Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis — Acts, English → Czech
Purpose and Method
This document is the full doctrine matrix for the book of Acts (chapters 1–28), executed under PRD Phase 1 Step 4/5. It is fully consistent with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json (Acts): every doctrine listed below carries the identical risk tier and czech_doctrine_name recorded there. This document adds the granular, chapter-anchored detail — supporting passages, translation-specific risk reasoning, and review routing — needed to operationalize that registry across Phase 2.
Per the PRD’s full-book-coverage mandate, every chapter of Acts (1–28) is accounted for in Section 3, including chapters that introduce no new load-bearing doctrine (18, 21, 25), which are explicitly marked as reviewed rather than silently omitted.
Risk tiers and review routing follow the same framework as the baseline: Critical and High require human theologian review; Medium requires native speaker review; Low requires automated review only. As throughout this Language Package, “translation risk” for Czech is overwhelmingly a comprehension/scaffolding risk (the reader has no prior framework at all) rather than a syncretism risk (a competing framework overwrites the correct one) — the opposite emphasis from most other Language Packages in this pipeline.
Section 1 — Doctrine Matrix
Group A: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (Duch svatý a Letnice) | Critical | Acts 1:4-5,8; 2:1-4,16-18,33,38; 4:8,31; 8:14-17; 10:44-46; 19:1-6 | Compounding risk: “Letnice” has almost no cultural footprint (unlike Easter’s residual folk association with resurrection), and “naplněn Duchem svatým” has no everyday Czech category for being filled by a distinct divine person. Risk of a blank non-reaction OR a psychologized misreading as mere emotional excitement. Both festival and experience must be taught as new content. | Human theologian |
| Spiritual Gifts (duchovní dary) | Medium | Acts 2:4,17-18; 19:6 | Concrete narrative instances (tongues, prophecy) rather than Romans’ abstract listing; underlying concept of the Spirit distributing gifts still needs foundational explanation. | Native speaker review |
Group B: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (evangelium pro Židy i pohany) | Critical | Acts 2:39; 10:1-48; 11:1-18; 13:46-48; 15:1-29; 28:28 | The central plot-arc of the book. Absence of any live ritual-purity framework in secular Czech culture means Acts 10-15 risks reading as an obscure historical dispute with no evident stakes unless clean/unclean and circumcision categories are actively explained. | Human theologian |
| Universal Scope of the Gospel (všeobecný dosah evangelia) | High | Acts 2:21,39; 10:34-35; 15:11 | Retain unqualified universal language (“každý, kdo vzývá jméno Páně”); foundational for a reader with no prior assumptions about who the gospel is “for.” | Human theologian |
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles (jednota Židů a pohanů) | Medium | Acts 10:34-35; 11:18; 15:9,11 | No direct social-hierarchy analogue in secular Czech culture, though the doctrine carries pastoral weight given the Czech lands’ own complex Jewish history. | Native speaker review |
| Gospel (evangelium) | High | Acts 1:8; 8:4,12,25,35,40; 10:36; 13:32; 15:7; 20:24 | Acts stresses the verb form (ongoing cross-cultural proclamation) more than Romans’ noun form; term is stable but carries no inherited meaning and must be actively defined at first substantive use. | Human theologian |
| Evangelism (evangelizace) | Medium | Acts 8:4,12,25,35,40; 14:7,21; 17:16-34; 20:20-21 | Active evangelism can read as culturally intrusive in a highly secular society; use proclamation/witness/invitation framing, not confrontational framing. Paul’s Areopagus approach (ch.17) is a positive model. | Native speaker review |
Group C: Repentance and Baptism
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repentance and Baptism (pokání a křest) | Critical | Acts 2:38; 3:19; 9:18; 16:30-33; 19:1-5; 22:16; 26:18,20 | ”Pokání” risks the same archaic-detachment fate as “spasení”; “křest” suffers the opposite problem — too much familiarity of the wrong kind, defaulting to folk-cultural infant christening rather than adult, repentance-linked, professing baptism. Both halves require active correction against different failure modes at every occurrence. | Human theologian |
| Universal Human Accountability (všeobecná odpovědnost člověka) | High | Acts 17:30-31 | All humanity equally accountable and called to repent; must be built against the colloquially weakened, low-stakes everyday use of “hřích” as “a shame/pity.” | Human theologian |
Group D: The Church as Community
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Church as Community (církev jako společenství) | Medium | Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 6:1-7; 20:17-38 | Concrete daily practices give “církev” founding historical content distinct from the institutional and architectural/touristic (“kostel”) associations most secular readers bring. “Starší/dohlížitel/pastýř” must avoid importing later hierarchical assumptions via “biskup.” | Native speaker review |
| Christian Fellowship (bratrské společenství) | Low | Acts 2:42,44-46 | Stable, low-risk term given concrete content by Acts 2’s description of daily communal life. | Automated review |
