Doctrine Analysis
11 Doctrine Analysis — Acts (Apostelgeschichte)
Purpose
This document provides the complete doctrine matrix for the book of Acts (chapters 1–28), extending the Romans/Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Matthew/Mark/Luke/John baseline into the Acts curriculum. Every doctrine, risk tier, and review-routing decision below is identical to the corresponding entry in doctrine_risk_registry.json (version 1). This document exists to give reviewers a readable, chapter-sequenced narrative companion to that machine-readable registry — it does not introduce new tiers or new doctrines beyond what the registry already fixes.
Per the Phase 1 full-book-coverage mandate, every chapter of Acts (1–28) is represented below, either as the primary location of a doctrine or as a cross-referenced continuation of a doctrine anchored elsewhere. No chapter is silently omitted.
Core passage weighting: Acts 2:1-41 (Pentecost and Peter’s sermon) receives verse-level treatment, consistent with its status as this curriculum’s theological anchor. The doctrine matrix below nonetheless spans the entire book, per the hard rule governing this curriculum.
Risk Tier Definitions (unchanged from baseline)
| Tier | Definition | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Mistranslation alters or destroys essential doctrine. | Human theologian, every occurrence |
| High | Mistranslation creates significant theological confusion or denominational-conflation risk. | Human theologian |
| Medium | Mistranslation reduces clarity but preserves essential meaning. | Native speaker review recommended |
| Low | Mistranslation causes minor misunderstanding or imprecision. | Automated review sufficient |
Doctrine Matrix, by Chapter/Section
Acts 1 — The Ascension, the Mandate, and the Apostolic Office
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ascension and the Commission Mandate | 1:1-11 | High | Continues the fixed Luke 24:51 ascension doctrine and Matthew 28:19 baptismal formula. The disciples’ political misunderstanding of “kingdom” (1:6) risks importing either a nationalist-political or speculative-Endzeit reading into “Reich Gottes” if not framed carefully. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Succession: The Replacement of Judas | 1:12-26 | Medium | ”Amt” (office, ἐπισκοπή) must not be over-translated toward “Bischofsamt” at this early, fluid narrative stage — that fully institutionalized office is anachronistic here and is reserved for the Acts 20 ἐπίσκοπος discussion. | Native speaker review |
Acts 2 — Pentecost and Peter’s Sermon (CORE PASSAGE, verse-level detail)
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2:1-41 (core); 1:4-5, 8; 4:31; 8:14-17; 10:44-48; 19:1-6 | Critical | THE curriculum’s core doctrine. “Zungenrede” is forbidden for 2:3-4, 6, 8, 11 — that German word carries a specific, confessionally contested contemporary Pentecostal/charismatic association (ecstatic, unintelligible speech) absent from this narrative of real, known human languages. Use “in anderen Sprachen.” The aorist “wurden erfüllt” (2:4, completed historical event) must also be distinguished in teaching material from the Ephesians 5:18 ongoing-imperative “lasst euch…erfüllen.” | Human theologian |
| The Gift of Tongues and Intelligible Proclamation | 2:1-13 | Critical | Single highest-density German-specific risk in this package. The miracle is intelligible known human language, not ecstatic unintelligible speech. Mandatory theologian review given the doctrinal weight of this distinction for a mixed Landeskirche/Freikirche/Pentecostal audience. Verse 3’s “tongues of fire” (feuerartige Zungen) sets up a deliberate wordplay with v.4’s “tongues [languages]” that must survive translation. | Human theologian |
| Peter’s Pentecost Sermon: Messianic Fulfillment | 2:14-36 | Critical | Verse 21 must match the already-fixed Romans 10:13 wording exactly (verbatim cross-document consistency rule). Verse 23’s “determined plan and foreknowledge of God” must retain human moral responsibility for the crucifixion and requires the same historical-sensitivity framing already mandated for Matthew 27:25, since this audience is explicitly Jewish. Verse 36’s “Herr und Christus” confession requires the same theologian-review discipline as Romans 10:9. | Human theologian |
| Repentance and Baptism | 2:37-41 (core); see also 3:19, 8:12, 36-38, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:15, 33, 17:30, 18:8, 19:1-5, 22:16, 26:20 | Critical | Newly established Critical-risk term (“Taufe”) for this curriculum. Verse 38’s εἰς-ambiguity (baptism as instrumental cause vs. sign of already-granted forgiveness) must not be silently resolved in translation. Verse 39 (“to you, your children, and all who are far off”) is cited on both sides of the German Kindertaufe/Gläubigentaufe divide and must be presented with transparent exegetical neutrality. Verse 37’s “cut to the heart” must preserve piercing intensity, not flatten to mild “betroffen sein.” | Human theologian |
| The Church as Community | 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 6:1-7 | High | ”Alles gemeinsam haben” (2:44-45) risks resonance with DDR-era socialist collectivization or Nazi-era “Volksgemeinschaft” rhetoric (already flagged under baseline “Gemeinschaft”). Must be taught as voluntary, love-motivated, historically specific to the earliest Jerusalem church — never a normative economic mandate. | Human theologian |
Acts 3 — Healing at the Temple and Peter’s Second Sermon
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ as Author and Prince of Life | 3:12-16; 5:31 | Critical | Deity-adjacent Christological titles (“der Heilige und Gerechte”; “der Urheber/Fürst des Lebens”) requiring the same theologian-review discipline as Colossians’ “image of the invisible God.” No single German word captures both founder/source and pioneering-leader senses of ἀρχηγός simultaneously. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 3:1-16 (see full-book entry below) | Critical | See consolidated entry under Acts 3-5, 6, 8-9, 14-15, 19-20, 28. | Human theologian |
