Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Acts, English-Bavarian
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md across the whole book of Acts. Terms marked [TM-REUSE] are recorded exactly as in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and MUST NOT be altered. New terms proposed for this curriculum follow the baseline’s established pattern (borrowed standard-German abstractions with Bavarian phonology for register-gap doctrinal vocabulary; native dialect forms where a stable form exists) and are flagged for addition to translation_memory.json upon Phase 2 sign-off, with version increment per the baseline’s enforcement instructions.
A. Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline [TM-REUSE]
| Term (EN) | Bavarian rendering | Risk (baseline) | Acts occurrences (representative) | Note for Acts curriculum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | Evangelium | Medium | 1:8; 8:25; 10:36; 14:7; 20:24 | Same borrowed liturgical term; stable throughout Acts. |
| grace | Gnad | High | 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32 | Simon Magus episode (8:18-24) makes the merit-transaction risk concrete; flag for theologian review. |
| faith | Glaam | Medium | 3:16; 6:5,7; 11:24; 13:8; 14:9,22,27; 15:9; 16:5; 20:21; 24:24; 26:18 | Stable. |
| righteousness | Gerechtigkeit | Critical | 13:10; 17:31; 24:25 | Reuse exactly; register-gap caveat applies identically in Acts. |
| justification | Rechtfertigung | Critical | 13:38-39 | Programmatic Acts occurrence of the doctrine; see doctrine registry entry below. |
| salvation | Erlösung | High | 4:12; 13:26,47; 16:17,30-31; 27:34 (rescue) | “Heil” forbidden substitution applies identically; Munich-specific Nazi-era caution carries into Acts. |
| apostle | Apostl | Low | throughout, esp. 1:2,25-26; 14:4,14 | Stable; Acts is the primary narrative of apostleship in action. |
| called / calling | beruafa / Beruafung | Medium/High | 2:39; 13:2; 16:10 | Career-vocation homonym risk unchanged. |
| holy | heilig | Medium | 3:14; 7:33; 9:13 | Stable. |
| saints | Heiling | High | 9:13,32,41; 26:10 | Same canonized-saint default risk; flag for “alle Gläubign” clarifying gloss per baseline forbidden-substitution rule. |
| sanctification | Heiligung | Medium | 20:32; 26:18 | Stable. |
| adoption / sonship-inheritance cluster | Kindschaft | Medium | 26:18 (inheritance among sanctified, adjacent) | Limited direct occurrence in Acts; mostly Pauline-epistle vocabulary, included for completeness. |
| resurrection | Aufersteh’ng | Medium | 1:22; 2:24,31-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,32; 23:6,8; 24:15,21; 26:23 | Extremely frequent in Acts; central to nearly every apostolic sermon. |
| lord | Herr | High/Critical | 2:36; 10:36; 16:31; throughout | Same exaltation caution; 2:36 treated as Critical (see 07). |
| son_of_god | Sohn vo Gott | Critical | 9:20; 13:33 | Reuse exactly; must not be conflated with the distinct “Son of Man” title (ch.7). |
| incarnation | Menschwerdung | Medium | 2:22 (contextual, “Jesus of Nazareth… a man”) | Limited explicit occurrence; mostly implicit background doctrine. |
| peace | Friad | Low | 9:31; 10:36; 24:2 | Stable. |
| spiritual_gifts | Gnodngob’n | Medium | (root sense underlies “gift of the Holy Spirit,” 2:38; 10:45; 11:17) | Extended sense: the Spirit himself as gift, not merely enablements — see new term “gift of the Holy Spirit” below. |
| thanksgiving | Dank | Low | 27:35; 28:15 | Stable. |
| fellowship | Gmoaschaft | Medium | 2:42 | Foundational occurrence for the whole doctrine of The Church as Community. |
| church | Kirch | High | 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 14:23,27; 15:3-4,22,41; 20:17,28 | Very frequent in Acts; the “Kirchengmoaschaft”/explicit-context requirement from the baseline’s forbidden-substitution list applies at essentially every occurrence describing the gathered believing community rather than a building. |
| kingdom_of_god | s’Reich vo Gott | Medium | 1:3,6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31 | Frames the whole book (opens ch.1, closes ch.28). |
| law | Gsetz | High | 6:13; 7:53; 13:38-39; 15:5,24; 18:13; 21:20-24,28; 22:3,12; 23:29; 24:14; 25:8 | Central to Justification apart from the Law; reuse exactly. |
| sin | Sünd | High | 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 7:60 (forgive); 22:16; 26:18 | Reuse exactly; colloquial trivialization risk unchanged. |
| gentiles | Heiden | Medium | 9:15; 10:45; 11:1,18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:3,7,12,14,19,23; 18:6; 21:11,19,21,25; 22:21; 26:17,20,23; 28:28 | Extremely frequent; core to The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. |
| glory | Herrlichkeit | Medium | 7:2,55; 12:23 (contrast: Herod’s false glory/judgment) | Stable. |
| obedience_of_faith | Gehorsam vom Glaam | High | 26:19 (obedience to the heavenly vision, adjacent sense) | Reuse root; flag for theologian review per baseline. |
| power_of_god | Kraft vo Gott | Medium | 1:8; 4:33 (adjacent); 8:10; 10:38 | Stable. |
| messiah | Messias | Medium | 2:31,36 (Christos, rendered with Messias register where OT-fulfillment emphasis is in view); 17:3; 18:5,28 | Reserve for OT-fulfillment register; distinct from plain “Christus” title use — see transliteration standard. |
| prophet | Prophet | Low | 2:16,30; 3:22-25; 7:37,48; 8:28,30,34; 10:43; 11:27; 13:1,20,27,40; 15:15,32; 21:9-10; 26:22,27; 28:23,25 | Very frequent. |
| prophecy | Weissogung | Low | 2:17-18; 19:6; 21:9 | Reuse exactly. |
| covenant | Bund | Medium | 3:25; 7:8 | Stable, mostly OT-background references. |
| election | Erwählung | High | 9:15 (root of “chosen instrument,” new compound — see below) | Reuse root exactly for the base term; the compound is new. |
| intercession | Fürbitt | High | 12:5 (adjacent, corporate prayer for Peter) | Same Altötting/Marian-devotion collision caution applies; flag for theologian review. |
| providence | Vorsehung | Medium | 2:23; 17:26; 27:23-24 (adjacent, angelic reassurance) | Reuse exactly; same fatalism caution. |
| mission | Mission | Medium | throughout (13:1-3; 15:36-41; 20:24) | Stable. |
| david | David | Low | 1:16; 2:25,29,34; 4:25; 7:45; 13:22,34,36; 15:16 | Stable. |
| israel | Israel | Medium | 1:6; 2:36; 4:10,27; 5:21,31; 7:23,37,42; 9:15; 10:36; 13:16-24; 21:28; 28:20 | Stable; same Staatsräson-conflation caution. |
| jesus | Jesus | Low | throughout | Stable. |
| god | Gott | Medium/Critical | throughout | Reserve singular “Gott” for the true God; do not use for pagan “gods” (Zeus/Hermes, ch.14) — see new note. |
| holy_spirit | Heiliger Geist | Medium/Critical | throughout, esp. chs.1-2,4-5,8,10,13,19 | The book’s single most frequent theological term; central to The Holy Spirit and Pentecost. |
| father | Voda | Medium | 7:2,4,11-15,19; 22:1,3 (ancestral sense, “our fathers”) | Note: in Acts, “father(s)” most often means ancestral forefathers, not the divine Fatherhood sense; disambiguate by context. |
| abba | Abba | Medium | (not directly occurring in Acts; retained for cross-curriculum consistency) | Included for completeness/consistency with baseline. |
| exhort | ermahna | Low | 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2 | Stable, frequent in Acts’ exhortation passages. |