| Mutual Edification (vzájemné budování) | Low | Acts 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2 | Building one another up through encouragement; minimal risk. | Automated review |
| Thanksgiving (díkůvzdání) | Low | Acts 27:35; 28:15 | Standard vocabulary; minimal risk. | Automated review |
| Christian Identity in Christ (křesťanská identita v Kristu) | High | Acts 9:4-5; 11:26; 26:28 | Christ’s personal identification with persecuted followers and the first use of “Christian” as a costly identity label both require teaching; ordinary secular use of “křesťan” as a cultural-heritage label risks undershooting the term’s force. | Human theologian |
| Sainthood / Called to be Holy (povolání ke svatosti) | High | Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10 | Corporate “svatý” designation for every persecuted believer must be taught against the folk-custom name-day association that dominates secular Czech readers’ default. | Human theologian |
| Sanctification (posvěcení) | High | Acts 20:32; 26:18 | Ceremonial-building-blessing association dominant in secular usage must be distinguished from ongoing personal transformation and inheritance. | Human theologian |
| Adoption into God’s Family (přijetí za syny Boží) | Medium | Acts 26:18 | Legal-adoption parallel (“adopce”) is well understood; specific theological content (inheritance rights) still needs unpacking. | Native speaker review |
| Peace with God (pokoj s Bohem) | Medium | Acts 9:31; 10:36 | Relational, covenantal peace; distinguish from everyday “pokoj” as mere quiet. | Native speaker review |
| Prayer and Intercession (modlitba a přímluva) | Medium | Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:24-31; 6:4; 12:5,12; 13:3; 16:25; 20:36; 21:5 | No live cultural competitor (no saint-veneration/Marian-devotion default); task is teaching what intercession means at all. | Native speaker review |
| Divine Calling (Boží povolání) | High | Acts 1:24-26; 13:2 | ”Povolání” overwhelmingly means job/profession in ordinary Czech; must be actively distinguished from God’s sovereign summons. | Human theologian |
| Apostleship (apoštolství) | Low | Acts 1:15-26; 14:14 | Stable and unambiguous; risk is unfamiliarity with the narrative role, not mistranslation. | Automated review |
| Separation unto God’s Service (oddělení pro Boží službu) | Medium | Acts 13:2 | Low syncretism risk; the concept of Spirit-directed commissioning is simply unfamiliar. | Native speaker review |
Group E: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apoštolská autorita a zázraky) | High | Acts 2:22,43; 3:1-10; 4:29-31; 5:12-16; 8:6-13; 14:3; 15:12; 19:11-12 | Recurring “divy a znamení” formula must stay stable throughout; primary risk is readers treating these as generic entertainment-style “miracles” rather than self-authenticating divine confirmation of proclamation. | Human theologian |
| Power of God for Salvation (Boží moc ke spasení) | Medium | Acts 1:8; 2:22; 4:33; 10:38 | Standard rendering; in Acts regularly demonstrated through the signs-and-wonders formula rather than stated abstractly. | Native speaker review |
| Providence (Boží prozřetelnost) | Medium | Acts 2:23; 4:28; 13:48; 17:26; 20:22-23; 27:21-26 | Acts 27’s shipwreck illustrates providence through ordinary means; must avoid fatalistic “osud”/“štěstí” framing. | Native speaker review |
Group F: Persecution and Bold Witness
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness (pronásledování a smělé svědectví) | High | Acts 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 7:54-60; 8:1-3; 9:1-2,23-25; 12:1-19; 14:19-20; 16:19-24; 21:27-36 | Ordinary Czech legal sense of “svědek” is a rare helpful bridge; primary risk concerns “smělost/odvaha,” read as innate personality trait rather than Spirit-produced fruit (Acts 4:31). Given secular wariness of religious assertiveness, frame boldness as faithful proclamation, not confrontation. | Human theologian |
Group G: Conversion of Paul
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion of Paul (obrácení Pavla) | Critical | Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-16; 26:9-18 | Compounds several Critical/High terms (repentance, election as “chosen instrument,” baptism, the Way) into a single account functioning as the paradigmatic demonstration of grace transforming a persecutor apart from merit; mistranslation at any point risks reducing it to a psychological conversion story. | Human theologian |
Group H: Justification apart from the Law
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justification apart from the Law (ospravedlnění bez zákona) | Critical | Acts 13:38-39; 15:1-11; 15:28-29 | Acts’ own thesis statements for this doctrine must use vocabulary identical to Romans 3-4. Acts 15:11 compounds four Critical/High terms (milost, víra, Pán, spasení) in one clause. Everyday “ospravedlnění” as excusing minor misconduct remains the default risk. | Human theologian |
| Grace (milost) | High | Acts 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3,26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32 | Acts 15:11 requires mandatory theologian review; Acts 4:33 additionally applies grace corporately, an extension beyond individual salvation. | Human theologian |
| Faith (víra) | High | Acts 3:16; 10:43; 13:39; 14:9,27; 15:9; 16:31; 20:21; 26:18 | Object of faith (Christ) must be made explicit at every occurrence given secular Czech’s generic self-belief default. | Human theologian |