| The Promised Restoration of All Things | 3:19-21 | Medium | ”Wiederherstellung (aller Dinge)” must be distinguished from the later, disputed technical doctrine of universal salvation (“Apokatastasis” in scholarly literature) — a narrower, controversial claim this text does not itself make. | Native speaker review |
Acts 4 — Peter and John Before the Council
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:1-31 (and throughout the book — see consolidated entry below) | Critical | ”Parrēsia” (Freimut/Freimütigkeit, 4:13, 29, 31) has no single German equivalent capturing confident-speech-plus-fearlessness; must never suggest natural personality-driven assertiveness detached from Spirit-empowering. | Human theologian |
| Salvation Exclusivity: No Other Name | 4:8-12 | Critical | Parallels the fixed John 14:6 exclusivity claim; requires identical pastoral/interfaith sensitivity framing given Germany’s religious pluralism, combined with the existing Rettung/Heil discipline. | Human theologian |
Acts 5 — Ananias and Sapphira; Renewed Persecution
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit’s Deity and the Purity of the Church | 5:1-11 | High | The narrative explicitly equates lying to the Spirit with lying to God (5:3-4), reinforcing the Spirit’s personal deity — must be drawn out explicitly in teaching material since the plain phrasing alone may not surface the doctrinal implication. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | 5:17-42 | Critical | See consolidated entry. | Human theologian |
Acts 6–7 — The Seven and Stephen’s Martyrdom
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church Ministry and the Appointment of the Seven | 6:1-7 | High | German “Diakonie” carries major modern institutional weight (parallel to Catholic “Caritas”); teaching material must clarify this text is the NT origin-narrative, not a description of the modern institution’s contemporary scale. | Human theologian |
| Stephen’s Martyrdom and Christlike Forgiveness | 6:8-7:60 | Critical | This is the chapter where “Zeuge” (witness) and “Märtyrer” (martyr) genuinely converge in referent, though the Greek word itself does not shift — teaching material must make this explicit. Verse 7:60 directly echoes the fixed Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them” and must match its theological weight. | Human theologian |
Acts 8 — Philip, Simon Magus, and the Ethiopian Eunuch
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gospel Scatters Through Persecution | 8:1-8; 8:4-25 | High | Establishes the pattern (persecution provoking geographic gospel expansion) structuring the rest of Acts; avoid both triumphalist and victim-focused overstatement. | Human theologian |
| Simon Magus and the Purity of Spiritual Power | 8:9-24 | Medium | Origin-narrative of the German church-historical term “Simonie” (buying/selling ecclesiastical office); note this legacy explicitly. | Native speaker review |
| Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch: Gospel Inclusion | 8:26-40 | Medium | Retain the specific term “Eunuch” rather than a softened “official,” since the OT exclusion/inclusion background (Deuteronomy 23:1; Isaiah 56:3-5) depends on it. | Native speaker review |
Acts 9 — The Conversion of Saul
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Conversion of Paul | 9:1-31; 22:3-21; 26:9-23 | Critical | The risen Christ’s direct audible speech to Saul (9:4-5) is a foundational Christophany requiring the same care as other direct-divine-speech texts. Paul’s persecution-to-apostle narrative requires the historical framing already established in the Galatians package, so it never reads as minimizing or drawing false equivalence with later European antisemitic violence. | Human theologian |
| Paul’s Election as a Chosen Instrument | 9:15-16 | High | Directly invokes the established Election doctrine’s pastoral caution against over-systematizing for a mixed Lutheran/Reformed German audience. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 9:32-42 | Critical | See consolidated entry. | Human theologian |
Acts 10–11 — Cornelius and the Jerusalem Church’s Response
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10:1-11:18; 13:44-49; 15:1-21; 28:23-28 | Critical | Highest concentration of the “Juden und Heiden” pairing in the curriculum, running as a structural thread from Acts 2 through Acts 10 to Acts 28; every occurrence requires the mandatory historical-sensitivity framing already established in the baseline. The dietary-law extension (10:14-15, 28) requires theologian review as a direct doctrinal continuation of the Mark 7 freedom-from-dietary-law material. | Human theologian |
| God Shows No Partiality | 10:34-35 | Critical | Established Lutherbibel idiom retained exactly; must connect explicitly to the baseline’s Unity of Jews and Gentiles doctrine rather than standing as a freestanding ethical maxim. | Human theologian |
| The Jerusalem Church’s Affirmation and the Naming of “Christians” | 11:19-30 | Medium | Historically significant first application of a distinct identity label; “Christen” is fully stable in German, requiring only historical-context teaching. | Native speaker review |
Acts 12 — Persecution Under Herod
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution under Herod and Providential Deliverance | 12:1-19 | High | Models corporate intercessory prayer (Fürbitte) under acute persecution; care required that Peter’s deliverance is not read as a universal promise against martyrdom, given James’s execution in the same chapter (12:2). | Human theologian |
Acts 13–14 — The First Missionary Journey
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justification apart from the Law | 13:13-52; 15:1-11 | Critical | 13:38-39 restates the Romans 3-4 / Galatians 2:16 forensic justification argument in missionary-sermon form; requires the identical mandatory theologian review already established for those epistolary passages. Must never drift toward a Catholic infused-grace-process reading of “Rechtfertigung.” | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Signs and Pagan Misunderstanding at Lystra | 14:1-28 | Medium | Retain the Greek deity names (Zeus, Hermes) as proper nouns without substituting any German folk-religious equivalent. | Native speaker review |
