By way of explanation and clarity I write this post. This will be a random ruminating on a word, or two. Heaven, let’s start there as it is the word I want to focus on. It is the day after Christmas and we have been excited about Jesus leaving Heaven for Earth. I have been among those celebrating Jesus' birth, however my focus has been on Heaven and the glory that lies ahead.
Heaven:
We know its size.
We know its inhabitants, including God and Jesus.
We know the requirement for citizenship.
We know the principles it is governed by
and though we do not know its exact location, we do know it exists.
Heaven is where God, Jesus, angels and those believers that have gone on to glory live. When we as the saved saints leave Earth, Heaven will be our home. Just as surely as we live a particular country, Heaven is home to all of those just mentioned.
Let’s revisit basic grammar for a moment.
Nouns: name people, animals, places things and ideas.
Abstract nouns: refer to ideas, emotions, concepts and things not tangible, can not be detected by the 5 senses.
i.e., bravery, friendship, honesty, peace, wisdom, marriage.
Concrete nouns: refer to nouns you can detect by your 5 senses.
i.e., coffee- can be seen, tasted and smelled. book- you can see and touch it.
Count nouns: a noun that can have a number in front of it, and an “s” following it is a count noun:
i.e., I gave Baxter a pumpkin dog treat.
He jumped up and grabbed three treats.
Treat is a count noun.
Non-count nouns: refer to nouns that can not have an “s” put on the end.
i.e., snow, jewelry, scenery, traffic.
Collective nouns: refer to a word that represents a group, can be plural or singular, but is most commonly expressed in the singular.
i.e., bunch (grapes), choir (group of singers), flock (sheep), herd (cattle).
Here are the two that apply for this post.
Common noun: refers to general items.
i.e., dog, state, sea, woman, man.
Proper noun: refers to a name specific noun, identifies the general variety, is a one-of-a-kind item, and are always capitalized.
i.e.,
dog- Baxter
state- Maryland
sea- Red Sea
woman- Queen Elizabeth
woman- Queen Elizabeth
man- R.T. Kendall
Sentence Example: When in Chicago the restaurant I enjoy is Elephant and Castle.
Common noun: restaurant
Proper noun: Elephant and Castle.
Sentence Examples: Can you see a planet tonight? Yes, we can see Saturn.
Common noun: planet
Proper noun: Saturn
While “heavens” (often used in plural form) connotes the sky and all the area above the Earth, Heaven as in the dwelling place of God and those mentioned above is a specific place, with a specific name and therefore is a proper noun that requires capitalization. I realize that does not happen in Bible translations and versions, but for me and here on Honeycomb, that is what I find to be correct. With that same grammar rule applied, much to my chagrin, so is Hell. Correct is correct so that rule will apply there, too.
I imagine I enjoyed the visit down Grammar Lane more that most, but I think not only words are so important, but so are their applications and the way they are presented. We are losing so much of the beauty in our language though abbreviations, slang and the twisted “urban” definitions given to lovely words- causing them to become something ugly and twisted, or in some cases ugly words that are used to speak of something desirable. On top of which, common grammar is quickly becoming a lost skill and a dumbing down in society is the result. This may not bother some, but it does me.