| Effectual Calling (účinné povolání) | High | Acts 9:15; 13:48; 15:7 | ”Chosen instrument” and “appointed to eternal life” are concrete narrative embodiments requiring theologian review per the predestination-language escalation rule. | Human theologian |
Group I: The Great Commission Fulfilled
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Commission Fulfilled (naplnění velkého poslání) | High | Acts 1:8; 28:16-31 | Acts 1:8 and 28:31 bookend the entire book and require the same verbatim cross-document consistency the baseline gives Romans 1:16-17. | Human theologian |
| Mission to the Nations (misie k národům) | Medium | Acts 1:8; 13:1-3,47; 22:21; 26:17-18 | ”Misie” carries a mild colonial/NGO-humanitarian connotation in contemporary secular usage. | Native speaker review |
| Kingdom Mission (poslání království) | Medium | Acts 1:3,6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31 | Acts 1:6 depicts the disciples’ own mistaken political-nationalist expectation as a teaching foil; guard against the fairy-tale-kingdom association of “království.” | Native speaker review |
Group J: Christological and Scriptural Foundations (Supporting All Doctrines Above)
| Doctrine | Risk | Key Acts Passages | Translation Risk (Czech-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messianic Promise (mesiášské zaslíbení) | Critical | Acts 2:30-36; 3:18-24; 9:22; 13:23,32-37; 17:3; 18:5,28; 26:22-23 | Acts 2:36’s climactic “Pán a Mesiáš” compounds this with Lordship as the core passage’s theological center of gravity; requires the full OT messianic-expectation background at every occurrence. | Human theologian |
| Deity of Christ (božství Kristovo) | Critical | Acts 2:36; 9:20; 20:28 | Must not be softened to “a great moral teacher,” a common secular-humanist framing; Acts 7:56’s Son of Man vision compounds risk since the intuitive secular misreading (mere humanity) is the opposite of the title’s intended meaning. | Human theologian |
| Sonship of Christ (synovství Kristovo) | Critical | Acts 9:20; 13:33 | Eternal, unique Sonship, not the adoptive “children of God” sense applied to believers. | Human theologian |
| Lordship of Christ (Kristovo panství) | Critical | Acts 2:36; 9:5; 10:36; 16:31 | Acts 2:36 and 16:31 both require the explanatory-note treatment mandated for Romans 10:9, since capitalization of “Pán” alone cannot distinguish exclusive divine lordship from “pane.” | Human theologian |
| Resurrection of Christ (vzkříšení Kristovo) | Critical | Acts 1:22; 2:24-32; 3:15; 4:2,10,33; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30-37; 17:3,18,31-32; 23:6-9; 24:15,21; 26:8,23 | Acts 17:32 shows sophisticated secular audiences mocking specifically the bodily-resurrection claim — a realistic model for contemporary Czech resistance. Acts 23-24 expand to universal resurrection, taught as addition to, not replacement of, the Christological resurrection. | Human theologian |
| Ascension and Exaltation of Christ (Kristovo nanebevstoupení a vyvýšení) | High | Acts 1:9-11; 2:33-35 | No baseline equivalent; secular reader has no framework for treating a bodily ascension as historical fact; must be distinguished from resurrection as a separate, subsequent event. | Human theologian |
| Incarnation (vtělení) | High | Acts 2:22; 13:23 | Low competing secular meaning but also low pre-existing recognition; must be taught as new content. | Human theologian |
| Humanity of Christ (lidství Kristovo) | Medium | Acts 2:22; 13:23 | Real physical human nature; should be taught alongside deity of Christ since basic Christology cannot be assumed. | Native speaker review |
| Davidic Covenant (Davidova smlouva) | Medium | Acts 2:25-31; 13:22-23,34-37; 15:16 | Requires explicit OT background (2 Samuel 7); no analogous concept in general Czech culture. | Native speaker review |
| Atonement of Christ (Kristovo smírné dílo) | Critical | Acts 20:28 | Per the baseline’s own escalation rule for atonement/propitiation language; redemption-price image must not dilute into a vague “great cost” metaphor divorced from sacrificial/substitutionary content. | Human theologian |
| Fulfillment of Prophecy (naplnění proroctví) | Medium | Acts 2:16-21; 3:18,24-25; 13:27,40-41; 15:15-18; 26:22 | Linear OT-to-Pentecost fulfillment requires OT narrative background not assumable for a general secular readership; Acts 2:16’s Joel citation is the core passage’s central instance. | Native speaker review |
| Inspiration of Scripture (vdechnutí Písma) | Medium | Acts 1:16; 28:23,25-27 | Requires foundational explanation of what Scripture’s authority even claims to be. | Native speaker review |
Section 2 — Risk Tier Consistency Check
The tiers and czech_doctrine_name values above are copied verbatim from assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json (Acts). No doctrine in this matrix diverges from that registry. Totals by tier (counted across all 46 doctrine rows in Section 1):
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 11 | Human theologian (mandatory, every occurrence) |
| High | 15 | Human theologian (mandatory) |
| Medium | 16 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 4 | Automated review |
Section 3 — Full-Book Chapter Coverage Checklist (Acts 1–28)
Every chapter of Acts is accounted for below. Chapters marked “Reviewed — no new load-bearing doctrine” are explicitly noted per the PRD’s full-coverage mandate; they are not silently omitted, they simply continue doctrines already introduced elsewhere.
