Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis
This Language Package’s doctrine_risk_registry.json tracks 40 doctrines across Romans 1–16, each assigned a risk tier that drives Phase 2 review routing.
Risk tier summary
| Tier | Count | Review routing | Example doctrines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | 9 | Human theologian, every occurrence | Grace, Salvation, Incarnation, Deity of Christ, Sonship of Christ, Resurrection of Christ, Lordship of Christ, Messianic Promise |
| High | 18 | Human theologian | Divine Calling, Faith, Adoption, Sanctification, Providence, Universal Scope of the Gospel, Unity of Jews and Gentiles |
| Medium | 9 | Native speaker review | Gospel, Peace with God, Spiritual Gifts, Mission to the Nations, Evangelism |
| Low | 4 | Automated review only | Apostleship, Thanksgiving, Mutual Edification, Christian Fellowship |
Why Critical doctrines cluster where they do
Cantonese’s nine Critical-risk doctrines cluster around actively practiced folk-temple worship rather than inherited philosophy: Grace and Salvation are Critical because Hong Kong’s most visible religious model (vow-and-offering temple exchange, Guanyin devotion) is transactional and rescue-from-suffering-focused, the near-opposite of unearned grace and personal reconciliation with God. Resurrection is Critical partly because of the still-sought spirit-medium practice (問米) that shapes intuitions about contact with the dead. Sonship of Christ and Incarnation share the classical imperial-political and Buddhist-manifestation risks also present in Mandarin, since both languages draw on the same written character tradition.
Review routing rationale
Critical and High risk doctrines (27 of 40) require mandatory human theologian review because an automated or native-speaker-only check could confirm the Cantonese is fluent and even culturally warm without catching that it imports a transactional-exchange or spirit-medium framework. Native speaker review is sufficient for Medium-risk doctrines, where the concern is cultural and political sensitivity (e.g. Hong Kong’s climate around public evangelism and sovereignty language) rather than doctrinal contradiction.
Critical Risk Doctrines
Deity of Christ
Cantonese name: 基督嘅神性
Key terms: son of God, declared son, God over all
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: co-equal, eternal divine nature, not a spiritually powerful or wish-granting local deity of the kind found at Hong Kong temples. Must not be softened toward ‘an especially powerful spirit’.
Grace
Cantonese name: 恩典
Key terms: grace, unmerited, gift, given freely
Review routing: Human theologian
Unmerited favor directly contradicts the vow-and-offering transactional exchange modeled by Hong Kong’s most popular temple worship (e.g. Wong Tai Sin’s ‘whatever you ask, you shall receive’). Must always reinforce grace as apart from any exchange.
Incarnation
Cantonese name: 道成肉身
Key terms: flesh, seed of David, son born, came in flesh
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: NEVER 化身 (a deity’s repeatable manifestation, as popularly attributed to Guanyin) or 顯靈 (a deity ‘manifesting power’ at a shrine, common Hong Kong temple-culture language). The incarnation is a permanent, unique taking of human nature.
Lordship of Christ
Cantonese name: 基督嘅主權
Key terms: lord, lord jesus, jesus is lord
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Romans 10:9 — 耶穌是主 is the salvation confession. Exclusive, supreme Lordship, not an employer-employee title (事頭) or feudal honorific (老爺). Given Hong Kong’s political context, teaching should keep this doctrinal, not present it as a political-loyalty statement.
Messianic Promise
Cantonese name: 彌賽亞嘅應許
Key terms: messiah, christ, anointed, promised
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: must not be conflated with Maitreya (彌勒) or with the wish-granting savior framing popularly attached to Wong Tai Sin. Christ is the Messiah who has already come, fulfilling specific Jewish covenant promises.
Resurrection of Christ
Cantonese name: 基督嘅復活
Key terms: raised, resurrection, from the dead, raised from death
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: 復活, not 投胎轉世 (rebirth cycle) and not framed like a 問米 spirit-medium briefly summoning a deceased person’s spirit. Bodily, historical, once-for-all.
Salvation
Cantonese name: 救恩
Key terms: salvation, saved, save, deliverance
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: NEVER 解脫 (Buddhist liberation from samsara) or 超度 (a posthumous release rite). Avoid quoting Guanyin’s popular epithet as a synonym for salvation, given how present Guanyin devotion is in Hong Kong households.
Sonship of Christ
Cantonese name: 基督嘅兒子名分
Key terms: son of God, his son, God’s son
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: NEVER equate with 天子 (‘Son of Heaven’, the historic imperial title). Christ’s Sonship is eternal and unique.
