Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis — Acts 1–28 (English → French)
This document is the full doctrine matrix for the Acts curriculum, executed as PRD Phase 1 Steps 4–5. It is fully consistent with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json (same 29 doctrines, same risk tiers, same review routing) and extends it with (a) explicit full-book chapter coverage and (b) a consolidated “Translation Risk” rationale column for each doctrine, grounded in the French destination-language context established in the baseline Romans package and 08_core_glossary.md.
The core passage, Actes 2:1–41 (Pentecost and Peter’s sermon), is the theological anchor of the curriculum and carries the highest concentration of Critical-risk doctrine (Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Repentance; Baptism; Call on the Name of the Lord; Lordship of Christ). It is never treated as the scope boundary — every chapter of Acts is reviewed below.
Part 1 — Full-Book Chapter Coverage Checklist
Every chapter of Acts is accounted for. Chapters contributing no doctrine beyond what is already fully covered by an earlier chapter are marked “reviewed, no new doctrine-critical content.”
| Ch. | Narrative Content | Active Doctrines (registry keys) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ascension; promise of the Spirit; kingdom-of-God question; casting lots to replace Judas | great_commission_fulfilled, holy_spirit_and_pentecost (anticipatory), election_and_sovereign_choice, apostleship, apostolic_authority |
| 2 | Pentecost; tongues; Peter’s sermon; repentance/baptism call; 3,000 added; koinōnia community | holy_spirit_and_pentecost, tongues_and_xenolalia, gift_of_the_holy_spirit, inspiration_and_fulfillment_of_prophecy, repentance, baptism, forgiveness_of_sins, call_on_the_name_of_the_lord, lordship_of_christ, messianic_promise, resurrection_of_christ, church_as_community, prayer_and_thanksgiving |
| 3 | Healing of the lame man; Peter’s temple sermon | apostolic_authority, miracles_signs_and_wonders, messianic_promise, repentance, forgiveness_of_sins |
| 4 | Peter and John before the council; prayer for boldness; believers share possessions | apostolic_authority, persecution_and_bold_witness, church_as_community, prayer_and_thanksgiving |
| 5 | Ananias and Sapphira; apostolic signs; arrest; Gamaliel’s counsel | church_as_community, miracles_signs_and_wonders, persecution_and_bold_witness, apostolic_authority |
| 6 | Selection of the Seven; Stephen accused | church_leadership_and_office, persecution_and_bold_witness |
| 7 | Stephen’s speech; vision of the Son of Man; martyrdom | deity_and_sonship_of_christ, persecution_and_bold_witness, inspiration_and_fulfillment_of_prophecy |
| 8 | Scattering; Philip in Samaria; Simon Magus; the Ethiopian eunuch | gentile_inclusion_in_the_gospel, miracles_signs_and_wonders, gift_of_the_holy_spirit, persecution_and_bold_witness |
| 9 | Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus; Ananias; Saul preaching | conversion_of_paul, election_and_sovereign_choice, deity_and_sonship_of_christ |
| 10 | Cornelius; Peter’s vision; the Gentile Pentecost | unity_of_jews_and_gentiles, gentile_inclusion_in_the_gospel, gift_of_the_holy_spirit, universal_scope_of_the_gospel, lordship_of_christ |
| 11 | Report to Jerusalem; the church at Antioch; believers first called “Christians” | gentile_inclusion_in_the_gospel, unity_of_jews_and_gentiles, church_as_community |
| 12 | Herod’s persecution; James’s death; Peter’s angelic deliverance | persecution_and_bold_witness, providence, apostolic_authority |
| 13 | Paul at Pisidian Antioch; synagogue sermon; justification proclamation | justification_apart_from_the_law, messianic_promise, mission_to_the_nations, great_commission_fulfilled |
| 14 | Lystra and Iconium; “living God” apologetic; elders appointed | miracles_signs_and_wonders, church_leadership_and_office, mission_to_the_nations |
| 15 | The Jerusalem Council | grace_versus_law_jerusalem_council, justification_apart_from_the_law, unity_of_jews_and_gentiles |
| 16 | The Philippian jailer; household baptism; spirit of divination; Roman citizenship | baptism, call_on_the_name_of_the_lord, miracles_signs_and_wonders, apostolic_authority |
| 17 | The Areopagus address; mockery of the resurrection | great_commission_fulfilled, mission_to_the_nations, resurrection_of_christ, universal_scope_of_the_gospel |