| Ch. | Load-Bearing Doctrines Active | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Commission Fulfilled; Apostleship; Divine Calling; Ascension; Kingdom Mission; Inspiration of Scripture; Prayer and Intercession; Mission to the Nations | Programmatic opening; 1:8 is a verbatim cross-document verse. |
| 2 | Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Spiritual Gifts; Messianic Promise; Deity/Lordship of Christ; Resurrection of Christ; Fulfillment of Prophecy; Repentance and Baptism; Universal Scope of the Gospel; Christian Fellowship; Church as Community; Incarnation; Humanity of Christ; Power of God; Davidic Covenant | Core passage (2:1-41); highest doctrinal density in the book. |
| 3 | Fulfillment of Prophecy; Messianic Promise; Resurrection of Christ; Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Repentance and Baptism; Faith | Healing of the lame man; Peter’s temple sermon. |
| 4 | Persecution and Bold Witness; Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Grace; Power of God; Providence; Prayer and Intercession; Church as Community | Peter and John before the council; corporate sharing (4:32-37 spans into ch.4-5). |
| 5 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Persecution and Bold Witness; (Savior title, 5:31, ties to Messianic Promise/Lordship) | Ananias and Sapphira; Gamaliel’s counsel. |
| 6 | Church as Community (diaconate); Persecution and Bold Witness (Stephen accused) | Sets up ch.7. |
| 7 | Deity of Christ (Son of Man vision, 7:56); Persecution and Bold Witness (Stephen’s martyrdom); Fulfillment of Prophecy | First Christian martyrdom; Stephen’s speech surveys OT history. |
| 8 | Gospel; Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Simon Magus); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (Ethiopian eunuch); Repentance and Baptism | Philip’s ministry in Samaria and to the eunuch. |
| 9 | Conversion of Paul; Sainthood; Effectual Calling; Peace with God; Deity/Sonship of Christ; Christian Identity in Christ | Saul’s Damascus-road encounter; Peter raises Dorcas. |
| 10 | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Unity of Jews and Gentiles; Faith; Peace with God; Universal Scope of the Gospel | Cornelius narrative; central Gentile-inclusion turning point. |
| 11 | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Unity of Jews and Gentiles; Grace; Christian Identity in Christ | Jerusalem church’s response to Cornelius; “Christian” first used (11:26). |
| 12 | Providence; Prayer and Intercession | Peter’s escape from prison. |
| 13 | Justification apart from the Law; Messianic Promise; Faith; Grace; Effectual Calling; Davidic Covenant; Incarnation/Humanity of Christ; Mission to the Nations; Gospel | Paul’s first missionary sermon (Antioch of Pisidia); Acts 13:38-39 thesis statement. |
| 14 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Mutual Edification; Grace; Faith; Kingdom Mission; Apostleship | Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. |
| 15 | Justification apart from the Law; Grace; Faith; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Unity of Jews and Gentiles; Effectual Calling; Fulfillment of Prophecy; Davidic Covenant; Mutual Edification | Jerusalem Council; Acts 15:11 theological climax. |
| 16 | Lordship of Christ; Faith; Persecution and Bold Witness; Apostolic Authority (spirit of divination); Mutual Edification | Philippian jailer; Lydia; Paul and Silas imprisoned. |
| 17 | Resurrection of Christ (Areopagus mockery); Evangelism; Universal Human Accountability; Providence | Paul at Athens; “unknown god” as positive apologetic model. |
| 18 | Reviewed — no new load-bearing doctrine. Continues Gospel and Evangelism themes established in chs. 13-17; Gallio’s tribunal echoes the Persecution and Bold Witness pattern lightly. | Explicitly noted per full-coverage mandate; no new glossary terms (see Core Glossary §D). |
| 19 | Holy Spirit and Pentecost (tongues at Ephesus); Spiritual Gifts; Apostolic Authority and Miracles (sons of Sceva) | Ephesian ministry; burning of magic scrolls. |
| 20 | Sanctification; Grace; Church as Community (elders); Atonement of Christ; Mutual Edification; Providence; Kingdom Mission | Farewell to the Ephesian elders; Acts 20:28 atonement language. |
| 21 | Reviewed — no new load-bearing doctrine. Continues Fulfillment of Prophecy/Inspiration of Scripture via Agabus’s prophecy and the established Spirit-guidance narrative pattern. | Explicitly noted per full-coverage mandate; no new glossary terms (see Core Glossary §D). |
| 22 | Repentance and Baptism; Conversion of Paul; Mission to the Nations; Persecution and Bold Witness | Paul’s defense before the Jerusalem crowd. |
| 23 | Resurrection of Christ (Sadducee/Pharisee dispute over general resurrection); Persecution and Bold Witness | Paul before the Sanhedrin. |