High Risk Doctrines
Adoption into God’s Family
Cantonese name: 喺神嘅家庭入面得兒子嘅名分
Key terms: adoption, spirit of adoption, sons, children of God, abba
Review routing: Human theologian
Full relational son-status with complete inheritance rights; distinguish from clan-succession adoption (過繼) practiced to continue ancestor-worship obligations, and from the unrelated folk custom of dedicating a child as a temple deity’s ‘godson’ (認契仔).
Assurance of Salvation
Cantonese name: 得救嘅確據
Key terms: nothing can separate, who shall separate, no condemnation, more than conquerors
Review routing: Human theologian
Assurance rests on God’s unchanging character, not on an ongoing vow-and-favor exchange that could always still lapse if an offering or ritual obligation is neglected.
Christian Identity in Christ
Cantonese name: 喺基督入面嘅基督徒身份
Key terms: in Christ, in Christ Jesus, united with Christ, dead to sin alive to God
Review routing: Human theologian
Identity located in union with Christ, not in clan/lineage standing, face/reputation, or accumulated merit.
Davidic Covenant
Cantonese name: 大衛之約
Key terms: seed of David, David, covenant
Review routing: Human theologian
Requires OT background explanation; no directly analogous perpetual-lineage covenant concept exists in Cantonese/Pearl River Delta clan tradition, where lineage continuity is maintained through adoption-for-succession rather than an unconditional divine promise.
Divine Calling
Cantonese name: 神嘅呼召
Key terms: called, calling
Review routing: Human theologian
Must be kept distinct from birth-chart astrology (八字) and fatalistic destiny language still commonly consulted in Hong Kong. God’s call is personal and relational, not a fixed fate read off a chart.
Effectual Calling
Cantonese name: 有效嘅呼召
Key terms: called, calling, election, chosen
Review routing: Human theologian
God’s sovereign call that secures the salvation of the called; not a birth-chart-determined fate (八字注定).
Faith
Cantonese name: 信心
Key terms: faith, believe, belief, trust
Review routing: Human theologian
Personal trust in Christ specifically, not the confidence commonly placed in fortune-telling and palm-reading services.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Cantonese name: 預言嘅應驗
Key terms: prophecy, promised, foretold, scriptures say
Review routing: Human theologian
Linear, one-time historical fulfillment (OT to NT), not the cyclical fortune-forecast framework (運程) of yearly feng shui predictions familiar from Hong Kong almanac culture.
Humanity of Christ
Cantonese name: 基督嘅人性
Key terms: born of the seed of David, flesh, human
Review routing: Human theologian
Real, physical human nature, not a temporary manifestation-form (化身) a deity could exchange for another appearance.
Inspiration of Scripture
Cantonese name: 聖經嘅默示
Key terms: scriptures, holy scriptures, prophets
Review routing: Human theologian
Distinguish God-breathed Scripture from divination texts and almanacs (老黃曆) consulted for guidance in daily Hong Kong life; Scripture is the direct communication of a personal God, not a predictive reference text.
Obedience of Faith
Cantonese name: 因信而生嘅順服
Key terms: obedience of faith, obedience, faith-produced obedience
Review routing: Human theologian
Obedience that flows from faith already given, not filial duty (孝順) or a vow fulfilled after a granted request (還神還願).
Power of God for Salvation
Cantonese name: 神拯救人嘅大能
Key terms: power of God, God’s power
Review routing: Human theologian
大能 required; never 法力 (a medium’s ritual power) or attributed to feng shui arrangement (風水嘅力量).
Providence
Cantonese name: 神嘅護理
Key terms: all things work together, God works, foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified
Review routing: Human theologian
God’s personal, purposive care, not an annual fortune-forecast cycle (運程) consulted through Hong Kong almanac culture. Romans 8:28 is specifically vulnerable to a fatalism-flavored reading.
Sainthood (Called to be Holy)
Cantonese name: 蒙召作聖徒
Key terms: saints, holy ones, called to be holy
Review routing: Human theologian
All believers are 聖徒 corporately; not an elevated class of Daoist immortals (神仙) or spiritually accomplished masters (得道高人).
Sanctification
Cantonese name: 成聖
Key terms: sanctification, holiness, set apart, holy living
Review routing: Human theologian
Spirit-wrought process, distinguished from self-directed cultivation regimens (修煉) or simple habit-reform (戒除惡習). The Confucian sagehood collision present in Mandarin is somewhat softer here given Hong Kong’s more religiously plural population, but still requires a clarifying note.
Separation unto God’s Service
Cantonese name: 為神嘅工作被分別出嚟
Key terms: set apart, separated, holy
Review routing: Human theologian
Must not be confused with ritual dietary abstinence or vow-keeping practices tied to temple worship (戒口, 還神還願). Biblical separation is devotion to God while remaining engaged in ordinary life, not a ritual observance discharged in exchange for a granted request.