Acts 15 — The Jerusalem Council
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Jerusalem Council: Law and Grace | 15:1-35 | Critical | The Spirit-endorsed decision-formula (15:28, “es schien dem Heiligen Geist und uns gut”) is relevant to, though this curriculum does not adjudicate, broader ecclesiology debates over councils, magisterium, and Spirit-guidance across German Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. Continues the Galatians package’s Critical-tier law/grace doctrine. | Human theologian |
Acts 16 — Lydia, the Philippian Jailer, and the Spirit of Divination
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Household Baptism and Conversions at Philippi | 16:11-40 | Critical | Lydia’s and the jailer’s household baptisms are cited on both sides of the German Kindertaufe/Gläubigentaufe divide already flagged at Acts 2:38-39; present the text’s genuine exegetical ambiguity transparently. Parallels the household-code sensitivity discipline established for Ephesians 5-6 and Colossians 3-4. | Human theologian |
| Confrontation with Pagan Occult Power | 16:16-18 | Medium | Must be distinguished sharply, by explicit contrast, from the positive gift of prophecy (Weissagung) elsewhere in this curriculum. | Native speaker review |
Acts 17 — The Areopagus Sermon
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Areopagus Sermon: Gospel to the Philosophically Sophisticated Gentile World | 17:16-34 | High | Models culturally engaged, philosophically literate apologetics directly relevant to Germany’s own high cultural regard for philosophy (Kant, Hegel, German Idealism), already flagged in the Colossians 2:8 package. Risk is contemporary misuse of “der unbekannte Gott” as endorsement of generic pluralistic spirituality rather than Paul’s specific argument toward the God who raised Jesus. | Human theologian |
Acts 18 — Corinth
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry Partnership and Steady Growth at Corinth | 18:1-17 | Low | Chapter reviewed and confirmed to introduce no new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond terms already documented elsewhere (synagogue; baptism per the established ch.2/16 caution at 18:8). Narrates ministry partnership and Gallio’s judicial dismissal with minimal independent doctrinal risk. | Automated review |
Acts 19 — Ephesus
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesus: Christian Baptism Clarified and Conflict with the Cult of Artemis | 19:1-41 | High | Paul’s distinction between John’s preparatory baptism and Christian baptism naming Jesus (19:1-5) continues the ch.2/16 baptism-doctrine caution. The Artemis riot (19:23-41) illustrates the gospel’s disruptive economic/social impact; retain the Greek deity name without German substitution. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 19:11-12 | Critical | See consolidated entry. | Human theologian |
Acts 20 — Paul’s Farewell at Miletus
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Farewell: Shepherds, Overseers, and the Church of God | 20:1-38 | Critical | German “Bischof” carries very heavy institutional weight tied to the fully developed Catholic and Landeskirche hierarchical episcopal office; rendering ἐπίσκοπος this way would anachronistically import that later, structured office onto this passage’s fluid leadership pattern, where the same men are called both “elders” and “overseers” interchangeably (20:17, 28). | Human theologian |
Acts 21 — Paul’s Arrest in Jerusalem
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul’s Arrest and Prophetic Warning in Jerusalem | 21:1-40 | Medium | Reuses established prophecy vocabulary (Agabus, 21:10-11) and the Jew/Gentile tension already documented; no new German-specific vocabulary risk beyond existing baseline cautions. | Native speaker review |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | 21:27-36 | Critical | See consolidated entry. | Human theologian |
Acts 22 — Paul’s Defense Before the Crowd
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul’s Defense and Roman Citizenship | 22:1-29 | Medium | Paul’s literal, legal Roman citizenship must be explicitly distinguished from the already-fixed heavenly “Bürgerrecht” of Philippians 3:20 — same German word, different referent and theological weight. | Native speaker review |
Acts 23 — The Sanhedrin Dispute
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sanhedrin Dispute and the Hope of the Resurrection | 22:30-23:35 | Medium | The Pharisee/Sadducee dispute over bodily resurrection (23:6-8) reinforces the already-established historical, bodily sense of “Auferstehung”; low additional risk beyond existing baseline discipline. | Native speaker review |
Acts 24 — Paul Before Felix
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Before Felix: Bold Proclamation to Power | 24:1-27 | Medium | Models direct gospel confrontation of power regardless of audience status, reinforcing the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine; “Selbstbeherrschung” already established via the Frucht des Geistes list with no new risk. | Native speaker review |
Acts 25 — Paul’s Appeal to Caesar
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul’s Appeal to Caesar and Divine Providence | 25:1-27 | High | Direct collision with the baseline’s existing “Berufung” homonym caution: this passage requires the secular legal-appeal sense (“ich berufe mich auf den Kaiser”) to be flagged explicitly so students do not conflate Paul’s legal appeal with the theological calling doctrine (“Berufung Gottes”) built on the identical German word elsewhere in this curriculum. | Human theologian |
Acts 26 — Paul Before Agrippa
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Before Agrippa: Testimony and Conversion Recounted | 26:1-32 | Medium | Paul’s retrospective conversion account (26:9-23) pairs “repent” and “turn” exactly as flagged at 2:38 and 3:19, reinforcing the recommended “Buße und Umkehr” paired rendering with no new independent risk. | Native speaker review |
Acts 27 — The Voyage and Shipwreck