| 24 | Resurrection of Christ; Persecution and Bold Witness | Paul before Felix. |
| 25 | Reviewed — no new load-bearing doctrine. Legal-procedural narrative (appeal to Caesar) continuing chs. 22-24’s Persecution and Bold Witness theme. | Explicitly noted per full-coverage mandate; no new glossary terms (see Core Glossary §D). |
| 26 | Conversion of Paul; Resurrection of Christ; Sainthood; Adoption/Sanctification (inheritance among the sanctified); Christian Identity in Christ; Fulfillment of Prophecy | Paul before Agrippa; fullest retelling of his conversion. |
| 27 | Providence (extended shipwreck narrative); Thanksgiving | Paul’s voyage to Rome. |
| 28 | Great Commission Fulfilled; Kingdom Mission; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (closing declaration, 28:28); Thanksgiving; Mission to the Nations | Closing bookend to 1:8; final demonstration of the Commission’s fulfillment. |
This document must be loaded alongside assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json and assets/translation_memory.json before any Phase 2 segment translation. It extends, and does not contradict, the baseline Romans doctrine analysis.
Critical Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Czech name: Duch svatý a Letnice
Key terms: holy_spirit, filled_with_the_holy_spirit, tongues, pentecost, gift_of_the_holy_spirit, spiritual_gifts
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: this doctrine anchors the entire curriculum’s core passage. Two compounding risks unique to Czech secular literacy: (1) ‘Letnice’ itself has almost no cultural footprint, unlike Easter’s residual folk association with ‘vzkříšení’; and (2) ‘naplněn Duchem svatým’ has no everyday Czech category for being filled by a distinct divine person, risking either a blank non-reaction or a psychologized misreading as mere emotional excitement. Both the festival and the experience must be taught as new content, not merely named.
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Czech name: evangelium pro Židy i pohany
Key terms: gentiles, clean_unclean, god_fearer, no_partiality, circumcision, israel
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the narrative arc from Pentecost’s ‘all who are far off’ (2:39) through Cornelius (ch.10) to the Jerusalem Council (ch.15) to the book’s closing declaration (28:28) is the central plot of Acts. The specific risk for a Czech reader is not a live ethnic-religious rivalry to correct (as in some Language Packages) but the complete absence of a ritual-purity framework needed to understand WHY circumcision and clean/unclean categories were ever a live theological question; without this scaffolding, Acts 10-15 risks reading as an obscure historical dispute with no evident stakes.
Repentance and Baptism
Czech name: pokání a křest
Key terms: repentance, baptism, conversion, forgiveness_of_sins, sin
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: ‘pokání’ risks the same archaic-detachment fate as ‘spasení’ (a Kralice-tradition word with little live content for a secular reader) while ‘křest’ suffers the opposite problem — too MUCH familiarity, but of the wrong kind, as most secular Czechs default to the folk-cultural infant-christening association rather than an adult, repentance-linked, professing act. Both halves of this compound doctrine require active correction against different failure modes at every occurrence.
Conversion of Paul
Czech name: obrácení Pavla
Key terms: conversion, vision, election, repentance, the_way
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: this narrative compounds several already-Critical/High terms (repentance, election/vyvolení as ‘chosen instrument,’ baptism, the Way) into a single extended account that functions in Acts as the paradigmatic demonstration of grace transforming a religious persecutor apart from any merit of his own; a mistranslation at any point in the sequence (vision, blindness/sight imagery, baptism, commissioning) risks reducing the account to a psychological conversion story detached from its doctrinal function of proving salvation is by grace, not achievement.
Justification apart from the Law
Czech name: ospravedlnění bez zákona
Key terms: justification, law, grace, faith, circumcision
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 13:38-39 and 15:10-11 are Acts’ own explicit thesis statements for this doctrine and must use vocabulary IDENTICAL to Romans 3-4 for absolute cross-curriculum consistency, per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rules. Acts 15:11 alone compounds four Critical/High baseline terms (milost, víra, Pán, spasení) in a single clause. The everyday Czech sense of ‘ospravedlnění’ as excusing minor misconduct remains the default risk requiring active correction.