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Cantonese name: 猶太人同外邦人嘅合一
Key terms: Jew and Gentile, no distinction, one body, olive tree
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly challenges any lingering local/outsider or clan-based hierarchy; must translate with theological clarity rather than softened diplomatic language.
Universal Human Accountability
Cantonese name: 全人類都當向神負責
Key terms: all have sinned, no one is righteous, no distinction, all are accountable
Review routing: Human theologian
All humanity equally guilty before God, regardless of social standing or ‘face’; retain universal language without softening toward a status-graded reading.
Universal Scope of the Gospel
Cantonese name: 福音普及萬民
Key terms: everyone who believes, all who call, no distinction, Jew and Gentile
Review routing: Human theologian
No local/outsider or clan-based barrier to the gospel; must resist framing that echoes Cantonese insider/outsider or clan-village distinctions. Retain unqualified universality.
Medium Risk Doctrines
Christ-Centered Ministry
Cantonese name: 以基督為中心嘅事奉
Key terms: what Christ has accomplished through me, in Christ Jesus, minister of Christ
Review routing: Native speaker review
Ministry done in Christ’s name and by his power, for his glory, not humanitarian service or merit-building practiced independently of the gospel.
Church as God’s People
Cantonese name: 作為神子民嘅教會
Key terms: body of Christ, one body, church, saints, assembly
Review routing: Native speaker review
New covenant community, not a temple-based ritual institution (廟) or a clan ancestral hall (祠堂).
Evangelism
Cantonese name: 傳福音
Key terms: preach, proclaim, evangelize, send, how will they hear
Review routing: Native speaker review
Frame in terms of proclamation and witness within community; be attentive to Hong Kong’s current political and social climate around public religious expression.
Gospel
Cantonese name: 福音
Key terms: gospel, good news
Review routing: Native speaker review
福音 is established and unambiguous as a word, but Hong Kong’s commercial prosperity-and-luck culture (e.g. the New Year greeting 恭喜發財) colors the root character 福; teaching must make clear the gospel announces salvation, not forecasted prosperity.
Kingdom Mission
Cantonese name: 神國嘅使命
Key terms: kingdom of God, righteousness peace and joy, advance the kingdom
Review routing: Native speaker review
God’s reign advancing through the gospel; given Hong Kong’s political sensitivities, keep clearly framed as spiritual reign rather than a political program.
Mission to the Nations
Cantonese name: 向萬國宣教
Key terms: nations, gentiles, all peoples, to the ends of the earth
Review routing: Native speaker review
Hong Kong’s mission history via colonial-era Anglican/Catholic institutions gives ‘mission’ a different, less foreign-stigmatized texture than in mainland contexts, but current political and social sensitivities still call for care in public evangelism framing.
Peace with God
Cantonese name: 同神和好嘅平安
Key terms: peace with God, peace, peace through justification
Review routing: Native speaker review
Relational, covenantal peace through justification, not the general protection-from-misfortune sense reinforced by protective-charm and lucky-almanac culture.
Prayer and Intercession
Cantonese name: 禱告同代求
Key terms: prayer, intercession, pray, groan, spirit intercedes
Review routing: Native speaker review
Direct access to God in Christ’s name; distinguish from drawing a temple fortune-stick (求籤) or consulting a spirit-medium (問米) on someone else’s behalf.
Spiritual Gifts
Cantonese name: 屬靈恩賜
Key terms: spiritual gift, gift, grace gift, measure of faith
Review routing: Native speaker review
Spirit-given enablements, not supernatural powers attained through spiritual cultivation (神通) or a medium’s ritual power (法力).
Low Risk Doctrines
Apostleship
Cantonese name: 使徒嘅職分
Key terms: apostle
Review routing: Automated review
Low collision risk: 使徒 is specific and established. Minor risk of conflation with a feng shui consultant or ‘grandmaster’ title (大師) common in Hong Kong commercial culture.
Christian Fellowship
Cantonese name: 基督徒團契
Key terms: fellowship, share, participate, community
Review routing: Automated review
Shared participation in Christ, not a clan/native-place association (同鄉會) or sworn-brotherhood pact (結拜).
Mutual Edification
Cantonese name: 彼此造就
Key terms: build up, edify, encourage one another, strengthen
Review routing: Automated review
Building one another up in faith; no significant doctrinal risk.
Thanksgiving
Cantonese name: 感恩
Key terms: thanksgiving, give thanks, grateful, thank God
Review routing: Automated review
Standard term; minor risk of generic secular gratitude without reference to God specifically.
Referenced passages