I brought this up on another message board once. In many world languages, when you want to speak to someone informally, you use the singular form of you. That's called tutoyer. Your friends you would address that way, tu/toi. But it also shows less respect. For example in French-speaking countries, you'd never address a policeman or judge that way. Although in South America they speak to servants that way, singular you, for some reason. But in the King James Bible, 1611, if not before, in English we address God thou/thee (or Thou/Thee, some would say). Why is he singular? It obviously doesn't show less respect. Some people today think because it's fancy it shows more. So why do we address God that way? (Quick side note: In France they still use tu/toi as I said. But in English we stopped using thou/thee by the 17th century, get this, because some found it impolite. That seems to suggest English-speaking countries are more egalitarian than France.)