Atonement of Christ
Czech name: Kristovo smírné dílo
Key terms: purchased_with_blood, forgiveness_of_sins, savior
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL per the baseline’s own escalation rules for atonement/propitiation language. Acts 20:28’s redemption-price image (‘vykoupil svou vlastní krví’) must not be diluted into a vague metaphor for ‘great cost’ divorced from its specific sacrificial/substitutionary content; mandatory theologian review as with Romans 3:25.
Messianic Promise
Czech name: mesiášské zaslíbení
Key terms: messiah, davidic_covenant, seed_of_david
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Acts 2:36’s climactic ‘Pán a Mesiáš’ compounds this with the Lordship doctrine as the core passage’s theological center of gravity; requires foundational explanation of the entire Old Testament messianic-expectation background at every occurrence.
Deity of Christ
Czech name: božství Kristovo
Key terms: lord, son_of_god, son_of_man
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL. Reused from Romans baseline. Must not be softened to ‘a great moral teacher,’ a common secular-humanist framing of Jesus in non-religious Czech culture; Acts 7:56’s Son of Man vision compounds the risk since a secular reader’s intuitive misreading of that title (mere humanity) is the OPPOSITE of its intended divine-authority meaning.
Sonship of Christ
Czech name: synovství Kristovo
Key terms: son_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL. Reused from Romans baseline. Eternal, unique Sonship, not the adoptive ‘children of God’ sense applied to believers; basic Trinitarian categories need brief accompanying explanation given generally low background religious literacy.
Resurrection of Christ
Czech name: vzkříšení Kristovo
Key terms: resurrection
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL. Reused from Romans baseline. Acts 17:32 is a particularly important passage for this Language Package: sophisticated secular Athenians mock specifically the bodily-resurrection claim, not monotheism generally — a realistic model for the precise point at which contemporary secular Czech audiences are most likely to raise resistance. Acts 23-24 additionally expand the doctrine’s scope to a universal resurrection of both righteous and unrighteous, which must be taught as an addition to, not a replacement for, the specifically Christological resurrection emphasized at Pentecost.
Lordship of Christ
Czech name: Kristovo panství
Key terms: lord, messiah
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL. Reused from Romans baseline. Acts 2:36’s climactic compound title and Acts 16:31’s salvation formula both require the same explanatory-note treatment mandated for Romans 10:9, since capitalization of ‘Pán’ alone cannot reliably distinguish exclusive divine lordship from the everyday honorific ‘pane.‘
High Risk Doctrines
The Great Commission Fulfilled
Czech name: naplnění velkého poslání
Key terms: mission, gentiles, kingdom_of_god, the_way
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 1:8’s programmatic ‘až na konec země’ and Acts 28:31’s closing ‘bez jakékoli překážky’ bookend the entire book’s narrative structure and must receive the same verbatim cross-document consistency treatment the baseline gives Romans 1:16-17. ‘Misie’ carries a mild colonial/NGO-humanitarian connotation in contemporary secular Czech usage that must be distinguished from specifically gospel-proclamation content.
Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Czech name: apoštolská autorita a zázraky
Key terms: signs_and_wonders, power_of_god, laying_on_of_hands, spirit_of_divination, archegos
Review routing: Human theologian
The recurring formula ‘divy a znamení’ must function as a stable technical phrase throughout the whole curriculum; the primary Czech-specific risk is not doctrinal rivalry but readers treating these acts as generic entertainment-style ‘miracles’ (magic tricks) rather than God’s self-authenticating validation of apostolic proclamation — a secular audience has no default category for a miracle that carries evidential, message-confirming weight.
Persecution and Bold Witness
Czech name: pronásledování a smělé svědectví
Key terms: witness, boldness, sanhedrin, sin
Review routing: Human theologian
The ordinary Czech legal sense of ‘svědek’ is a rare HELPFUL bridge in this Language Package, conveying firsthand testable testimony well; the primary risk instead concerns ‘smělost/odvaha,’ which everyday Czech reads as an innate personality trait rather than a Spirit-produced fruit specifically tied to being filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31). Given secular Czech society’s general wariness of religious assertiveness, teaching material must also frame boldness as faithful proclamation, not confrontational aggression.
Ascension and Exaltation of Christ
Czech name: Kristovo nanebevstoupení a vyvýšení
Key terms: ascension, resurrection, lord
Review routing: Human theologian
No baseline equivalent exists; a secular Czech reader has no framework for treating a bodily ascent into heaven as historical fact rather than legend or metaphor. Must be actively distinguished from ‘vzkříšení’ (resurrection) as a separate, subsequent event, not a synonym or a poetic restatement of it.