| seed_of_david | Nachkomme vom David | Medium | 13:23 | Reuse exactly. |
| imputed_righteousness | zuagrechnete Gerechtigkeit | Critical | (not directly occurring in Acts; retained for cross-curriculum consistency with the justification cluster at 13:38-39) | No forbidden substitution to guard against directly in Acts text, but the surrounding doctrine (13:38-39) must not drift toward “verdiante Gerechtigkeit.” |
B. New Terms Required for Acts
| Term (EN) | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Proposed Bavarian rendering | Category | Risk | Rationale / Collision note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentecost | Πεντηκοστή | Pentēkostē | Pfingsten | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | Medium | Culturally embedded festival name risks flattening the unique historical event into a generic calendar holiday. |
| tongues (other languages) | γλῶσσαι ἕτεραι | glōssai heterai | ondere Sprachn (avoid “Zungenreden”) | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | High | Must not be conflated with modern Pentecostal/charismatic ecstatic glossolalia; Acts 2 depicts known, intelligible languages. |
| repentance | μετάνοια | metanoia | Umkehr (verb: umkeahrn) | Repentance and Baptism | Critical | Standard-register “Buße” defaults to the Catholic sacrament of penance/confession; risks collapsing inward reorientation into ritual-transactional confession practice. |
| baptism | βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω | baptisma / baptizō | Taufe (verb: taufa) | Repentance and Baptism | Critical | Bavarian infant-baptism sacramental default (near-universal historic practice) risks obscuring Acts’ repentance/faith-conditioned adult-convert baptismal pattern. |
| forgiveness of sins | ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν | aphesis hamartiōn | Vergebung vo de Sünd | Repentance and Baptism | High | Sacramental-absolution collision (Beichte formula); must not require ongoing confession-mediation to be heard as secured. |
| gift of the Holy Spirit | δωρεὰ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος | dōrea tou Hagiou Pneumatos | d’Gob vom Heiling Geist | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | High | Must be distinguished from the later, separately-administered Confirmation (Firmung) rite in developed Catholic sacramental practice. |
| witness / testimony | μάρτυς / μαρτυρία | martys / martyria | Zeuge / Zeugnis | Persecution and Bold Witness | Medium | Homonym collision: “Zeugnis” primarily means a school report card in everyday Bavarian usage; context must disambiguate. |
| martyr (blood-witness) | μάρτυς (developed sense) | martys | Bluatzeuge | Persecution and Bold Witness | Low | Distinct enough term to avoid the Zeugnis homonym; established German/Bavarian usage. |
| boldness | παρρησία | parrēsia | Freimüatigkeit | Persecution and Bold Witness | Medium | Must retain “frank public speech before authority,” not generic personal courage. |
| signs and wonders | σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα | sēmeia kai terata | Zeichen und Wunder | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | High | Strong pull toward Bavarian Catholic folk miracle-attestation culture (Lourdes-style healings, canonized wonder-workers); risks reducing unique apostolic authentication to one miracle-tradition among others. |
| laying on of hands | ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν | epithesis tōn cheirōn | Handauflegung | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Holy Spirit and Pentecost | High | Same liturgical term used in Catholic confirmation/ordination; risks over-sacramentalizing or hierarchy-restricting the NT’s broader pattern. |
| the Way | ἡ ὁδός | hē hodos | da Weg | The Church as Community; Conversion of Paul | Low | Straightforward self-designation; low collision. |
| Hellenists | Ἑλληνισταί | Hellēnistai | griachisch-sprechade Juden (descriptive) | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Low | Historical/descriptive, no fixed coinage needed. |
| table-service / ministry | διακονία | diakonia | Dienst | The Church as Community | Medium | Pulls toward the formalized Catholic permanent-deacon (Diakon) office; must retain Acts 6’s concrete, practical sense. |
| elder | πρεσβύτερος | presbyteros | Ältester — NEVER “Priester” | The Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | High | Bavarian Catholic tradition collapses local leadership into sacerdotal priesthood; “Priester” imports an absent sacrificial/mediatorial category. Forbidden substitution. |
| overseer | ἐπίσκοπος | episkopos | Aufseher — NEVER “Bischof” | The Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | Critical | Would import the entire modern diocesan-episcopal Bavarian Catholic hierarchy onto a term Acts 20 treats as synonymous with plural local “elder.” Forbidden substitution, same severity class as baseline’s “verdiante Gerechtigkeit” prohibition. |
| shepherd / flock | ποιμήν / ποίμνιον | poimēn / poimnion | Hirt / Herd | The Church as Community | Medium | Naturally resonant in rural Alpine culture; must retain sacrificial watchful-care sense, not mere occupational reading. |
| council/decree (Jerusalem Council) | συνέδριον (church sense: distinct body) / δόγμα | synedrion / dogma | Rat / Beschluss | Justification apart from the Law | Low-Medium | Collegial, non-monarchical authority model; contrast with later single-bishop decision culture worth teaching-note flagging. |
| Sanhedrin (Jewish council) | συνέδριον | synedrion | da Hohe Rat | Persecution and Bold Witness | Low | Historical institution, no collision. |
| circumcision | περιτομή | peritomē | Beschneidung | Justification apart from the Law | Medium | Mostly historical/cultural for Bavarian audience; risk is theological rather than lexical. |
| yoke (of the law) | ζυγός | zygos | a Joch | Justification apart from the Law | Low-Medium | Concrete, agriculturally resonant metaphor; must retain “burdensome, apart from grace” sense. |
| vision | ὅραμα / ὀπτασία | horama / optasia | Vision (avoid “Gsicht”) | Conversion of Paul; The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Medium | ”Gsicht” dialectally means “face” — homonym collision risk. |
| unclean / common | κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος | koinos / akathartos | unrein / alltäglich (avoid bare “gmoa”) | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Medium | Root overlap with baseline’s flagged noun “Gmoa” (municipality); use an alternative adjective to avoid bleed-through. |
| God-fearer | φοβούμενος/σεβόμενος τὸν Θεόν | phoboumenos/sebomenos ton Theon | Gottesfürchtiger | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Medium | No exact Bavarian cultural equivalent for this liminal historical category. |
| no partiality | οὐκ… προσωπολήμπτης | ouk prosōpolēmptēs | Gott mocht koan Unterschied | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | Medium | Same heightened Bavarian-specific sensitivity (Munich Nazi-era history) noted in the baseline for this doctrinal cluster. |
| chosen instrument | σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς | skeuos eklogēs | auserwähltes Werkzeug | Conversion of Paul | High | Inherits baseline’s Erwählung register-gap risk, applied to a dramatic individual conversion narrative. |