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Amid Shipwreck | 27:1-44 | Medium | Models providential care through natural crisis via an angelic reassurance (27:23-24); thematically continues but adds no new lexical risk to the already-established Vorsehung doctrine. | Native speaker review |
Acts 28 — Rome, and the Book’s Structural Close
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | 1:8; 28:1-31 | Critical | Acts 1:8 and 28:16-31 form a deliberate structural inclusio (“to the end of the earth” / “unhindered” in Rome) that must be surfaced explicitly in all teaching material, consistent with the inclusio-documentation discipline already established for Mark 1:1/15:39 and John 1:1/20:28. The closing “salvation of God to the Gentiles” statement (28:28) closes the book’s entire Jew/Gentile narrative arc and requires the same historical-sensitivity and Rettung/Heil discipline applied throughout. | Human theologian |
Consolidated Cross-Book Entry: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Because this doctrine recurs structurally across nearly every major section of Acts (rather than being confined to one chapter), it is consolidated here rather than repeated in full at each occurrence above.
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 3:1-16; 4:29-31; 5:12-16; 6:8; 8:6-7, 13; 9:32-42; 14:3; 14:8-10; 15:12; 19:11-12; 20:9-12; 28:8-9 | Critical | The recurring three-part “power/wonder/sign” formula (δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις) must be rendered consistently across every occurrence to preserve its structural function as divine authentication of apostolic proclamation. “Handauflegung” (laying on of hands) additionally carries live sacramental-theology weight across Catholic (Holy Orders) and Protestant (non-sacramental commissioning) German traditions and must not adjudicate that later dispute in the translated text. | Human theologian |
Consolidated Cross-Book Entry: Persecution and Bold Witness
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk (German-specific) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 7:54-8:3; 12:1-19; 14:19; 16:19-24; 21:27-36; 24:1-27; 25:1-12 | Critical | ”Parrēsia” has no single German equivalent; “Freimut/Freimütigkeit” must be reinforced with fuller phrasing at doctrinally central occurrences (4:13, 29, 31) and must never suggest natural personality-driven assertiveness detached from Spirit-empowering. “Μάρτυς” (witness) undergoes a genuine semantic-referential shift toward “Märtyrer” beginning at Stephen’s death, requiring explicit tracking across occurrences. | Human theologian |
Full Chapter Coverage Confirmation
Per the PRD Phase 1 full-book-coverage mandate, every chapter of Acts is accounted for below. Chapters not carrying a uniquely new doctrine are explicitly marked as reviewed continuations rather than silently omitted.
| Chapter | Primary Doctrine(s) Anchored Here | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ascension and Commission Mandate; Apostolic Replacement and Office | New doctrines |
| 2 | Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Gift of Tongues; Peter’s Pentecost Sermon; Repentance and Baptism; Church as Community | Core passage — full verse-level treatment |
| 3 | Christ as Author and Prince of Life; Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Restoration of All Things | New doctrines |
| 4 | Persecution and Bold Witness; Salvation Exclusivity: No Other Name | New doctrines |
| 5 | Holy Spirit’s Deity and Church Purity; Persecution and Bold Witness (continued) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 6 | Church Ministry and the Seven; Stephen’s Martyrdom (begins) | New doctrines |
| 7 | Stephen’s Martyrdom and Christlike Forgiveness (concludes) | Continuation, reviewed |
| 8 | Gospel Scatters Through Persecution; Simon Magus; Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch | New doctrines |
| 9 | Conversion of Paul; Paul’s Election as Chosen Instrument; Apostolic Authority (continued) | New doctrines |
| 10 | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; God Shows No Partiality | New doctrines |
| 11 | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (concludes); Jerusalem Church’s Affirmation / Naming of Christians | Continuation + new doctrine |
| 12 | Persecution under Herod and Providential Deliverance | New doctrine |
| 13 | Justification apart from the Law (begins); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (continued) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 14 | Apostolic Signs and Pagan Misunderstanding at Lystra; Apostolic Authority (continued) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 15 | Jerusalem Council: Law and Grace; Justification apart from the Law (concludes) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 16 | Household Baptism and Conversions at Philippi; Confrontation with Pagan Occult Power; Persecution (continued) | New doctrines |
| 17 | Areopagus Sermon: Gospel to Philosophers | New doctrine |
| 18 | Ministry Partnership and Growth at Corinth | Reviewed — no new load-bearing doctrine; Low risk |
| 19 | Ephesus: Baptism Clarified and Artemis Conflict; Apostolic Authority (continued) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 20 | Apostolic Farewell: Shepherds, Overseers, and the Church of God | New doctrine |
| 21 | Paul’s Arrest and Prophetic Warning; Persecution (continued) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 22 | Paul’s Defense and Roman Citizenship; Conversion of Paul (recounted) | New doctrine + continuation |
| 23 | Sanhedrin Dispute and the Hope of the Resurrection | New doctrine |
| 24 | Paul Before Felix: Bold Proclamation to Power | New doctrine |
| 25 | Paul’s Appeal to Caesar and Divine Providence | New doctrine |
| 26 | Paul Before Agrippa: Testimony and Conversion Recounted | New doctrine |
| 27 | Providence Amid Shipwreck | New doctrine |
| 28 | Great Commission Fulfilled; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (concludes) | New doctrine + continuation — book’s structural close |
Confirmation: All 28 chapters of Acts are represented above. No chapter is silently omitted. Chapter 18 is the only chapter assessed at Low overall risk; it is explicitly reviewed and confirmed rather than skipped.
Risk Tier Summary (must match doctrine_risk_registry.json)
| Risk Tier | Doctrine Count (per registry) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 17 | Mandatory human theologian review, every occurrence |
| High | 10 (see note) | Mandatory human theologian review |
| Medium | 13 | Native speaker review recommended |
| Low | 1 | Automated review sufficient |
Note: doctrine_risk_registry.json’s own risk_summary block records “High”: 9 and “total_requiring_theologian_review”: 26; a direct count of individually tagged “High” entries in that same file yields 10, and Critical(17) + High(10) = 27. This document preserves every individual doctrine’s tier exactly as recorded per-entry in the registry (the authoritative per-doctrine source), and flags this pre-existing aggregate-count discrepancy in the registry’s own summary block for correction in a future registry version. No per-doctrine tier has been altered here.
This document must be loaded alongside doctrine_risk_registry.json, translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and 08_core_glossary.md before any Phase 2 translation of Acts material.
Critical Risk Doctrines
Apostolic Authority and Miracles
German name: Die Vollmacht der Apostel und ihre Wunder
Key terms: wonders_and_signs, laying_on_of_hands, authority_exousia
Review routing: Human theologian
The recurring three-part ‘power/wonder/sign’ formula must be rendered consistently across every occurrence in the book to preserve its structural function as divine authentication of apostolic proclamation; ‘Handauflegung’ additionally carries live sacramental-theology weight across Catholic (Holy Orders) and Protestant (non-sacramental commissioning) German traditions and must not adjudicate that later dispute.
Apostolic Farewell: Shepherds, Overseers, and the Church of God
German name: Der Abschied des Paulus: Hirten, Aufseher und die Gemeinde Gottes
Key terms: elders, overseer_episkopos, shepherd_the_church
Review routing: Human theologian
German ‘Bischof’ carries very heavy institutional weight tied to the fully developed Catholic and Landeskirche hierarchical episcopal office; rendering ἐπίσκοπος this way would anachronistically import that later, structured office onto this passage’s fluid leadership pattern, where the same men are called both ‘elders’ and ‘overseers’ interchangeably. Mandatory theologian review.
Christ as Author and Prince of Life
German name: Christus als Urheber und Fürst des Lebens
Key terms: holy_and_righteous_one, author_of_life
Review routing: Human theologian
Deity-adjacent Christological titles requiring the same theologian-review discipline already applied to comparable titles in the Colossians package (‘image of the invisible God’); no single German word captures both the founder/source and pioneering-leader senses of ἀρχηγός simultaneously, risking an incomplete Christological picture if left unglossed.
The Conversion of Paul
German name: Die Bekehrung des Paulus
Key terms: chosen_instrument, the_way, lord
Review routing: Human theologian
The risen, exalted Christ’s direct audible speech to Saul (9:4-5) is a foundational Christophany requiring the same care as other direct-divine-speech texts already fixed in this curriculum; Paul’s persecution-to-apostle narrative also requires the historical framing already established in the Galatians package, so it never reads as minimizing or drawing false equivalence with later European antisemitic violence.
The Gift of Tongues and Intelligible Proclamation
German name: Die Zungengabe und die verständliche Verkündigung
Key terms: tongues_miracle_languages, tongues_of_fire
Review routing: Human theologian
The single highest-density German-specific risk in this curriculum’s Acts package: the miracle is intelligible known human language, not ecstatic unintelligible speech, yet the natural German loanword ‘Zungenrede’ imports a live, confessionally contested contemporary charismatic-movement association absent from the text. Mandatory theologian review, not merely native-speaker review, given the doctrinal weight of getting this distinction right for a mixed Landeskirche/Freikirche/Pentecostal German audience.
God Shows No Partiality
German name: Gott sieht nicht auf die Person
Key terms: god_shows_no_partiality
Review routing: Human theologian
The established Lutherbibel idiom must be retained exactly for recognizability; teaching material must connect it explicitly to the baseline’s Unity of Jews and Gentiles doctrine and its mandatory historical-sensitivity requirements rather than treating it as a freestanding ethical maxim.
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
German name: Das Evangelium für Juden und Heiden
Key terms: common_unclean, god_shows_no_partiality, gentiles, salvation_of_god_to_gentiles
Review routing: Human theologian
This book contains the single highest concentration of the ‘Juden und Heiden’ pairing in the curriculum to date, running as a structural thread from Acts 2 (Jews and proselytes) through Acts 10 (Cornelius) to Acts 28 (Rome); every occurrence requires the mandatory historical-sensitivity framing already established in the baseline, given Germany’s specific historical relationship to antisemitism. The dietary-law extension to Gentile inclusion (10:14-15, 28) additionally requires theologian review as a direct doctrinal continuation of the Mark 7 freedom-from-dietary-law material.
The Great Commission Fulfilled
German name: Der Missionsauftrag erfüllt
Key terms: unhindered, end_of_the_earth, salvation_of_god_to_gentiles, kingdom_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 1:8 and 28:16-31 form a deliberate structural inclusio (‘to the end of the earth’ / ‘unhindered’ in Rome) that must be surfaced explicitly in all teaching material, consistent with the inclusio-documentation discipline already established for Mark 1:1/15:39 and John 1:1/20:28; the closing ‘salvation of God to the Gentiles’ statement (28:28) closes the book’s entire Jew/Gentile narrative arc and requires the same historical-sensitivity and ‘Rettung’/‘Heil’ discipline applied throughout.
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
German name: Der Heilige Geist und Pfingsten
Key terms: tongues_miracle_languages, filled_with_holy_spirit_pentecost, pour_out_spirit, gift_of_holy_spirit, tongues_of_fire
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL, curriculum core passage: the German word ‘Zungenrede’ carries a specific, confessionally contested contemporary association with Pentecostal/charismatic ecstatic speech (Pfingstbewegung) not present in this historical narrative of real, known human languages; ‘in anderen Sprachen’ must be used instead. The aorist (‘wurden erfüllt’) versus present-imperative (‘lasst euch erfüllen’) distinction from the already-fixed Ephesians 5:18 term must also be explicitly preserved.
Household Baptism and Conversions at Philippi
German name: Haushaltstaufe und Bekehrungen in Philippi
Key terms: household_baptism, baptism
Review routing: Human theologian
Lydia’s and the jailer’s household baptisms are cited on both sides of the German Kindertaufe/Gläubigentaufe confessional divide already flagged at Acts 2:38-39; render ‘Haus/Haushalt’ plainly and present the text’s genuine exegetical ambiguity transparently rather than resolving it through translation choice. Mandatory theologian AND native-speaker review, paralleling the household-code sensitivity discipline already established for Ephesians 5-6 and Colossians 3-4.
The Jerusalem Council: Law and Grace
German name: Das Apostelkonzil: Gesetz und Gnade
Key terms: yoke_of_the_law, seemed_good_to_holy_spirit, grace, circumcision
Review routing: Human theologian
The Council’s Spirit-endorsed decision-formula (15:28) is relevant to, though this curriculum does not adjudicate, broader ecclesiology debates over councils, magisterium, and Spirit-guidance across German Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions; the underlying law/grace argument continues the Galatians package’s Critical-tier ‘law_and_grace’ doctrine.
Justification apart from the Law
German name: Rechtfertigung ohne das Gesetz
Key terms: justification, righteousness, law_of_moses, yoke_of_the_law
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 13:38-39 restates the Romans 3-4 / Galatians 2:16 forensic justification argument in a missionary-sermon setting, requiring the identical mandatory theologian review already established for those epistolary passages; must never drift toward a Catholic infused-grace-process reading of ‘Rechtfertigung,’ per the Luther-Turmerlebnis-freighted history of this exact term.
Persecution and Bold Witness
German name: Verfolgung und freimütiges Zeugnis
Key terms: boldness_parrhesia, witness, stoning
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Parrēsia’ has no single German equivalent capturing its blend of confident speech, fearlessness, and openness; ‘Freimut/Freimütigkeit’ must be reinforced with fuller phrasing at doctrinally central occurrences (4:13, 29, 31) and must never suggest natural personality-driven assertiveness detached from Spirit-empowering. The ‘μάρτυς’ (witness) term also undergoes a genuine semantic-referential shift toward ‘Märtyrer’ (one who dies for testimony) beginning at Stephen’s death, requiring explicit tracking across occurrences.
Peter’s Pentecost Sermon: Messianic Fulfillment
German name: Die Pfingstpredigt des Petrus: Die Erfüllung der messianischen Verheißung
Key terms: last_days, day_of_the_lord, calls_on_name_of_lord_saved, hades_realm_of_dead, determined_plan_foreknowledge, lord_and_christ
Review routing: Human theologian
Contains the curriculum’s mandatory cross-document verbatim-match requirement (2:21 must equal the already-fixed Romans 10:13 wording) and the climactic ‘Herr und Christus’ confession requiring the same theologian-review discipline as Romans 10:9; also contains the crucifixion’s divine-plan-and-human-guilt tension (2:23), which carries an antisemitism-adjacent sensitivity requiring the same historical-sensitivity framing already mandated for Matthew 27:25.
Repentance and Baptism
German name: Buße und Taufe
Key terms: cut_to_the_heart, baptism, household_baptism, forgiveness_of_sins_acts, to_you_your_children_far_off, repentance
Review routing: Human theologian
This curriculum’s core passage introduces ‘Taufe’ as a newly established Critical-risk term (absent from the Romans baseline beyond allusion) that directly engages the live German confessional divide between infant baptism (Kindertaufe, universal in Landeskirche and Catholic practice) and believer’s baptism (Gläubigentaufe, the Freikirche/Baptist norm); the household-baptism texts (16:15, 33; 18:8) are cited on both sides of this exact debate and must be presented with transparent exegetical neutrality rather than a translation choice that silently resolves it. Mandatory theologian AND native-speaker review.
Salvation Exclusivity: No Other Name
German name: Die Ausschließlichkeit der Rettung: Kein anderer Name
Key terms: no_other_name
Review routing: Human theologian
Parallels the already-fixed John 14:6 exclusivity claim and requires the identical pastoral/interfaith sensitivity framing given Germany’s contemporary religious pluralism, combined with the existing ‘Rettung’/‘Heil’ discipline flagged throughout the baseline.
Stephen’s Martyrdom and Christlike Forgiveness
German name: Das Martyrium des Stephanus und die christusgleiche Vergebung
Key terms: witness, stoning
Review routing: Human theologian
This is the chapter where ‘Zeuge’ (witness) and ‘Märtyrer’ (martyr) genuinely converge in referent, though the Greek word itself does not shift; German readers will naturally supply the ‘Märtyrer’ association from the narrative outcome, which teaching material must make explicit. Stephen’s dying prayer (7:60) directly echoes the already-fixed Luke 23:34 ‘Father, forgive them’ and must be rendered with matching theological weight.
High Risk Doctrines
The Areopagus Sermon: Gospel to the Philosophically Sophisticated Gentile World
German name: Die Areopagrede: Das Evangelium für die philosophisch gebildete heidnische Welt
Key terms: unknown_god, repentance, resurrection
Review routing: Human theologian
Models culturally engaged, philosophically literate apologetic method directly relevant to Germany’s own high cultural regard for philosophy (Kant, Hegel, German Idealism), already flagged in the Colossians 2:8 package; risk is contemporary misuse of ‘der unbekannte Gott’ as an endorsement of generic pluralistic spirituality rather than Paul’s specific argument toward the God who raised Jesus.
The Ascension and the Commission Mandate
German name: Die Himmelfahrt und der Missionsauftrag
Key terms: end_of_the_earth, power_of_god, authority_exousia, kingdom_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly continues the already-fixed Luke 24:51 ascension doctrine and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) baptismal formula; the disciples’ misdirected political question about the kingdom’s restoration (1:6) requires care so German readers do not import either a nationalist-political or an Endzeit-speculative reading into ‘Reich Gottes.‘
The Church as Community
German name: Die Gemeinde als Gemeinschaft
Key terms: all_things_in_common, added_to_number, great_fear
Review routing: Human theologian
The voluntary economic sharing described here collides with two live twentieth-century German associations: DDR-era socialist collectivization of property and Nazi-era ‘Volksgemeinschaft’ collectivist rhetoric (already flagged in the baseline under ‘Gemeinschaft’). Must be taught as voluntary, love-motivated, and historically specific to the earliest Jerusalem church, never as a normative economic mandate or state-imposed system.
Church Ministry and the Appointment of the Seven
German name: Gemeindedienst und die Einsetzung der Sieben
Key terms: service_ministry_deacon, laying_on_of_hands
Review routing: Human theologian
German ‘Diakonie’ carries major modern institutional weight, being one of Germany’s largest Protestant social-welfare organizations (paralleling the Catholic ‘Caritas’); teaching material must clarify this text is the NT origin-narrative later tradition drew on, not a description of the modern institution’s contemporary scale or structure.
Ephesus: Christian Baptism Clarified and Conflict with the Cult of Artemis
German name: Ephesus: Die christliche Taufe geklärt und der Konflikt mit dem Artemiskult
Key terms: baptism, artemis
Review routing: Human theologian
Paul’s explicit distinction between John’s preparatory baptism and Christian baptism naming Jesus (19:1-5) is pedagogically valuable precisely because it distinguishes rather than conflates the two, continuing the ch.2/16 baptism-doctrine caution; the Artemis riot (19:23-41) illustrates the gospel’s disruptive economic/social impact and should retain the Greek deity name without German substitution.
The Gospel Scatters Through Persecution
German name: Das Evangelium breitet sich durch Verfolgung aus
Key terms: witness, gospel
Review routing: Human theologian
Establishes the pattern (persecution provoking geographic gospel expansion rather than suppressing it) that structures the rest of Acts; requires the same historical-narrative discipline already applied elsewhere in this curriculum’s persecution material, avoiding both triumphalist and victim-focused overstatement.
The Holy Spirit’s Deity and the Purity of the Church
German name: Die Gottheit des Heiligen Geistes und die Reinheit der Gemeinde
Key terms: lying_to_holy_spirit, great_fear
Review routing: Human theologian
The Ananias and Sapphira narrative explicitly equates lying to the Spirit with lying to God (5:3-4), reinforcing the Spirit’s personal deity in a way that must be drawn out explicitly in German teaching material, since the plain phrasing alone may not surface the doctrinal implication for readers.
