引起我注意的是，基督教教会就如何翻译God这个词无法达成一致。
在旧约圣经中是אֱלֹהִים (Elohim)，在新约圣经中是θεός (Theos)
- 希伯来文Elohim在旧约圣经共用2598次
- 希腊文Theos在新约圣经中共用1327次
天主
天主教会受梵蒂冈和教皇管辖，他们创造了＂天主＂一词来翻译＂God＂一词。这成为了现在所有中国天主教堂的标准。一旦你听到这个词，你就可以确定你是在与天主教打交道。
但是对于基督教来说，教会之间没有总教主。因为没有人拥有绝对的权威。各教会不能就翻译达成一致，各有各的观点。但他们一致认同一件事：不采用天主教的方式。
神
因为中国总体上是一个异教民族，有地方传统宗教。各有各的神，神是一个如此笼统的术语，它对不同的人意味着不同的神祇。人们不太关心God到底是谁。一些基督教团体倾向避开＂神＂这个词，以免人们将异教概念与圣经中唯一的真神混淆。
上帝
所以有些人选择了＂上帝＂，因为这是一个具有传统背景的术语。众所周知，北京有一座天坛祈年殿，里面没有佛像，只有一块写有＂皇天上帝＂字样的匾额。
在中国文化信仰中，上帝是中国君主（天子）所崇拜的至高神祇，又称天帝。对上帝的信仰起源于中国古代对天空（即北极星）的崇拜。远远望去蓝天。没有人比皇帝更受尊敬，他受天之托，所以天一定是神。对古人来说，上帝就是天，天就是上帝，
上帝这个词有利也有弊。一方面，大众现在已经习惯了这个词，可以直接将圣经中的＂上帝＂＝＂西方的神＂联系起来。上帝和佛陀并论。
然而在我们现代人的心目中，＂上帝＂这个词带有＂帝＂字，是老式帝国主义的概念，这在许多人的心中留下了怪味道。因此，他们可能更喜欢将God简单直译为神。
＂和合本＂和而不合
在 19 世纪，英国传教士普遍倾向使用＂上帝＂，美国传教士则倾向使用＂神＂。
辩论没有得出结论，直到今天，中文圣经都以两种方式印刷：有＂神＂字版，有＂上帝＂版。
如果我们退一步想，以圣经为中心，重新思考整个问题，圣经中的埃及人、巴比伦人、希腊人和罗马人，以及以色列人周围的所有文明，都是信奉多神的民族，但圣经从不回避使用神这个词，免得混淆，回避误解。
我们又为何不能处之泰然？
What caught my attention is that the Christian church can't agree on how to translate the word God.
אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) in the Old Testament, θεός (Theos) in the New Testament
- The Hebrew word Elohim is used 2598 times in the Old Testament
- The Greek word Theos is used 1327 times in the New Testament
God
Matteo Ricci used the term "上帝" to refer to the Catholic gods, thinking that the meanings were quite similar. This approach aroused opposition from some Confucian scholars. They believe that there is an essential difference between the Confucian Heaven and the Catholic God.
Matteo Ricci's method not only aroused the opposition of the Confucian scholars at that time, but also caused the dissatisfaction of other missionaries such as the Dominican Church and the Holy See. In 1715, Pope Clement XI issued a papal decree, prohibiting Chinese Catholics from offering sacrifices to heaven, Confucianism, and ancestors, and from now on, the word "天" and "上帝" are not allowed to be used. In the word, only the word "天主" is used, and the "Lord of all things in the world" is called "天主".
The Catholic Church is governed by the Vatican and the Pope, who coined the word "天主" to translate the word "God". This is now the standard for all Chinese Catholic churches. Once you hear this word, you can be sure that you are dealing with Catholicism.
But for Christianity, there is no hierarchy among the churches. Because no one has absolute authority. Churches cannot agree on translations, and each has its own point of view. But they all agreed on one thing: not the Catholic way.
Because China is generally a pagan nation with local traditional religions. There are different gods, and god is such a general term that it means different gods to different people. People in general don't really care who God is. Some Christian groups tend to avoid the word "神" lest people confuse pagan concepts with the only true God in the Bible.
God
So some people choose "上帝" because it's a term with a traditional background. As we all know, there is a Temple of Heaven in Beijing, there is no Buddha statue in it, only a plaque with the words "Emperor, God(皇天上帝)" written on it.
In Chinese cultural beliefs, God is the supreme deity worshipped by the Chinese monarch (the Son of Heaven). Belief in God originated from the worship of the sky (i.e. the North Star) in ancient China. No one is more respected than the emperor, he is entrusted by the sky, so the sky must be a god. For the ancients, God was heaven, and heaven was God,
The word 上帝 has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the general public is now accustomed to the wording and can directly associate the biblical "God" = "God of the West". God and Buddha were taken as on the same level.
However, in our modern minds, the word "上帝(God)" with the word "帝(emperor)" is an old-fashioned concept of imperialism, which leaves a bad taste in the minds of many people. Therefore, they may prefer a simple literal translation of God as 神.
CUV is "Union" but not United
In the 19th century, British missionaries generally tended to use "上帝", while American missionaries tended to use "神".
The debate did not come to a conclusion, and to this day, the Chinese Bibles are printed in two versions: the "上帝" version and the "神" version.
If we take a step back and rethink the whole matter with the Bible as the focus, the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans in the Bible, and all the civilizations around the Israelites, were polytheistic peoples, but the Bible do not shy away from using the word God to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
Why can't we just take precedence from the Bible?