| 18 | Corinth; tentmaking; Gallio’s tribunal | apostolic_authority, mission_to_the_nations |
| 19 | Ephesus; disciples of John rebaptized; sons of Sceva; the riot | baptism, gift_of_the_holy_spirit, miracles_signs_and_wonders, apostolic_authority |
| 20 | Miletus farewell address; elders warned; providence affirmed | church_leadership_and_office, providence, persecution_and_bold_witness |
| 21 | Nazirite-vow purification; arrest in the temple | repentance (contextual boundary case — see note below), persecution_and_bold_witness |
| 22 | Paul’s defense before the crowd; conversion retold; baptism referenced | conversion_of_paul, baptism, call_on_the_name_of_the_lord |
| 23 | Before the Sanhedrin; Sadducee/Pharisee resurrection dispute | resurrection_of_christ, persecution_and_bold_witness |
| 24 | Before Felix; faith, self-control, and judgment to come | resurrection_of_christ, persecution_and_bold_witness — reviewed; no doctrine beyond ch.23’s resurrection dispute and the persecution theme already covered; self-control/judgment-to-come are teaching-note items, not registry doctrines |
| 25 | Before Festus; appeal to Caesar | apostolic_authority, providence — reviewed; no new doctrine beyond ch.16/20/27 providence and apostolic-authority coverage |
| 26 | Before Agrippa; conversion retold; heavenly vision; power of Satan | conversion_of_paul, election_and_sovereign_choice, resurrection_of_christ, messianic_promise |
| 27 | The shipwreck; the angel’s assurance | providence — reviewed; consistent with, not additive to, ch.12/20 providence coverage |
| 28 | Arrival in Rome; the viper; preaching “without hindrance” | great_commission_fulfilled, providence, mission_to_the_nations |
Note on Chapter 21: the Nazirite-purification vow (21:23–26) is a voluntary cultural/ceremonial practice, not an instance of Acts’ gospel-repentance doctrine, and must not be taught as though it reopens the Jerusalem Council’s settled question (ch.15) of whether such observance is required for salvation. Flagged for native speaker review to keep this distinction clear in lesson material.
Part 2 — Full Doctrine Matrix
Risk tiers and review routing are identical to assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json. “Translation Risk” summarizes the grounded, French-specific rationale for the assigned tier.
| # | Doctrine | Primary Passages (Actes) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 1:5,8; 2:1-4; 2:16-18; 2:33; 2:38-39 | Critical | ”La Pentecôte” is an emptied-of-content secular public holiday in France; Catholic Confirmation catechesis’s fixed “sept dons du Saint-Esprit” (Isaiah 11 list) is a different category from Acts’ charismata and risks conflation; Renouveau charismatique and evangelical/Pentecostal readers attach different expectations to “être rempli de l’Esprit.” | Human theologian |
| 2 | Tongues as Known Human Languages (Xenolalia) | 2:4; 2:6-11; 10:46; 19:6 | High | Risk of collapsing Acts 2’s verified, known-language phenomenon (confirmed by the diaspora hearer-list) into the later, distinct ecstatic-glossolalia debate live in French Renouveau/Pentecostal circles; a flattened rendering could inadvertently settle a contested pastoral-practice question. | Human theologian |
| 3 | The Gift of the Holy Spirit | 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17 | High | Must not be confused with baseline plural “dons spirituels,” nor with the Catholic catechetical “sept dons du Saint-Esprit” tied to Confirmation — a distinct, unrelated category. | Human theologian |
| 4 | Inspiration and Fulfillment of Prophecy | 2:16-21; 3:18; 3:24; 13:27; 15:15-18 | Medium | Low OT/prophetic literacy in secular France; “derniers jours” risks a future-apocalyptic-only reading (French popular media framing) rather than Peter’s already-inaugurated eschatological claim. | Native speaker review |
| 5 | Repentance | 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20 | Critical | French Catholic tradition ties “repentance” to the sacrament of Penance (“faire pénitence,” confession, absolution); Acts’ metanoia is Spirit-wrought and prior to/apart from sacramental mediation; “faire pénitence” is an absolutely forbidden substitution. | Human theologian |