Gospel
Czech name: evangelium
Key terms: gospel
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Acts uniquely stresses the verb form (εὐαγγελίζομαι, active ongoing proclamation across cultures) rather than only the noun; the term itself is stable but cannot be assumed to carry any inherited meaning and must be actively defined at each document’s first substantive use.
Divine Calling
Czech name: Boží povolání
Key terms: called, calling
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Acts 1:25’s ‘ministry and apostleship’ reinforces that ‘povolání’ overwhelmingly means one’s job or profession in ordinary Czech; God’s sovereign summons must be actively distinguished from this dominant secular-vocational sense.
Incarnation
Czech name: vtělení
Key terms: incarnation, seed_of_david
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Low competing secular meaning but also low pre-existing recognition; the underlying claim of real human nature assumed by the eternal Son must be taught as new content, not merely named.
Grace
Czech name: milost
Key terms: grace
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Acts 15:11 combines this with faith, Lordship, and salvation in a single clause requiring mandatory theologian review; Acts 4:33 additionally applies grace corporately to the whole community, an extension of the doctrine beyond individual salvation that should be flagged for teaching material.
Faith
Czech name: víra
Key terms: faith
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Personal trust in Christ specifically (Acts 16:31’s ‘Pán Ježíš’ as explicit object); secular Czech commonly uses ‘víra’ for generic belief or self-confidence with no religious referent assumed, requiring the object of faith to be made explicit at every occurrence.
Effectual Calling
Czech name: účinné povolání
Key terms: called, election
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. God’s sovereign call that ensures salvation of the called; Acts 9:15’s ‘chosen instrument’ and Acts 13:48’s ‘appointed to eternal life’ are concrete narrative embodiments requiring theologian review per the predestination-language escalation rule, distinguished from the secular-vocational sense of ‘povolání’ and the competitive-selection sense of ‘vyvolení.‘
Sanctification
Czech name: posvěcení
Key terms: sanctification, holy, inheritance_among_sanctified
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy; ‘posvěcení’ is otherwise mainly known in secular Czech as the ceremonial blessing of a building, a substantially narrower association that must be distinguished at every occurrence.
Sainthood (Called to be Holy)
Czech name: povolání ke svatosti
Key terms: saints
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Every persecuted believer is called ‘svatý’ in these passages; the Czech calendar’s continued marking of saints’ name days remains a folk-custom touchpoint detached from any live doctrine of corporate sainthood, requiring the concept to be taught as new content.
Universal Scope of the Gospel
Czech name: všeobecný dosah evangelia
Key terms: salvation, gentiles
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. No ethnic or national barrier to the gospel; retain unqualified universal language (‘každý, kdo vzývá jméno Páně’), foundational for a reader without prior assumptions about who the gospel is ‘for.‘
Universal Human Accountability
Czech name: všeobecná odpovědnost člověka
Key terms: sin
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. All humanity equally accountable before God and called to repent; must be built up against the colloquially weakened, low-stakes everyday use of ‘hřích’ (sin) as a mild idiom for ‘a shame’ or ‘a pity,’ the same risk documented in the baseline for Romans.
Christian Identity in Christ
Czech name: křesťanská identita v Kristu
Key terms: christian, the_way
Review routing: Human theologian
Reused from Romans baseline. Christ’s personal identification with his persecuted followers (‘why are you persecuting me?’, 9:4-5) and the first use of ‘Christian’ as a costly, decisive identity label (11:26) both require active teaching, since most secular Czech readers will bring no prior framework for religious identity at all, and may UNDERSHOOT the term’s force via its ordinary secular use as a cultural-heritage label.
Medium Risk Doctrines
Separation unto God’s Service
Czech name: oddělení pro Boží službu
Key terms: called, holy
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Low risk of syncretistic conflation; the primary risk is the concept of Spirit-directed commissioning being wholly unfamiliar rather than misapplied.
Inspiration of Scripture
Czech name: vdechnutí Písma
Key terms: prophet, prophecy
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Requires foundational explanation of what Scripture’s authority even claims to be, since general background familiarity with the Bible as a religious document cannot be assumed for a secular Czech reader.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Czech name: naplnění proroctví
Key terms: prophecy, messiah, davidic_covenant
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Linear historical fulfillment (Old Testament to Pentecost/church) requires substantial OT narrative background that cannot be assumed for a general secular readership; Acts 2:16’s Joel citation is the core passage’s central instance.
Humanity of Christ
Czech name: lidství Kristovo
Key terms: incarnation, seed_of_david
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Real physical human nature; low doctrinal risk, though should be taught alongside deity of Christ since basic Christology cannot be assumed as background.
Davidic Covenant
Czech name: Davidova smlouva
Key terms: david, seed_of_david, covenant
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Requires explicit Old Testament background (2 Samuel 7); no analogous concept assumed in general Czech culture. Peter’s and Paul’s typological arguments from Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 depend on this background being supplied.
