 14:15:24 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Dec-83 01:24:49 EST
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Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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Jewish tradition strongly discourages writing the name of the Deity.
It is forbidden to destroy any paper on which the name is written (though
different rules apply to disks and CRTs, I'm told -- Dave, wanna post
the full explanation you mailed me?); consequently, it is traditional
to write G-d instead.  Similar circumlocutions apply to speech.

As for why it is "obvious" that the Deity is neither male nor female --
surely you jest.  If you assume an incorporeal Deity -- as most modern
religions do -- then the concepts of X and Y chromosomes, eggs, sperm,
etc., don't apply.