| 6 | Baptism | 2:38,41; 8:36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 19:1-6; 22:16 | Critical | Sits directly on the Reformation-era Catholic/Protestant fault line (sacramental regeneration vs. sign/seal of prior faith); household-baptism passages (16:15,33) also engage the live French ecumenical paedobaptism/believer’s-baptism debate. | Human theologian |
| 7 | Forgiveness of Sins | 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18 | High | The Catholic liturgical/Creed phrase “la rémission des péchés” carries stronger sacramental-mediation overtones than “le pardon”; using the liturgical variant risks implying priestly absolution is the mechanism. | Human theologian |
| 8 | Calling on the Name of the Lord | 2:21; 22:16 | Critical | Direct verbal echo of Romans 10:13 (same Joel 2:32 citation); the “quiconque” (whoever) universal scope must match this curriculum’s Romans-package precedent exactly, per theological-consistency rules. | Human theologian |
| 9 | Justification apart from the Law | 13:38-39; 15:10-11 | Critical | Acts 13:38-39 is the clearest Acts echo of the Trent-vs-Reformation forensic/infused flashpoint already documented for baseline “justification”; “quiconque croit est justifié” must retain declared, forensic status. | Human theologian |
| 10 | Grace versus Law (Jerusalem Council) | 15:1-11; 15:19-21,28-29 | Critical | Narrative climax settling the circumcision/Law question for Gentiles; French “décret” risks conflation with Catholic “dogme” (fixed universal doctrine) rather than a specific pastoral ruling. | Human theologian |
| 11 | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 10:1-48; 11:1-18; 15:1-29 | High | France’s significant Jewish community requires the pur/impur dietary-boundary language of Peter’s vision not be reduced to hygiene preference; it is a now-abolished salvation-historical boundary marker. | Human theologian |
| 12 | Gentile Inclusion in the Gospel | 8:4-40; 10:1-11:18; 13:46-48; 15:7-11 | High | ”Païens” carries a stronger pejorative charge in modern French than the neutral biblical sense; the Samaritan→eunuch→God-fearer→Gentile progression must retain covenant-fulfillment force, not read as generic multicultural inclusiveness. | Human theologian |
| 13 | Universal Scope of the Gospel | 2:21; 2:39; 17:30 | High | ”Tous ceux qui sont au loin” and “quiconque” must retain full, unqualified universality, matching the no-softening standard already fixed for Romans 3:23/10:12-13. | Human theologian |
| 14 | The Church as Community | 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 11:26 | High | ”Tout en commun” risks a modern French political (“communisme,” “collectivisation”) reading rather than Spirit-generated voluntary generosity; “chrétien” risks the merely nominal, cultural-baptismal identity common in secularizing France. | Human theologian |
| 15 | Church Leadership and Office | 6:1-6; 14:23; 20:17,28 | High | Rendering episkopos as “évêque” or the Seven’s service as ordained “diacre” anachronistically imports the later, hierarchically distinct Catholic Holy-Orders offices into Acts’ functional, pre-institutional leadership. | Human theologian |
| 16 | Apostolic Authority | 1:2,8,21-26; 4:12; 5:12-16; 16:37-39 | High | Acts 4:12’s exclusivity claim (“salvation in no one else”) must never soften toward pluralism in France’s religiously plural, laïque public discourse. | Human theologian |
| 17 | Miracles, Signs, and Wonders | 2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:9-24; 14:3; 15:12; 16:16-18; 19:11-20 | High | ”Miracle” carries strong Catholic hagiographic connotations (Lourdes, canonization) risking a devotional miracle-cult association; must be sharply distinguished from occult “magie/sorcellerie” and France’s astrology/“voyance” market. | Human theologian |
| 18 | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 6:8-7:60; 8:1-3; 12:1-19 | High | French “témoin” is primarily a courtroom/legal term, risking a flattened eyewitness-report reading rather than costly, Spirit-empowered proclamation under threat; “assurance” for boldness risks an insurance/self-confidence reading. | Human theologian |
| 19 | Conversion of Paul | 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:9-18 | High | French secular “conversion” (currency-conversion; generic religious-switching) risks flattening Paul’s Spirit-wrought, once-for-all reorientation; “la Voie” risks being heard through the contemporary “voie spirituelle” (New Age/self-help) marketplace. | Human theologian |