Adoption into God’s Family
Czech name: přijetí za syny Boží
Key terms: adoption, inheritance_among_sanctified
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Lower explicit frequency in Acts than Romans 8, but present in Acts 26:18’s inheritance-among-the-sanctified imagery; the legal-adoption parallel (‘adopce’) remains well understood in modern secular Czech, but the specific theological content still needs explicit unpacking.
Peace with God
Czech name: pokoj s Bohem
Key terms: peace
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Relational, covenantal peace proclaimed through Christ (10:36) and experienced corporately by the church (9:31); distinguish from the everyday sense of ‘pokoj’ as mere quiet or absence of disturbance.
Prayer and Intercession
Czech name: modlitba a přímluva
Key terms: intercession
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. As in Romans, there is no strong live cultural competitor (no dominant saint-veneration or Marian-devotion practice in secular Czech society); the task is teaching what corporate and individual prayer/intercession mean at all, not correcting a rival framework.
Spiritual Gifts
Czech name: duchovní dary
Key terms: spiritual_gifts, tongues
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Acts gives this doctrine concrete narrative instances (tongues, prophecy) rather than Romans’ more abstract listing; the underlying concept of the Holy Spirit distributing gifts still needs foundational explanation for a secular audience.
Providence
Czech name: Boží prozřetelnost
Key terms: providence, determined_plan_foreknowledge, angel_of_the_lord
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Acts 27’s extended shipwreck narrative illustrates providence working through ordinary means (sailors’ skill, practical provisions), a useful expansion beyond Romans 8:28’s more compact statement; must avoid the fatalistic Czech secular framing of ‘osud’ (fate) or ‘štěstí’ (luck).
Mission to the Nations
Czech name: misie k národům
Key terms: mission, gentiles
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. ‘Misie’ may carry a mild historical/colonial-era or NGO-humanitarian connotation rather than a specifically gospel-proclamation sense in contemporary secular usage; Acts 1:8 and 13:1-3 are the book’s programmatic commissioning texts.
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Czech name: jednota Židů a pohanů
Key terms: gentiles, no_partiality, israel
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Must be translated with full theological clarity; no direct social-hierarchy analogue assumed in general secular Czech culture, though the doctrine carries pastoral weight given the Czech lands’ own complex Jewish history.
Evangelism
Czech name: evangelizace
Key terms: gospel, witness
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. In one of Europe’s most secular societies, active evangelism can be perceived with suspicion or as culturally intrusive; use language of proclamation, witness, and invitation rather than confrontational framing. Paul’s Areopagus approach (ch.17) is a positive model worth highlighting for teaching material.
Power of God for Salvation
Czech name: Boží moc ke spasení
Key terms: power_of_god, signs_and_wonders
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. Standard, unambiguous rendering; in Acts this doctrine is regularly demonstrated through the recurring ‘signs and wonders’ formula rather than stated abstractly as in Romans 1:16.
Kingdom Mission
Czech name: poslání království
Key terms: kingdom_of_god
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reused from Romans baseline. God’s reign advancing through the gospel despite imprisonment and opposition; Acts 1:6 depicts the disciples’ own mistaken political-nationalist expectation as a teaching foil, and Acts 28:31 closes the whole book on this term, guarding against the fairy-tale-kingdom association ‘království’ carries in general Czech usage.
The Church as Community
Czech name: církev jako společenství
Key terms: church, fellowship, elder_overseer_shepherd, sect
Review routing: Native speaker review
The new covenant community’s concrete daily practices (teaching, breaking of bread, prayers, radical economic sharing) give ‘církev’ founding historical content distinct from both the institutional sense of the word and the architectural/touristic association many secular readers bring to church buildings (‘kostel’). Local leadership terms (‘starší/dohlížitel/pastýř’ in ch.20) must avoid importing later, more hierarchical Roman Catholic institutional assumptions via ‘biskup.‘
Low Risk Doctrines
Apostleship
Czech name: apoštolství
Key terms: apostle
Review routing: Automated review
Reused from Romans baseline. Apoštol is stable and unambiguous; risk is unfamiliarity with the narrative role of the Twelve and Paul’s commissioning, not mistranslation.
Thanksgiving
Czech name: díkůvzdání
Key terms: thanksgiving
Review routing: Automated review
Reused from Romans baseline. Standard term; minimal risk.
Christian Fellowship
Czech name: bratrské společenství
Key terms: fellowship
Review routing: Automated review
Reused from Romans baseline. Shared participation in Christ; ‘společenství’ is a stable, low-risk modern Czech word for community, given concrete content in Acts 2’s description of the church’s daily life.
Mutual Edification
Czech name: vzájemné budování
Key terms: exhort
Review routing: Automated review
Reused from Romans baseline. Building one another up in faith through encouragement; no significant doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages