中文圣经翻译的第三个问题是“神”字。
当福音传到中国时，其中最為人知的是罗马天主教神父利玛窦传教士，他于16世纪末来到中国。
他不仅要处理与中国人的紧张关系，还要处理不同教派之间的紧张关系。
利玛窦较为宽容，认为中国教徒继续传统的祭天、祭祖、祭孔的问题不大至拜偶像的地步。利玛窦主张以＂天主＂称呼创造主＂神＂。
他认为中国传统的＂天＂和＂上帝＂本质上与天主教所说的＂独一真神＂并无分别。而祭祀祖先与孔子，这些只属追思先人与缅怀哲人的仪式，与信仰并无什么干涉；只要不掺入许愿、崇拜、祈祷等成分，本质上并没有违反天主教教义。利玛窦的传教策略和方式，一直为之后到中国传教的耶稣会士所遵从，是为＂利玛窦规矩＂。
利玛窦所屬的耶稣会认为，这些中国仪式是世俗的禮仪，在一定范围内，基督教应该容忍。 然而，多米尼加和方济各会不同意并将这个问题报告给罗马。 争论在 16 和 17 世纪反覆进行。
辩论提出了三个主要争论点：
- 應确定＂神＂的中文单词为＂天主＂，而反對耶稣会士愿意允许中国基督徒使用＂天＂或＂上帝＂。
- 禁止基督徒参加祭孔仪式。
- 禁止基督徒使用牌位，禁止遵循中国祭祖仪式。
然后克莱门特十一世(Clement XI)在 1704 年禁止了＂利玛窦规矩＂。1742 年，本笃十四世(Benedict XIV)重申了禁令并禁止再辩论。
1939 年，两个世纪后，罗马教廷重新评估了这个问题。 庇护十二世(Pius XII)于 1939 年 12 月 8 日颁布新法令，基本上准許中国天主教徒进行祭祖和参加祭孔仪式。
对于新教基督徒来说，他们不接受天主教的說法。 然而，在印刷和合本圣经时，各宣教團體无法达成共识，結果圣经印刷了两种变体：一种是＂上帝＂版，另一种是＂神＂版。
那时，印刷是通过排版完成的。 最简单的解决方案是在单个单词 ＂神＂之前加一个空格，替换两个字符的＂ 上帝＂。这样可免去重新排版的大量工作。
但是对于在复印机和电脑時代长大的新一代来说，他们只能认为＂神＂这个词前的空格一定是表达对神的一种尊重方式，我什至看到一些文章在其他與神一字相關的词前，自以为聪明地加上了空格。这是由于无知而形成的＂新传统＂。空想像而创建新传统并不太难！
The third problem with Chinese Bible translation is the word "God".
When the Gospel reached China, one of the most well-known was Missionary Ricci, a Roman Catholic priest, who came to China at the end of the 16th century.
He has to deal not only with the tensions with the Chinese, but also with the tensions between the different sects.
Matteo Ricci was more tolerant, and believed that the problem of Chinese believers continuing to worship the heavens, ancestors, and Confucius in the traditional way is not to the level of worshipping idols. Matteo Ricci advocates calling the Creator "God" as "上帝" (Lord in heaven").
He believes that the traditional Chinese "天" and "上帝" are essentially the same as the "One True God" of the Catholics. The sacrifices to ancestors and Confucius, these are only ceremonies for remembrance of ancestors and Confucius, and have nothing to do with beliefs; as long as they do not incorporate ingredients such as making wishes, worship, and prayer, they do not violate Catholic doctrine in essence. Matteo Ricci's missionary strategies and methods have always been followed by the Jesuits who went to China to preach, and they are "Ricci Rules".
The Society of Jesus, to which Matteo Ricci belongs, believes that these Chinese ceremonies are secular rites that, within a certain range, should be tolerated by Christianity. However, the Dominicans and the Franciscans disagreed and reported the issue to the Vatican. The debate raged back and forth in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The debate raised three main points of contention:
- The Chinese word for "God" should be determined to be "God", while opposing the Jesuits' willingness to allow Chinese Christians to use "天" or "God".
- Christians are prohibited from participating in Confucian rituals.
- It is forbidden for Christians to use name tablets nor to participate in Chinese ancestor worship ceremonies.
Then Clement XI banned the "Ricci Rule" in 1704. In 1742, Benedict XIV reaffirmed the prohibition and prohibited further debate.
In 1939, two centuries later, the Holy See reassessed the issue. Pius XII issued a new decree on December 8, 1939, basically allowing Chinese Catholics to worship ancestors and participate in Confucian rituals.
Protestant Church
For Protestant Christians, they don't accept what Catholics say. However, when the United Bible was printed, the mission groups could not reach a consensus, and as a result, the Bible was printed in two variants: a "神" version, and a "上帝" version.
Back then, printing was done through typography. The simplest solution is to add a space before the single word "神", replacing the two-character "上帝". This saves a lot of work instead of resetting all the types.
But for the new generation who grew up in the age of photocopiers and computers, they can only think that the space before the word "God" must be a way of showing respect for God.
I even saw some articles with spacing added superfluously in matters relating to "God". This is tradition in-the-making due to ignorance. How easy is it to build traditions in the thin air.