| 20 | Deity and Sonship of Christ | 7:56; 9:20 | Critical | ”Fils de l’homme” (Stephen’s dying vision, echoing Daniel 7) risks sounding like mere-humanity emphasis to readers unfamiliar with Daniel, rather than the exalted divine-authority title it is, at the moment of the first Christian martyrdom. | Human theologian |
| 21 | Lordship of Christ | 2:34-36; 10:36; 16:31 | Critical | Acts 2:36’s climactic “Seigneur et Christ” is this curriculum’s core-passage Christological hinge; “Seigneur” carries feudal-historical resonance risking a distant, archaic-title reading, and “Christ” as an established French proper-name element risks losing its Messiah-title force unless explicitly glossed. | Human theologian |
| 22 | Resurrection of Christ | 2:24-32; 4:33; 13:30-37; 17:31-32; 23:6-8; 26:23 | Medium | Chief risk remains secular naturalism flattening “résurrection” into a metaphor of renewal rather than a historical, bodily claim; the Sadducee/Pharisee dispute (23:6-8) is a useful teaching anchor for the claim’s contested historicity. | Native speaker review |
| 23 | Messianic Promise | 2:29-31; 3:18-24; 13:22-23,32-33; 26:6-7 | High | The specific Jewish OT concept fulfilled exclusively in Jesus must not flatten into a generic wise-teacher figure, a live drift risk given low OT literacy among a biblically illiterate secular French readership. | Human theologian |
| 24 | Election and Sovereign Choice | 1:24-26; 9:15 | High | French “élection” is the everyday word for political/democratic elections, risking a competitive or merit-based reading of both the apostles’ lot-casting and God’s naming of Saul; “tirer au sort” further risks a pure-chance/lottery reading. | Human theologian |
| 25 | Providence | 2:23; 4:28; 20:27; 27:23-25 | High | Elevated above the Romans baseline’s Medium rating because Acts repeatedly stages providence as a dramatic, contested claim (the cross; the shipwreck) rather than background pastoral comfort; French Enlightenment-deist usage of “la Providence” as an impersonal benevolent order remains the live risk. | Human theologian |
| 26 | The Great Commission Fulfilled | 1:8; 13:47; 17:22-31; 28:23,31 | Medium | France’s colonial missionary history carries live postcolonial critique in contemporary French theological discourse; the climactic “sans empêchement” (28:31) risks a flat, bureaucratic rendering if not tied back to the book’s established providence force. | Native speaker review |
| 27 | Mission to the Nations | 13:1-3; 14:8-18; 17:16-34; 18:1-11 | Medium | Frame Paul’s cross-cultural apologetic (Lystra, Athens) as gospel proclamation engaging genuine religious longing, not cultural conquest, given the colonial-mission postcolonial critique already flagged for “mission” generally. | Native speaker review |
| 28 | Apostleship | 1:2,21-26; 14:4,14 | Low | Stable, established term across French Bible traditions; minimal risk of reduction to a generic teacher role, consistent with the Romans baseline. | Automated review |
| 29 | Prayer and Thanksgiving | 1:14; 2:42; 4:24-31; 12:5; 16:25 | Low | Standard, stable vocabulary shared across Catholic and Protestant French traditions; minor overlap with the Eucharistic “action de grâce,” already noted in the baseline. | Automated review |
Part 3 — Risk Summary (must match doctrine_risk_registry.json exactly)
| Tier | Count |
|---|---|
| Critical | 8 |
| High | 15 |
| Medium | 4 |
| Low | 2 |
| Total doctrines | 29 |
| Total requiring human theologian review | 23 |
| Total requiring native speaker review | 4 |
| Total requiring automated review only | 2 |
Part 4 — Notes on Doctrines Elevated or Adjusted Relative to the Romans Baseline
- Holy Spirit and Pentecost: elevated from the Romans baseline’s Medium to Critical for this curriculum. The Spirit’s personhood, outpouring, and empowerment for witness is the doctrinal center of Acts (not a secondary theme as in Romans), and the core passage (Acts 2:1-41) is Pentecost itself.
- Lordship of Christ: elevated from the Romans baseline’s High to Critical for this curriculum, because Acts 2:36 (“Seigneur et Christ”) is the Christological hinge of the core passage and functions in Acts as the climactic confession Romans 10:9 states propositionally.
- Providence: elevated from the Romans baseline’s Medium to High, because Acts stages providence dramatically and repeatedly (the cross, Paul’s shipwreck) rather than as background pastoral comfort.