| justified (verb, programmatic) | δικαιοῦται | dikaioutai | grechtfertigt [uses TM Rechtfertigung/Gerechtigkeit root] | Justification apart from the Law | Critical | Acts 13:38-39’s explicit “everyone who believes is justified” statement; reuse baseline vocabulary exactly, extra explanatory framing required per baseline’s own finding of limited lived Bavarian pastoral currency. |
| light for the Gentiles | φῶς ἐθνῶν | phōs ethnōn | a Liacht fia de Heiden | Mission to the Nations; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Medium | Isaiah 49:6 fulfillment-quotation; ties mission and Gentile-inclusion doctrines together. |
| household salvation | σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου | sy kai ho oikos sou | du und dei ganzes Haus | Repentance and Baptism | High | Frequently cited in infant/household-baptism debates; must avoid implying automatic household-wide salvation. |
| spirit of divination | πνεῦμα πύθωνα | pneuma pythōna | a Geist vo da Wahrsagerei | Apostolic Authority and Miracles (contrast) | Medium | Must be sharply distinguished from “Heiliger Geist” despite shared root word “Geist.” |
| unknown god | ἄγνωστος Θεός | agnōstos Theos | unbekannter Gott | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Low-Medium | Apologetic bridge-term; mainly catechetical, not collision-driven. |
| idols / idolatry | εἴδωλα | eidōla | Götzenbilder / Idole | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | High | Sensitive collision with Bavarian Catholic devotional imagery (statues, Marterl shrines, processional images); must avoid implicit Protestant-polemic equivalence with legitimate Catholic devotional practice. |
| sect | αἵρεσις | hairesis | Sekte (flagged) | Persecution and Bold Witness | Medium-High | Modern “Sekte” carries a pejorative “dangerous cult” connotation absent from the original neutral “party/school” sense. |
| self-control | ἐγκράτεια | enkrateia | Selbstbeherrschung | Justification apart from the Law (ethical fruit) | Low | Straightforward borrowed compound. |
| power of Satan / darkness to light | ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ / σκότος εἰς φῶς | exousia tou Satana / skotos eis phōs | d’Gwalt vom Satan / von da Finsternis ins Liacht | Conversion of Paul | High | Bavarian Alpine folk-devil imagery (Perchten, Krampus-adjacent tradition) risks trivializing the text’s personal-spiritual-bondage point. |
| purchased with his own blood | περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου | periepoiēsato dia tou haimatos tou idiou | erkauft duach sei eigns Bluat | The Church as Community (atonement-adjacent) | Critical | Cross-references the baseline’s existing atonement/propitiation escalation rule (Romans 3:25); mandatory theologian review. |
| Nazirite-style vow | εὐχή | euchē | Gelübde | (background, ch.21) | Medium | Risk of conflation with Bavarian Catholic monastic vows (Klostergelübde) or pilgrimage vows; clarify as a temporary OT-styled rite. |
| conscience | συνείδησις | syneidēsis | Gwissn | Persecution and Bold Witness (background) | Low-Medium | Standard dialect form, minimal collision. |
| appeal to Caesar | Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι | Kaisara epikaloumai | an’n Kaiser appellieren | Great Commission Fulfilled (background) | Low | Historical-legal, no doctrinal collision. |
| breaking of bread (shared meal / fellowship meal) | κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου | klasis tou artou | s’Brotbrechn | The Church as Community | High | Strong Eucharistic/Mass resonance for Bavarian Catholic audience; must navigate between flattening into full Mass liturgy and stripping all sacramental resonance. |
| the whole counsel of God | πᾶσα ἡ βουλή τοῦ Θεοῦ | pasa hē boulē tou Theou | da ganze Ratschluss vo Gott | Apostolic Authority | Medium | Register-gap borrowed compound, same family as Vorsehung/providence. |
| pagan “gods” (contrast use) | θεοί (plural, polytheistic) | theoi | Götter (plural; never conflate with singular “Gott”) | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (contrast) | Medium | Must be kept sharply distinct from the reserved Critical-risk singular “Gott.” |
C. Forbidden Substitutions Specific to This Curriculum (Acts)
In addition to the baseline’s existing forbidden-substitution list (carried forward unchanged: “verdiante Gerechtigkeit,” unsigned-off “Heil,” unqualified “Gmoa” for church-as-body, unglossed “de Heiling” for general saints, unclarified “Beruafung”), the following are added for Acts:
| Never use | For concept | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| ”Bischof” | overseer/ἐπίσκοπος (Acts 20:28) | Imports the full modern Bavarian diocesan-episcopal hierarchy onto a term used interchangeably with local “elder” in this very passage. |
| ”Priester” | elder/πρεσβύτερος | Imports the sacerdotal, sacrificial-mediatorial priesthood category absent from NT congregational eldership. |
| ”Zungenreden” (unqualified) | tongues/γλῶσσαι (Acts 2, 10, 19) | Defaults to modern Pentecostal/charismatic ecstatic-utterance associations; Acts 2 depicts known, intelligible human languages. |
| ”Buße” (as primary rendering) | repentance/μετάνοια | Defaults to the Catholic sacrament of penance/confession rather than the inward reorientation Acts describes; “Umkehr” is preferred, with “Buße” avoided as the primary term throughout this curriculum. |
D. Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference (Nine Curriculum Doctrines)
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary new/reused terms |
|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | Heiliger Geist [TM-REUSE]; Pfingsten; ondere Sprachn (tongues); d’Gob vom Heiling Geist; Handauflegung |
| The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Heiden [TM-REUSE]; Evangelium [TM-REUSE]; unrein/alltäglich (unclean); Gottesfürchtiger; a Liacht fia de Heiden; Götter (contrast) |
| Repentance and Baptism | Umkehr; Taufe; Vergebung vo de Sünd; du und dei ganzes Haus |
| The Church as Community | Kirch [TM-REUSE]; Gmoaschaft [TM-REUSE]; Ältester; Aufseher; Hirt/Herd; s’Brotbrechn; Dienst |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | Apostl [TM-REUSE]; Zeichen und Wunder; da ganze Ratschluss vo Gott; a Geist vo da Wahrsagerei (contrast) |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | Zeuge/Zeugnis; Bluatzeuge; Freimüatigkeit; Sekte; Gwissn |
| Conversion of Paul | auserwähltes Werkzeug; da Weg; d’Gwalt vom Satan / von da Finsternis ins Liacht; Vision |
| Justification apart from the Law | Gerechtigkeit, Rechtfertigung [TM-REUSE]; Gsetz [TM-REUSE]; Beschneidung; a Joch; grechtfertigt; Selbstbeherrschung |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | Mission [TM-REUSE]; s’Reich vo Gott [TM-REUSE]; an’n Kaiser appellieren; ohne Hindernis |
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: Gerechtigkeit
Transliteration: Gerechtigkeit
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: abstract Reformation-controversy vocabulary was historically handled in Latin or standard German, not spoken dialect; no native Boarisch coinage exists. Occurs at Acts 13:10; 17:31; 24:25.
Justification
Approved rendering: Rechtfertigung
Transliteration: Rechtfertigung
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιοῦσθαι
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: essentially borrowed wholesale from standard German; limited lived pastoral currency for a historically Catholic dialect population, since sola fide is fundamentally a Protestant Reformation concern. Acts 13:38-39 is the book’s clearest programmatic statement (‘everyone who believes is justified’); requires extra explanatory framing, not new vocabulary.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: Aufersteh’ng
Transliteration: Auferstehung
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical for Acts given frequency and centrality). Must never suggest reincarnation/rebirth-cycle. Extremely frequent, central to nearly every apostolic sermon (1:22; 2:24,31-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,31-32; 23:6,8; 24:15,21; 26:23).
Lord
Approved rendering: Herr
Transliteration: Herr
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical for Acts). Acts 2:36’s climactic declaration is the direct narrative antecedent of the Romans 10:9 confession; must not diverge from the mandated ‘Da Jesus is da Herr’ phrasing pattern. Also occurs 10:36; 16:31 and throughout.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Sohn vo Gott
Transliteration: Sohn vom Gott
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Full phrase required, conveying eternal, unique Sonship. Occurs at Acts 9:20; 13:33. Must not be conflated with the distinct ‘Son of Man’ title at Stephen’s martyrdom (7:56).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: Menschwerdung
Transliteration: Menschwerdung
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical for Acts). Borrowed as-is from standard German; well-established via Catholic Christmas liturgy. Mostly implicit background in Acts (contextual at 2:22, ‘Jesus of Nazareth… a man’).
God
Approved rendering: Gott
Transliteration: Herrgott
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical for Acts). ‘Herrgott’ is reserved for culturally warm, folk-devotional contexts only (mild-profanity risk); plain ‘Gott’ is primary. Reserve the singular ‘Gott’ exclusively for the true God; never use it for the pagan ‘gods’ (Zeus/Hermes) at Acts 14:11-15 — see ‘pagan_gods’ entry.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Heiliger Geist
Transliteration: Heiliga Geist
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical for Acts). The book’s single most frequent theological term (chs.1-2,4-5,8,10,13,19 especially). Acts 5:3-4 establishes the Spirit’s full personal deity explicitly (‘you have not lied to man but to God’); a folk-devotional reading risks trivializing sin against the Spirit as mere dishonesty toward an impersonal force.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: zuagrechnete Gerechtigkeit
Transliteration: zuagrechnate Gerechtigkeit
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: verdiante Gerechtigkeit
Original: ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL, no native dialect coinage exists. Does not directly occur in Acts by this exact formula, but the surrounding justification doctrine at Acts 13:38-39 must not drift toward ‘verdiante Gerechtigkeit’; retained for cross-curriculum consistency.
Repentance
Approved rendering: Umkehr
Transliteration: Umkeahr
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: Buße (forbidden as primary rendering — defaults to the sacrament of penance/confession, Beichte)
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum, deliberately native rather than following the baseline’s usual borrowed-standard-German pattern. Verb form: umkeahrn. ‘Buße’ would default the hearer to ‘go to confession’ rather than the inward, Spirit-produced reorientation Acts actually describes. Human theologian review required at every occurrence (2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20).
Baptism
Approved rendering: Taufe
Transliteration: Taufn
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum (retains the existing naturalized dialect loanword; verb: taufa). Bavarian near-universal infant-baptism practice (administered within days of birth) carries assumptions of automatic sacramental efficacy independent of the recipient’s own repentance/faith. Acts presents baptism as the visible response of those who have already repented and believed (2:38,41). Human theologian review required at every occurrence (2:38,41; 8:12-13,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16).
Overseer
Approved rendering: Aufseher
Transliteration: Aufseha
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: Bischof (forbidden — imports the entire modern Bavarian diocesan-episcopal structure onto a term Acts 20:28 treats as synonymous with plural local ‘elder’)
Original: ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. NEVER ‘Bischof’. Human theologian review mandatory at every occurrence.
Purchased With Blood
Approved rendering: erkauft duach sei eigns Bluat
Transliteration: erkauft durch sei eigns Bluat
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Atonement language describing the church’s origin (Acts 20:28); cross-references the Romans baseline’s existing mandatory escalation rule for any atonement/propitiation-language segment (originally Romans 3:25); the same mandatory theologian review applies here without exception.
Justified
Approved rendering: grechtfertigt
Transliteration: grechtfertigt
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: verdiante Gerechtigkeit-adjacent readings (forbidden — must never imply earned/moral-achievement standing)
New term for this curriculum, verb form built on the TM-REUSE ‘Rechtfertigung/Gerechtigkeit’ root. Acts 13:38-39’s explicit ‘everyone who believes is justified’ statement is the book’s clearest programmatic justification statement; reuse the baseline vocabulary exactly, with extra explanatory framing rather than new coinage, per the baseline’s own finding of limited lived Bavarian pastoral currency.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: Gnad
Transliteration: Gnod
Doctrine: Grace
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Final -e dropped, a regular Bavarian apocope pattern (Gnade > Gnad). Bavarian Catholic folk piety (Wallfahrt, pilgrimage vows, indulgence-adjacent devotional practice) can carry a transactional ‘grace obtained through devotion’ undertone; must render as wholly unmerited and apart from any devotional transaction. The Simon Magus episode (Acts 8:9-24) makes this exact collision narratively explicit and concrete; flag for theologian review whenever that passage is in view.
