Christian translations of God

Christian translations of God

Christian translations of God have varied throughout that religion's nearly two-thousand year history. Because of the nearly absolute degree of its missionary urge (at least for many extended periods, with the present era being perhaps the most exhaustive of any in history), Christian adherents have faced the challenge and the opportunity of having to secure a suitable term or terms for the Christian God in the local language of those to whom they proselytize.

Christianity began in a Jewish, Aramaic-speaking milieu which was heavily influenced by liturgical Hebrew and Hellenistic Greek, and to some degree, the Romans' Latin. Almost from the very start, however, Greek speakers played a major role in the religion's development, and Latin came to be used in Christian worship and thought very soon as well. With the missionary urge emerging even from the very beginning, Christians in the first few centuries CE faced the task of translating their thoughts and language into Germanic, Celtic, Slavic, Indo-Iranian, Caucasian, Ethopian, and a host of other language groups. For many of these language groups and the cultures by which they were used--fortunately for the sake of the Christian missionaries--there were great linguistic and socio-cultural similarities with Greek and Latin, the languages most dominant among the Christian population. Indeed, most of the European languages into which Christianity's thought and worship came to be translated are of the same wider language family (Indo-European languages), as those two Mediterranean tongues. However, many languages, such as the Arabian languages, Ethiopian, Caucasian, and other groups, were vastly different, and their surround cultures, equally dissimilar from those of the Europeans.

By the early 21st century, the Christian Bible (or portions of it) and much liturgical and theological material had been translated into literally thousands of languages.

ee also

*Chinese terms for God
*Jesuit China missions
*Jesuit Asia missions
*For some cultures the local name of the sky god was used.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Christian theology — The Prophetess Anna, Rembrandt, 1631 See also: History of Christian theology and Outline of Christian theology Christian doctrine redirects here. For the United States Court case known by that name, see G.L. Christian and associates v. US.… …   Wikipedia

  • God (word) — The English word god continues the Old English an. god ( go. guþ, gudis in Gothic, ge. gud in modern Scandinavian, nl. God in Dutch, and de. Gott in modern German), which derives from the Proto Germanic * ge. ǥuđán . Proto Germanic meaningThe… …   Wikipedia

  • Christian Science — Not to be confused with other religious movements including Religious Science and Scientology, or with the relationship between religion and science. Part of a series on Christianity …   Wikipedia

  • Christian primitivism — See also: Restorationism (disambiguation) Part of a series on the History of Christian Theology …   Wikipedia

  • Christian views on Hell — vary, but in general traditionally agree that hell is a place or a state in which the souls of the unsaved suffer the consequences of sin. Different Hebrew and Greek words are translated as hell in most English language Bibles. They include:… …   Wikipedia

  • Christian poetry — is any poetry that contains Christian teachings, themes, or references. The influence of Christianity on poetry has been great in any area that Christianity has taken hold. Christian poems often directly reference the Bible, while others provide… …   Wikipedia

  • Christian Wicca — is a syncretism of Christianity and Wicca. Christian Wiccans adhere to the polytheistic nature religion known as Wicca and profess belief in the teachings of Jesus. Christian Wicca is a particular denomination of the system of beliefs known as… …   Wikipedia

  • Christian library — Christian Theological libraries have their origins in the Jewish religion whose practice and transmission depended on the keeping and duplication of sacred texts. Like Judaism, Christianity depends fundamentally on the preservation and study of a …   Wikipedia

  • Christian Calendar —     Christian Calendar     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Christian Calendar      GENERALITIES     All civilized peoples and even those which seem to be only just emerging from utter barbarism keep some kind of record of the flight of time and are… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Christian Party (UK) — Christian Party Leader George Hargreaves Founded 2005 Ideology …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”