- Election and Sovereign Choice: retained at High (consistent with Romans baseline’s “election” entry), extended into the new compound term “instrument choisi” for Acts 9:15.
- Resurrection of Christ and Great Commission Fulfilled / Mission to the Nations: retained at the Romans baseline’s Medium tier; Acts adds narrative-historical anchors (the Sadducee/Pharisee dispute, ch.23; the book’s “sans empêchement” ending, ch.28) but does not change the underlying risk calculus.
Critical Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
French name: l’Esprit Saint et la Pentecôte
Key terms: holy_spirit, pentecost, pour_out_spirit, gift_of_holy_spirit, tongues_pentecost
Review routing: Human theologian
French charismatic-Catholic (Renouveau) and Pentecostal-evangelical readers both use ‘être remplis de l’Esprit’ but attach different theological expectations to it (private prayer experience vs. public, verifiable, cross-cultural proclamation); Confirmation catechesis’s fixed ‘sept dons du Saint-Esprit’ category further risks conflation with the singular gift-of-the-Spirit language; ‘la Pentecôte’ is a secular public holiday in France with little remembered doctrinal content.
Repentance
French name: la repentance
Key terms: repentance
Review routing: Human theologian
French Catholic tradition ties ‘repentance’ strongly to the sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation (‘faire pénitence,’ confession to a priest, absolution). Acts’ metanoia is a Spirit-wrought inward reorientation prior to and apart from sacramental mediation and must never be rendered ‘faire pénitence.‘
Baptism
French name: le baptême
Key terms: baptism
Review routing: Human theologian
Recurs at the exact Catholic/Protestant Reformation-era fault line over baptismal efficacy (sacramental ex opere operato regeneration vs. sign/seal of prior repentant faith); the household-baptism passages (16:15,33) additionally engage the live French ecumenical paedobaptism/believer’s-baptism debate among Catholic, Reformed, and Baptist-evangelical readers of this curriculum.
Calling on the Name of the Lord
French name: invoquer le nom du Seigneur
Key terms: call_on_name_of_lord, lord, salvation
Review routing: Human theologian
Direct verbal echo of Romans 10:13 (same Joel 2:32 citation); the universal ‘quiconque’ (whoever) scope must be rendered identically to this curriculum’s Romans-package precedent, per the theological consistency rules, and never narrowed by qualification.
Justification apart from the Law
French name: la justification indépendante de la Loi
Key terms: justification, imputed_righteousness, law, faith
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 13:38-39 is the single clearest Acts echo of the Trent-vs-Reformation forensic/infused flashpoint already documented in the baseline; ‘quiconque croit est justifié’ must retain the declared, forensic status sense, not a gradual sacramental-grace process.
Grace versus Law (Jerusalem Council)
French name: la grâce et la Loi (concile de Jérusalem)
Key terms: grace, law, circumcision, decree
Review routing: Human theologian
Narrative climax settling whether Gentile believers must be circumcised/keep the Law to be saved; French ‘décret’ risks conflation with Catholic ‘dogme’ (a fixed, binding universal doctrine) rather than being understood as the Council’s specific pastoral ruling that deliberately sets the ceremonial Law aside while retaining moral expectations.
Deity and Sonship of Christ
French name: la divinité et la filiation du Christ
Key terms: son_of_god, son_of_man, holy
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Fils de l’homme’ (Stephen’s dying vision, echoing Daniel 7) risks being heard by French readers unfamiliar with Daniel as merely emphasizing Jesus’ ordinary humanity (‘a son of humanity’) rather than the exalted, divine-authority title it actually is, at the moment of the first Christian martyrdom.
Lordship of Christ
French name: la seigneurie du Christ
Key terms: lord, christ_title, messiah
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 2:36’s climactic ‘Seigneur et Christ’ is this curriculum’s core-passage Christological hinge, warranting elevation above the baseline’s High rating to Critical; ‘Seigneur’ still carries feudal-historical resonance in French (‘le seigneur du château’), risking a distant, archaic-title reading, and ‘Christ’ as an established French name/title risks being heard as merely part of Jesus’ proper name rather than ‘the Messiah’ unless explicitly glossed.
High Risk Doctrines
Tongues as Known Human Languages (Xenolalia)
French name: les langues comme langues humaines connues (xénolalie)
Key terms: tongues_pentecost
Review routing: Human theologian
Risk of conflating Acts 2’s verified, known human languages (confirmed by the diaspora hearer-list, 2:9-11) with the later, distinct ecstatic/unintelligible glossolalia debated in French Renouveau charismatique and Pentecostal-evangelical circles — a live pastoral-practice fault line that a flattened translation could inadvertently settle one way or the other.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
French name: le don de l’Esprit Saint
Key terms: gift_of_holy_spirit, spiritual_gifts
Review routing: Human theologian
The singular gift of the Spirit’s own indwelling presence must not be confused with baseline’s plural ‘dons spirituels,’ nor with French Catholic catechesis on Confirmation’s fixed ‘sept dons du Saint-Esprit’ (from Isaiah 11), a distinct catechetical category unrelated to this conversion-moment gift.
Forgiveness of Sins
French name: le pardon des péchés
Key terms: forgiveness_of_sins, sin
Review routing: Human theologian
The Catholic liturgical/Creed phrase ‘la rémission des péchés’ carries stronger sacramental-mediation overtones than ‘le pardon’; using the liturgical variant risks implying priestly absolution is the mechanism, rather than Christ’s finished work received by faith.
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
French name: l’unité des Juifs et des païens
Key terms: clean_unclean, gentiles, israel, god_fearer, proselyte
Review routing: Human theologian
Given France’s history and significant Jewish community, the pur/impur dietary-boundary language of Peter’s vision must not be reduced to hygiene preference; it functions as the salvation-historical boundary marker now abolished in Christ, per the baseline’s existing caution on this doctrine.
Gentile Inclusion in the Gospel
French name: l’inclusion des païens dans l’Évangile
Key terms: gentiles, samaritans, eunuch, god_fearer, the_way
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Païens’ carries a stronger pejorative ‘uncivilized/irreligious’ charge in modern French than the neutral biblical sense; the progressive widening from Samaritans to eunuch to God-fearer to full Gentile must retain its salvation-historical force, not read as a generic multicultural-inclusiveness narrative divorced from covenant fulfillment.
Universal Scope of the Gospel
French name: la portée universelle de l’Évangile
Key terms: call_on_name_of_lord, promise, gentiles
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Tous ceux qui sont au loin’ and ‘quiconque’ must retain full, unqualified universality; per the baseline’s escalation rule this doctrine requires the same no-softening standard already fixed for Romans 3:23/10:12-13.
The Church as Community
French name: l’Église comme communauté
Key terms: church, fellowship, all_things_common, one_heart_soul, added_to_number, christian
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Tout en commun’ risks being read through modern French secular-political vocabulary (‘communisme,’ ‘collectivisation’) as an economic program rather than Spirit-generated voluntary generosity; ‘chrétien’ itself risks the merely nominal, baptismal-certificate cultural identity common in secularizing France, unlike Acts’ living, costly conviction.
Church Leadership and Office
French name: le ministère et les responsables de l’Église
Key terms: elders, overseer_elder_shepherd, deacon_service
Review routing: Human theologian
Rendering episkopos as ‘évêque’ would anachronistically import the later, hierarchically distinct Catholic episcopal office (bishop, successor of the apostles, ordained within Holy Orders); ‘diacre’ likewise now denotes an ordained clerical office unknown to Acts 6’s functional table-service ministry. Both must be rendered with non-anachronistic terms.
Apostolic Authority
French name: l’autorité apostolique
Key terms: apostle, name_of_jesus, roman_citizen, tentmaker
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 4:12 (‘there is salvation in no one else’) is an exclusivity claim that must never be softened toward a pluralistic reading in France’s religiously plural, laïque public discourse.
Miracles, Signs, and Wonders
French name: les signes et prodiges
Key terms: signs_and_wonders, sorcery_magic, spirit_of_divination
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Miracle’ carries strong Catholic hagiographic connotations (Lourdes, canonization) in ordinary French, risking a devotional miracle-cult association; ‘signes et prodiges’ must be used consistently to keep the emphasis on divine authentication of the apostolic gospel message, sharply distinct from occult ‘magie/sorcellerie’ and France’s continuing astrology/‘voyance’ market.
Persecution and Bold Witness
French name: la persécution et le témoignage courageux
Key terms: witness, boldness, persecution, stoning, blasphemy, council_sanhedrin, son_of_man
Review routing: Human theologian
French ‘témoin’ is primarily a courtroom/legal term in ordinary usage, risking a flattened, dispassionate eyewitness-report reading rather than costly, Spirit-empowered proclamation under threat of suffering; ‘assurance’ for boldness risks the ordinary French senses of ‘insurance’ or self-confident psychological certainty rather than Spirit-given courage.
Conversion of Paul
French name: la conversion de Paul
Key terms: the_way, conversion, chosen_instrument, heavenly_vision, power_of_satan
Review routing: Human theologian
French secular usage of ‘conversion’ (currency ‘taux de conversion,’ ‘se convertir à’ as generic religious-switching) risks flattening Paul’s Spirit-wrought, Christ-centered, once-for-all reorientation into a mere change of religious affiliation; ‘la Voie’ risks being heard through the contemporary spiritual marketplace’s ‘voie spirituelle’ (New Age, self-help) rather than the exclusive way of salvation the term names.
Messianic Promise
French name: la promesse messianique
Key terms: messiah, christ_title, seed_of_david, covenant
Review routing: Human theologian
The specific Jewish OT concept fulfilled exclusively in Jesus must not be flattened into a generic wise-teacher figure, a live drift risk given low OT literacy among a biblically illiterate secular French readership, per baseline.
Election and Sovereign Choice
French name: l’élection et le choix souverain de Dieu
Key terms: election, chosen_instrument
Review routing: Human theologian
French ‘élection’ is the everyday word for political/democratic elections, risking a competitive or merit-based reading of both the apostles’ casting of lots and God’s naming of Saul as a ‘chosen instrument’; ‘tirer au sort’ (draw lots) further risks a pure-chance/lottery reading unless explicitly framed as God’s sovereign selection.
Providence
French name: la providence
Key terms: foreknowledge_plan, angel, providence
Review routing: Human theologian
Elevated above the baseline’s Medium rating for this curriculum because Acts repeatedly stages providence as a dramatic, contested claim (the cross, ch.2; Paul’s shipwreck survival, ch.27) rather than a background pastoral comfort; French Enlightenment-deist usage of ‘la Providence’ as an impersonal benevolent order remains the live risk the rendering must resist, per baseline.
Medium Risk Doctrines
Inspiration and Fulfillment of Prophecy
French name: l’inspiration et l’accomplissement de la prophétie
Key terms: prophecy, prophet, last_days, day_of_the_lord
Review routing: Native speaker review
Low OT/prophetic literacy among secular French readers; ‘derniers jours’ risks a merely future-apocalyptic reading drawn from French popular media culture, rather than the already-inaugurated eschatological age Peter proclaims at Pentecost.
Resurrection of Christ
French name: la résurrection du Christ
Key terms: resurrection, hades
Review routing: Native speaker review
Chief risk remains secular naturalism flattening ‘résurrection’ into a metaphor of renewal rather than a historical, bodily claim, per baseline; the explicit Sadducee/Pharisee dispute (23:6-8) offers a helpful teaching anchor for the historical, contested nature of the claim.
The Great Commission Fulfilled
French name: l’accomplissement de la Grande Mission
Key terms: mission, without_hindrance, light_to_gentiles, areopagus, kingdom_of_god
Review routing: Native speaker review
France’s colonial missionary history (missions catholiques coloniales) carries live postcolonial critique in contemporary French theological discourse; the book’s climactic ‘sans empêchement’ (28:31) risks a flat, bureaucratic rendering if not tied back to the sovereign-providence force established across the book.
Mission to the Nations
French name: la mission auprès des nations
Key terms: synagogue, living_god, unknown_god, gentiles
Review routing: Native speaker review
Frame Paul’s cross-cultural apologetic (Lystra, Athens) as gospel proclamation engaging genuine religious longing, not cultural conquest, given the colonial-mission postcolonial critique already noted for the mission term generally.
Low Risk Doctrines
Apostleship
French name: l’apostolat
Key terms: apostle
Review routing: Automated review
Stable, established term across French Bible traditions; minimal risk of reduction to a generic teacher role, consistent with the baseline.
Prayer and Thanksgiving
French name: la prière et l’action de grâce
Key terms: exhort, thanksgiving
Review routing: Automated review
Standard, stable vocabulary shared across Catholic and Protestant French traditions; minor overlap with the Eucharistic ‘action de grâce,’ already noted in the baseline.