X,

a few points you may like to add to your notes.

Asking a Buddhist about god or gods or God is quite awkward and
incorrect. It only reflects a lack of understanding on your part. I
hope this reply would help you to understand why.

1. Without the invention, yes, of the small letters, we will all be
still typing and writing in just capital letters today. Other than
European languages, most other languages do not have small letters.
So, how does 'GOD' look to you?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuscule

2. the word 'deva' in the Buddhist scriptures simply means a heavenly
being. And these devas all have different names. Yes, you can
translate them as gods, but bearing in mind that Buddhism is not a
polytheist religion, I personally like to use "heavenly beings" (or
very infrequently 'deities').

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheism

3. as for 'brahma', I won't even translate it at all. There is no
point. But, I shall write it as 'Brahma', with a capital B, following
current naming conventions. Brahma is a student of the Buddha, and it
is Brahma who persuaded the Buddha to start his teaching career.

A better and more intelligent question to ask a Buddhist is if there
is a creator of the universe. This is an issue which the Buddha has
addressed in the Tipitaka. (The Buddhist answer is no.) Brahma is the
only deity who claimed to have created the 'world'. The Buddha
countered the claim, and in fact, after being the Buddha's disciple
2500 years ago, Brahma has realised his foolishness. He is still
Brahma, enjoying the fruits of his good karma, though.

http://www.buddhistinformation.com/buddhist_attitude_to_god.htm

4. Buddhism is not a monotheist religion either, so it is awkward and
incorrect putting the word 'God' in Buddhism. Buddhism has been a
stabilising element in the world, and in the previous era of
globalisation, merchandise and Buddhism were the two most important
goods transmitted along the Silk Road!

While trade has largely improved their material well-being, ancient
Asian societies has benefited greatly from the harmonising power of
the teachings of the Buddha, the teacher of men and gods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism


metta,
Yong Peng.