道 vs 途 in religious texts As we all know, 道 is an important concept in classical Chinese, meaning "the way" in the metaphorical sense. It is a central concept in Taoism, but it was also used in Buddhism and Confucianism to designate the proper attitude, habits and behaviour.

I was wondering if the same word was used in classical Chinese translations of the Bible, and it seems it was not. I used John 14:6 as to test that:


  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.


In a classical Chinese version of the Bible it is translated as:


  耶稣曰、我即途也、诚也、生也、非由我、则无人诣父、


And here comes my question: does 途 here have basically the same meaning as 道, or is there a significant difference between the two terms? Would it be possible to change one into another in this context without changing its meaning?
sometimes it's the same but not all the time.

say, 道路 and 路途, here they mean the same thing, the way or road.

however, in the history of China, 道 has more meaning than it appears. as you know, Taoism begins with the discussion of 道. it means the essence of the universe.

another example is 道不同不相为谋, here 道 actually means the choice of life. 途 won't express the same meaning. say, 仕途 means the the life as a officer. if you feel the meaning of the word, you can feel that 道 is more likely to stress the choice made by person and 途 will emphasize the thing it is.

道 can mean morality too. this character is rich. we can discuss it all day long, but 途 won't be.