Salvation
Approved rendering: Erlösung
Transliteration: Erlesung
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: Heil (Nazi-era contamination risk, acute in Bavaria specifically)
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. HIGH RISK: ‘Heil’ carries Nazi-era contamination, arguably sharper given Munich’s historical role as the movement’s headquarters. Occurs at Acts 4:12; 13:26,47; 16:17,30-31; also used non-theologically for physical rescue at 27:34, which must be distinguished contextually from the theological sense.
Called
Approved rendering: beruafa
Transliteration: beruaft
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised from Medium to High for Acts). Context-sensitive per occurrence. Acts 2:39 (‘all whom the Lord our God calls’) is the key salvific-sense occurrence and must be checked against the effectual-calling caution.
Calling
Approved rendering: Beruafung
Transliteration: Berufung
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High for Acts). Career-vocation homonym risk unchanged; relevant where mission-commissioning language (13:2; 16:10) is in view.
Holy
Approved rendering: heilig
Transliteration: hoalig
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Set apart for God and morally pure. Occurs at Acts 3:14 (Christ as ‘the Holy and Righteous One’), 7:33, 9:13.
Saints
Approved rendering: Heiling
Transliteration: de Heiling
Doctrine: Sainthood
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. HIGH RISK: Bavarian rural Catholic folk piety centers heavily on canonized patron saints and Namenstag culture; ‘de Heiling’ defaults to venerated figures, not Paul’s every-believer sense. Occurs at Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10; must not stand unglossed — clarify with ‘alle Gläubign’.
Law
Approved rendering: Gsetz
Transliteration: Gsötz
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Catholic natural-law theological resonance applies equally here. Central to Justification apart from the Law (6:13; 7:53; 13:38-39; 15:5,24; 18:13; 21:20-24,28; 22:3,12; 23:29; 24:14; 25:8).
Sin
Approved rendering: Sünd
Transliteration: Sind
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. HIGH RISK of colloquial trivialization (‘a Sünd is des scho’). Occurs at Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 22:16; 26:18, especially in the repentance-preaching passages central to this curriculum.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: Gehorsam vom Glaam
Transliteration: Gehorsam vom Gloam
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Original: ὑπακοὴ πίστεως
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Must be guarded against reintroducing a merit-based works framework. The adjacent sense in Acts 26:19 (‘I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision’) inherits this same caution.
Covenant
Approved rendering: Bund
Transliteration: Bund
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High for Acts). Relational covenant bond; borrowed as-is. Mostly OT-background references in Acts (3:25; 7:8).
Election
Approved rendering: Erwählung
Transliteration: Erwöahlung
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. HIGH RISK as a pure register gap (no lived Bavarian predestination-controversy tradition), not a competing doctrinal tradition. The root underlies the new compound ‘chosen instrument’ (Acts 9:15); reuse this risk profile exactly.
Intercession
Approved rendering: Fürbitt
Transliteration: Fiabitt
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: ἔντευξις / ὑπερεντυγχάνει
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. HIGH RISK: Bavaria’s national Marian pilgrimage shrine at Altötting anchors an unusually intense Marian/saint intercessory-prayer tradition. The corporate church prayer for Peter’s release (Acts 12:5,12) must be read as direct prayer to God, not through a mediating saint.
Providence
Approved rendering: Vorsehung
Transliteration: Vorsehung
Doctrine: Providence
Original: πρόνοια / βουλή καὶ πρόγνωσις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High for Acts). Occurs at Acts 2:23 (the cross’s ‘definite plan and foreknowledge of God’), 17:26 (appointed times of nations), and 27:23-24 (angelic reassurance at sea). Must not be rendered as a vague fatalistic folk notion.
Father
Approved rendering: Voda
Transliteration: Voter
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. In Acts, ‘father(s)’ most often means ancestral forefathers, not the divine Fatherhood sense (7:2,4,11-15,19; 22:1,3); disambiguate by context to avoid conflating the two senses.
Tongues
Approved rendering: ondere Sprachn
Transliteration: ondre Sprachn
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: Zungenreden (forbidden, unqualified — defaults to modern Pentecostal/charismatic ecstatic-utterance associations foreign to Acts’ text)
Original: γλῶσσαι ἕτεραι
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum. Acts 2 depicts real, known human languages, confirmed by the hearers’ own native tongues (2:6,8,11); rendering with ‘Sprachn’ (languages) is doctrinally load-bearing, not stylistic preference. Human theologian review required at every occurrence (2:4-11; 10:46; 19:6).
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: Vergebung vo de Sünd
Transliteration: Vergebung von de Sind
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. Uses TM-REUSE ‘Sünd’. Bavarian sacramental practice locates the pronouncement of forgiveness in priestly absolution during confession; care is needed so Acts’ repentance-baptism-in-Christ’s-name forgiveness (2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 22:16; 26:18) is not heard as requiring ongoing confession-mediation to be secured.
Gift Of Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: d’Gob vom Heiling Geist
Transliteration: d’Gab vom Heiligen Geist
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: δωρεὰ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum. Uses TM-REUSE ‘Heiliger Geist’. Must be kept distinct from the later, separately administered Confirmation (Firmung) sacrament, where episcopal laying-on-of-hands is the ordinary channel in developed Catholic practice; Acts presents Spirit-reception as immediate, joined to repentance-faith-baptism (2:38; 8:14-17; 10:44-46; 11:15-17; 19:1-6).
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: Zeichen und Wunder
Transliteration: Zeichn und Wunda
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: δυνάμεις καὶ τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term for this curriculum. The fixed triad forms God’s own authentication of the apostles’ gospel message (2:22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12). Bavaria’s living miracle-attestation culture (Lourdes-style healings, Altötting ex-votos, canonized Bruder Konrad of Parzham) risks the phrase being heard as one wonder-working tradition among others. Human theologian review required at every occurrence.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: Handauflegung
Transliteration: Handaufleggung
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term for this curriculum, a borrowed standard-German liturgical compound. This exact term is used in Bavarian Catholic Confirmation and priestly ordination rites; must preserve Acts’ broader, sometimes non-apostle-administered pattern (e.g., Ananias laying hands on Saul, 9:17) without over-sacramentalizing or wrongly hierarchy-restricting it (6:6; 8:17-19; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6; 28:8).
Elder
Approved rendering: Ältester
Transliteration: Öltester
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: Priester (forbidden — imports the sacerdotal, sacrificial-mediatorial ordained priesthood category absent from NT congregational eldership)
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Local congregational leadership office, used interchangeably with ‘overseer’ at Acts 20:17,28. Occurs at 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 20:17,28; 21:18. Forbidden substitution, same severity class as the baseline’s ‘verdiante Gerechtigkeit’ prohibition.
No Partiality
Approved rendering: Gott mocht koan Unterschied
Transliteration: Gott mocht koan Untaschied
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum, descriptive phrase. God’s impartiality toward Jew and Gentile alike (10:34-35; 15:9); given the baseline’s already-noted heightened Bavarian sensitivity (Munich’s Nazi-era history) around unity-of-peoples language, requires the same careful, historically aware handling.
Chosen Instrument
Approved rendering: auserwähltes Werkzeug
Transliteration: auserwoihltes Werkzeug
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum, a paraphrase compound built on the borrowed root ‘Erwählung’ (TM-REUSE root). God’s sovereign election of Saul/Paul for a specific mission (Acts 9:15); inherits the baseline’s Erwählung register-gap risk, now applied concretely to a dramatic named individual’s conversion.
Household Salvation
Approved rendering: du und dei ganzes Haus
Transliteration: du und dei gonzes Haus
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. Frequently cited in infant/household-baptism debates (16:15, 16:31-34; 18:8); must avoid implying automatic household-wide salvation apart from each member’s own response, while preserving the genuine household-solidarity dimension.
Idols Idolatry
Approved rendering: Götzenbilder / Idole
Transliteration: Götznbilder / Idole
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: εἴδωλα / κατείδωλος
Category: God
New term for this curriculum, dual paraphrase retained deliberately (neither candidate is fully safe alone). Genuinely sensitive for a Bavarian Catholic audience whose devotional life includes religious statues, wayside Marterl shrines, and processional images; must avoid an implicit Protestant-polemic reading equating legitimate Catholic devotional imagery with pagan idol-worship (Acts 14:11-18; 17:16,29-30; 19:23-41). Human theologian review required.
Sect
Approved rendering: Sekte
Transliteration: Sektn
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: αἵρεσις
Category: Persecution and Witness
New term for this curriculum, retained borrowed word despite its pejorative drift (no safe native paraphrase exists). Modern Bavarian/German ‘Sekte’ carries a strongly pejorative ‘dangerous cult’ connotation absent from the original neutral ‘party/school of thought’ sense (24:5,14; 28:22); mandatory translator/teaching note required wherever used of outsiders’ labeling.
Power Of Satan
Approved rendering: d’Gwalt vom Satan
Transliteration: d’Gwoit vom Satan
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. Bondage to a personal spiritual power, decisively broken by conversion (Acts 26:18); Bavarian Alpine folk-devil imagery (Perchten, Krampus-adjacent Christmas tradition) risks trivializing or folklorizing this serious claim.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: s’Brotbrechn
Transliteration: s’Brotbrechn
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου / κλάω ἄρτον
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Fixed idiom for the shared communal meal of the early church, likely already carrying some Eucharistic overtone without being identical to the later fully developed Mass (2:42,46; 20:7,11; the non-liturgical shipboard instance at 27:35). Inevitably evokes the Mass’s fractio panis for a Bavarian Catholic audience; requires a careful middle path, neither full Mass-liturgy resonance nor stripped sacramental meaning. Human theologian review required.
Calling On The Name Of The Lord
Approved rendering: wer’n Nam vom Herrn anruaft
Transliteration: wer’n Nam vom Herrn onruaft
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term for this curriculum, uses TM-REUSE ‘Herr’. The OT covenant-worship formula for calling on YHWH, applied to Jesus (Acts 2:21, Joel quotation). Must use phrasing matching the baseline’s mandated Romans 10:9-13 rendering, per the Theological Consistency Rules — this Acts 2 occurrence is the direct narrative antecedent of that Romans passage.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Evangelium
Transliteration: Evangelium
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. The formal, liturgically borrowed term (used identically to standard German in Bavarian Catholic Mass) versus the folk-paraphrase alternative ‘de guade Nachricht’ (the good news), preferred in dialect Bible paraphrase for accessibility. This curriculum uses the formal borrowed term for consistency but flags the paraphrase option for oral teaching contexts. Frequent throughout Acts (1:8; 8:25; 10:36; 14:7; 20:24) as the content of apostolic proclamation.
Faith
Approved rendering: Glaam
Transliteration: Gloam
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. From ‘Glauben’ via the regular Bavarian intervocalic b-lenition pattern (glauben > glaam, cf. haben > ham, geben > gem). Personal trust in Christ, not generic folk-Catholic religiosity. Frequent across Acts (3:16; 6:5,7; 11:24; 13:8; 14:9,22,27; 15:9; 16:5; 20:21; 24:24; 26:18).
Sanctification
Approved rendering: Heiligung
Transliteration: Heiligung
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Borrowed from standard German; the Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy. Occurs at Acts 20:32; 26:18.
Adoption
Approved rendering: Kindschaft
Transliteration: Kindschaft
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: Adoption (bare, legal-procedural)
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Register-gap term, borrowed as-is; no native dialect coinage. Limited direct Acts occurrence (26:18, inheritance among the sanctified, adjacent sense), retained for cross-curriculum consistency.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: Gnodngob’n
Transliteration: Gnadengaben
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Original: χαρίσματα
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Compound of ‘Gnad’ (grace) and dialect-contracted ‘Gob’n’ (gifts). In Acts the underlying root sense extends beyond enablements to the Spirit himself as gift (2:38; 10:45; 11:17) — see separate ‘gift_of_holy_spirit’ entry for that extended sense.
Church
Approved rendering: Kirch
Transliteration: Kircha
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Gmoa (secular-administrative default, rejected)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Very frequent in Acts (5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 14:23,27; 15:3-4,22,41; 20:17,28). Never bare ‘Gmoa’ for the gathered-community sense; use ‘Kirchengmoaschaft’ or explicit context alongside ‘Kirch’ at nearly every occurrence describing the believing community rather than a building.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: s’Reich vo Gott
Transliteration: des Reich vom Gott
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. God’s sovereign reign; distinguish from any political kingdom association, especially given the disciples’ own political misreading at Acts 1:6. Frames the whole book, opening ch.1 (1:3,6) and closing ch.28 (28:23,31).
Gentiles
Approved rendering: Heiden
Transliteration: Hoaden
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Carries the same mildly pejorative ‘uncivilized/irreligious’ connotation as standard German. Extremely frequent and core to the Gospel-to-Jews-and-Gentiles doctrine throughout Acts.
Glory
Approved rendering: Herrlichkeit
Transliteration: Herrlichkeit
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. God’s radiant presence and honor. Occurs at Acts 7:2,55 (Stephen’s vision) and 12:23 (Herod’s judgment, a contrast case of false human glory).
Power Of God
Approved rendering: Kraft vo Gott
Transliteration: Kroft vom Gott
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Sovereign, saving capability. Occurs at Acts 1:8 (empowerment for witness) and adjacent at 4:33; 8:10; 10:38.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Messias
Transliteration: Messias
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. The Anointed One fulfilling OT promise. Reserve ‘Messias’ for the OT-fulfillment register (Acts 2:31,36; 17:3; 18:5,28); use plain ‘Christus’ elsewhere. Do not interchange the two registers inconsistently.
Mission
Approved rendering: Mission
Transliteration: Mission
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω / ἀφορίζω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Bavaria’s own Catholic missionary-sending religious orders give this loanword regional grounding. Central throughout Acts (13:1-3; 15:36-41; 20:24).
Israel
Approved rendering: Israel
Transliteration: Israel
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Germany’s post-Holocaust Staatsräson policy applies equally in Bavaria; biblical Israel risks conflation with the modern nation-state. Frequent throughout Acts (1:6; 2:36; 4:10,27; 5:21,31; 7:23,37,42; 9:15; 10:36; 13:16-24; 21:28; 28:20).
Abba
Approved rendering: Abba
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: אַבָּא
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Aramaic term of intimacy. Does not directly occur in Acts; retained for cross-curriculum consistency.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: Nachkomme vom David
Transliteration: Nochkumme vom David
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: Some vom David (archaic/clinical register, rejected)
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Acts 13:23.
Pentecost
Approved rendering: Pfingsten
Transliteration: Pfingstn
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: Πεντηκοστή
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum. Already a major fixed feast in the Bavarian Catholic liturgical calendar and public holiday (folk customs like the ‘Pfingstlümmel’); this high familiarity risks the day being heard as a generic calendar festival rather than the specific, unrepeatable historical outpouring event Acts 2 narrates. Doctrinal content must be actively supplied by teaching, never assumed from the festival name alone.
Witness
Approved rendering: Zeuge / Zeugnis
Transliteration: Zeug / Zeugnis
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: μάρτυς / μαρτυρία
Category: Persecution and Witness
New term for this curriculum. Homonym collision: ‘Zeugnis’ primarily means a school report card in everyday Bavarian. Context must always make the legal/testimonial sense unmistakable, especially at the programmatic Acts 1:8 commissioning (‘you will be my witnesses’).
Boldness
Approved rendering: Freimüatigkeit
Transliteration: Freimuatigkeit
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: παρρησία
Category: Persecution and Witness
New term for this curriculum, a proposed borrowed abstract compound. Must retain the specific ‘frank public speech before hostile authority’ sense (4:13,29,31; 28:31), not reduce to generic personal courage.
Table Service
Approved rendering: Dienst
Transliteration: Diensd
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: διακονία
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Pulls toward the later, more clerically formalized Catholic permanent-deacon (Diakon) office; must retain the concrete, practical, non-exclusively-clerical sense of Acts 6:1-4’s original food-distribution function.
Shepherd Flock
Approved rendering: Hirt / Herd
Transliteration: Hiat / Heard
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: ποιμήν / ποίμνιον
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Naturally resonant in rural Alpine Bavarian culture where literal shepherding remains a living occupation; must retain the sacrificial, watchful-care sense (guarding against ‘wolves,’ 20:29), not a merely occupational/managerial reading.
Council Decree
Approved rendering: Beschluss
Transliteration: Bschluss
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: δόγμα / ἔδοξεν
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The Jerusalem Council’s authoritative but pastorally minimal ruling (15:22-29); a model of collegial, non-monarchical apostolic authority, distinct from the later single-bishop-centric decision culture that is the Bavarian default.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: Beschneidung
Transliteration: Bschneidung
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
New term for this curriculum, borrowed standard term. Mostly historical/cultural for a Bavarian audience with no living circumcision practice; the primary risk is theological comprehension of the stakes (15:1,5,24; 16:3; 21:21), not lexical collision.
Yoke Of Law
Approved rendering: a Joch
Transliteration: a Joch
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: ζυγός
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. Concrete, agriculturally resonant metaphor (a real asset given Bavaria’s farming heritage) for Peter’s image of the burden of law-keeping as a means of salvation (Acts 15:10); must retain the negative ‘burden imposed apart from grace’ sense, not a neutral ‘duty’ reading.
Vision
Approved rendering: Vision
Transliteration: Vision
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Rejected alternatives: Gsicht (dialect word for ‘face’ — homonym collision risk with the standard-German word for ‘vision/sight’)
Original: ὅραμα / ὀπτασία
Category: God
New term for this curriculum. Divine revelatory sight given to Cornelius, Peter (the sheet vision), and Paul (26:19). Borrowed abstraction, requiring context support, but safer than the native-sounding but colliding ‘Gsicht’.
Unclean Common
Approved rendering: unrein / alltäglich
Transliteration: unrein / olltäglich
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: gmoa (bare adjective — shares its root with the baseline’s flagged noun ‘Gmoa,’ secular municipality; risks bleed-through between the two distinct risk profiles)
Original: κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Ritual-purity categories from the Mosaic food laws, declared abolished by God (‘what God has made clean, do not call common,’ Acts 10:15; also 10:9-16,28; 11:1-18).
God Fearer
Approved rendering: Gottesfürchtiger
Transliteration: Gottesfiachtiga
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: φοβούμενος / σεβόμενος τὸν Θεόν
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum, borrowed standard compound. No exact Bavarian cultural equivalent exists for this liminal first-century category (Gentile sympathizers with Jewish monotheism who had not undergone full proselyte conversion) — Cornelius’s precise social-religious position.
Light For Gentiles
Approved rendering: a Liacht fia de Heiden
Transliteration: a Liacht fia de Hoaden
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: φῶς ἐθνῶν
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum, uses TM-REUSE ‘Heiden’. Isaiah 49:6 quotation applied to the apostolic mission (Acts 13:47), tying Mission-to-the-Nations and Gospel-to-Jews-and-Gentiles doctrines together.
Spirit Of Divination
Approved rendering: a Geist vo da Wahrsagerei
Transliteration: a Geist von da Wahrsagerei
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: πνεῦμα πύθωνα
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum, descriptive. A specific demonic oracular spirit (Acts 16:16-18), contrasted with genuine apostolic authority; must be sharply distinguished from ‘Heiliger Geist’ despite the shared word ‘Geist’.
Nazirite Vow
Approved rendering: Gelübde
Transliteration: Gelübd
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: εὐχή / ἁγνίσθητι
Category: Covenant
New term for this curriculum, borrowed. A temporary, OT-styled ritual vow (cf. Numbers 6) Paul supports demonstrating in the temple (Acts 21:23-26); risk of conflation with Bavarian Catholic Klostergelübde (permanent monastic vows) or pilgrimage vows (Wallfahrtsgelübde); should be clarified as distinct from either.
Whole Counsel Of God
Approved rendering: da ganze Ratschluss vo Gott
Transliteration: da gonze Ratschluss vo Gott
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: πᾶσα ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term for this curriculum, register-gap borrowed compound in the same family as ‘Vorsehung’. Paul’s summary claim to have taught the entirety of God’s revealed purpose (Acts 20:26-27).
Pagan Gods
Approved rendering: Götter
Transliteration: Götta
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: θεοί (plural)
Category: God
New term for this curriculum. The Lystran crowd’s polytheistic misidentification of Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:11-15); must be kept sharply distinct from the reserved Critical-risk singular ‘Gott’ — never render pagan-deity references with the term reserved for the true God.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: da Menschnsohn
Transliteration: da Menschensohn
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
New term for this curriculum, descriptive, established via standard-German Bible tradition. Christological title (Daniel 7 background) seen by Stephen at his martyrdom (Acts 7:56); must not be conflated with, nor allowed to dilute, the separate Critical-risk ‘Sohn vo Gott’ term — the two titles serve different, complementary Christological functions.
Ascension
Approved rendering: wurd aufgnumma
Transliteration: is aufgnumma worn
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
New term for this curriculum, descriptive verb phrase (anelēmphthē, ‘was taken up’). Must be kept concretely historical and bodily, distinct from any vague folk-devotional ‘went to a better place’ euphemism about death (Acts 1:9-11).
Portion Of Ministry
Approved rendering: Antl / Anteil
Transliteration: Ontl
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term for this curriculum (klēros). Ministry as a divinely allotted stewardship, not a self-claimed office (casting lots to choose Matthias, Acts 1:17,25-26); some tie-in to the adoption/inheritance theme cluster.
Pour Out Spirit
Approved rendering: ausgiaßn
Transliteration: ausgiassn
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum, native dialect verb for the Joel 2 quotation’s ‘I will pour out from my Spirit’ (Acts 2:17-18). Must convey sovereign, abundant divine initiative, not a resource being depleted or used up.
Last Days
Approved rendering: de letztn Täg
Transliteration: de letztn Doog
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum, register-gap eschatological phrase (Acts 2:17). Must convey inaugurated-but-not-yet-consummated eschatology, avoiding folk-apocalyptic doom connotations disconnected from that specific sense.
Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: da Tag vom Herrn
Transliteration: da Doog vom Herrn
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term for this curriculum, uses TM-REUSE ‘Herr’. The OT day of divine visitation/judgment, now historically inaugurated (Acts 2:20, Joel quotation).
Cut To The Heart
Approved rendering: s’Herz is eahna duachbohrt worn
Transliteration: s’Herz is eahna durchbohrt worn
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
New term for this curriculum, idiomatic (katanyssomai, Acts 2:37). Must not be flattened into mere social embarrassment; this is Spirit-produced conviction of sin before God, preceding genuine repentance.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: Apostl
Transliteration: Apoastl
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Final -e dropped per regular Bavarian apocope; otherwise a stable borrowed term. Acts is the primary narrative of apostleship in action (1:2,25-26; 14:4,14).
Peace
Approved rendering: Friad
Transliteration: Friade
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Relational peace with God through justification, not merely psychological calm. Occurs at Acts 9:31; 10:36; 24:2.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: Dank
Transliteration: Donk
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Standard term, no significant risk. Occurs at Acts 27:35; 28:15; note 27:35’s shipboard ‘broke bread and gave thanks’ shares vocabulary with 2:42 but occurs in a non-liturgical survival context.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: Gmoaschaft
Transliteration: Gemoaschoft
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Built on the genuine dialect root ‘Gmoa’ (municipality); shared participation in Christ, not merely civic association. Foundational occurrence at Acts 2:42.
Prophet
Approved rendering: Prophet
Transliteration: Prophet
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. God’s spokesperson; borrowed as-is. Very frequent in Acts (2:16,30; 3:22-25; 7:37,48; 8:28,30,34; 10:43; 11:27; 13:1,20,27,40; 15:15,32; 21:9-10; 26:22,27; 28:23,25).
Prophecy
Approved rendering: Weissogung
Transliteration: Weissagung
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Acts 2:17-18 (Joel quotation), 19:6, 21:9.
David
Approved rendering: David
Transliteration: David
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Standard proper name form. Frequent in Acts (1:16; 2:25,29,34; 4:25; 7:45; 13:22,34,36; 15:16).
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jesus
Transliteration: Jesus
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Stable throughout Acts.
Exhort
Approved rendering: ermahna
Transliteration: ermohna
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Context-sensitive between admonishing and encouraging senses. Frequent in Acts’ exhortation passages (2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2).
Martyr
Approved rendering: Bluatzeuge
Transliteration: Bluetzeuge
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: μάρτυς (developed sense)
Category: Persecution and Witness
New term for this curriculum. Traditional German/Bavarian ‘blood-witness’ term, distinct enough from ‘Zeugnis’ to avoid the homonym issue. Developed sense originating narratively with Stephen (Acts 7).
The Way
Approved rendering: da Weg
Transliteration: da Wög
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Earliest self-designation of the Christian movement (9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22); straightforward proper-noun-like usage, low collision risk.
Hellenists
Approved rendering: griachisch-sprechade Juden
Transliteration: griechisch-sprechade Juden
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἑλληνισταί
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum, descriptive phrase, no fixed native coinage needed. Distinguishes Greek-speaking diaspora believers from Aramaic/Hebrew-speaking ‘Hebrews’ (Acts 6:1).
Sanhedrin
Approved rendering: da Hohe Rat
Transliteration: da Hohe Rot
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: συνέδριον
Category: Persecution and Witness
New term for this curriculum. The supreme Jewish judicial-religious council before which the apostles were repeatedly tried; historical institution, no doctrinal collision.
Unknown God
Approved rendering: unbekannter Gott
Transliteration: unbekonnta Gott
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἀγνώστῳ Θεῷ
Category: God
New term for this curriculum, descriptive. Paul’s apologetic bridge from pagan religious instinct to the one true God (Acts 17:23); mainly catechetical rather than collision-driven.
Self Control
Approved rendering: Selbstbeherrschung
Transliteration: Selbstbeherrschung
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: ἐγκράτεια
Category: Ethics
New term for this curriculum, straightforward borrowed compound. Paired with faith and coming judgment in Paul’s presentation to Felix (Acts 24:24-25).
Conscience
Approved rendering: Gwissn
Transliteration: Gwissen
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Ethics
New term for this curriculum, standard dialect form. Paul’s appeal to a clear conscience before God (Acts 23:1; 24:16).
Appeal To Caesar
Approved rendering: an’n Kaiser appellieren
Transliteration: an’n Koasa appelliern
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι
Category: Persecution and Witness
New term for this curriculum, historical-legal, no doctrinal collision. Paul’s legal invocation of Roman citizenship rights (Acts 25:11), providentially routing him toward Rome.
Christians Name
Approved rendering: Christen
Transliteration: Christn
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: Χριστιανοί
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The movement’s name, coined for the first time at Antioch (Acts 11:26); established, distinct from ‘Christus’ the title, per the baseline’s transliteration convention.
Referenced passages