神祇：神是對一般屬靈無形事物的通稱，神 = 示 + 申 = 上帝啟「示」的「申」命者 = 天使。神祇 = 指所有天地之神靈，其主宰是上帝，因為上帝是「昊天上帝，謂天皇大帝；天皇大帝，神之最尊者也，為萬物之所宗，人神之所主。」先秦典籍對「神」的身份有許多描述，不過英國漢學大師李約瑟（Joseph Needham）認為「神」＝「眾靈、眾天使」。在他的名著 "Science & Civilization in China" 中提到說：「Fr. Ricci and most of his followers, going by the sense of the classical text themselves, had concluded that the ancient Chinese expression Shang Ti（the Ruler Above，上帝） could be used as a translation for the God of Christians, that the kuei shen（鬼神） or thien shen（天神）could be used for angels, and that for ling hun（靈魂）could be used for soul。」