Paul’s Appeal to Caesar and Divine Providence
German name: Die Berufung des Paulus auf den Kaiser und die göttliche Vorsehung
Key terms: appeal_to_caesar, providence
Review routing: Human theologian
Direct collision with the baseline’s existing ‘Berufung’ homonym caution: this passage requires the secular legal-appeal sense (‘ich berufe mich auf den Kaiser’) to be flagged explicitly so students do not conflate Paul’s legal appeal with the theological calling doctrine (‘Berufung Gottes’) built on the identical German word elsewhere in this curriculum.
Paul’s Election as a Chosen Instrument
German name: Die Erwählung des Paulus als auserwähltes Werkzeug
Key terms: chosen_instrument
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly invokes the already-established Election doctrine’s pastoral caution against over-systematizing for a mixed Lutheran/Reformed German audience; this is a narrative application, not a systematic treatise, and should be taught accordingly.
Persecution under Herod and Providential Deliverance
German name: Verfolgung unter Herodes und die vorsehende Befreiung
Key terms: fervent_prayer, providence
Review routing: Human theologian
Models the church’s corporate intercessory prayer under acute persecution, continuing the established Fürbitte/Vorsehung doctrines; requires care that God’s deliverance of Peter here is not read as a universal promise against martyrdom, given James’s execution in the very same chapter (12:2).
Medium Risk Doctrines
Apostolic Succession: The Replacement of Judas
German name: Die Nachfolge im Apostelamt: Die Ersetzung des Judas
Key terms: office_episkope, casting_lots
Review routing: Native speaker review
‘Amt’ must not be over-translated toward ‘Bischofsamt’ at this early, undeveloped narrative stage; the later, fully institutionalized German episcopal office is anachronistic here and should be reserved for the ch.20 ἐπίσκοπος discussion.
Apostolic Signs and Pagan Misunderstanding at Lystra
German name: Apostolische Zeichen und heidnisches Missverständnis in Lystra
Key terms: zeus_hermes, wonders_and_signs
Review routing: Native speaker review
Paul and Barnabas’s forceful rejection of pagan worship attempts models consistent monotheistic apologetic response; retain the Greek deity names as proper nouns without substituting any German folk-religious equivalent.
Confrontation with Pagan Occult Power
German name: Die Konfrontation mit heidnischer okkulter Macht
Key terms: spirit_of_divination
Review routing: Native speaker review
Must be distinguished sharply, by explicit contrast, from the positive gift of prophecy elsewhere in this curriculum, since the German semantic field for prophecy/divination/fortune-telling overlaps more than the Greek does.
The Jerusalem Church’s Affirmation and the Naming of ‘Christians’
German name: Die Bestätigung der Jerusalemer Gemeinde und die Benennung der ‘Christen’
Key terms: christians_name, gentiles
Review routing: Native speaker review
Marks the historically significant first application of a distinct social/religious identity label to the movement; ‘Christen’ itself is a fully stable German term requiring no translation caution, only historical-context teaching.
Paul Before Agrippa: Testimony and Conversion Recounted
German name: Paulus vor Agrippa: Zeugnis und Bekehrung im Rückblick
Key terms: witness, repentance
Review routing: Native speaker review
Paul’s retrospective conversion account (26:9-23) pairs ‘repent’ and ‘turn’ exactly as flagged at 2:38 and 3:19, reinforcing the recommended ‘Buße und Umkehr’ paired-rendering approach with no new independent risk.
Paul Before Felix: Bold Proclamation to Power
German name: Paulus vor Felix: Freimütige Verkündigung vor der Macht
Key terms: self_control, righteousness
Review routing: Native speaker review
Paul’s direct, unfiltered gospel confrontation of a Roman governor models bold proclamation regardless of audience power or status, reinforcing the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine; ‘Selbstbeherrschung’ is already established via the Frucht des Geistes list with no new risk.
Paul’s Arrest and Prophetic Warning in Jerusalem
German name: Die Verhaftung des Paulus und die prophetische Warnung in Jerusalem
Key terms: prophecy, gentiles
Review routing: Native speaker review
Reuses established prophecy vocabulary (Agabus, 21:10-11) and the Jew/Gentile tension already documented; no new German-specific vocabulary risk beyond the existing baseline cautions.
Paul’s Defense and Roman Citizenship
German name: Die Verteidigung des Paulus und sein römisches Bürgerrecht
Key terms: roman_citizenship_literal
Review routing: Native speaker review
Paul’s literal, legal Roman citizenship must be explicitly distinguished from the already-fixed heavenly ‘Bürgerrecht’ of Philippians 3:20, since the same German word carries a different referent and theological weight in each case.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch: Gospel Inclusion
German name: Philippus und der äthiopische Eunuch: Die Einbeziehung ins Evangelium
Key terms: eunuch, baptism
Review routing: Native speaker review
Retain the specific term ‘Eunuch’ rather than a softened ‘official,’ since the OT exclusion/inclusion background (Deuteronomy 23:1; Isaiah 56:3-5) the German audience needs explained depends on the specific bodily and social category named.
Providence Amid Shipwreck
German name: Gottes Vorsehung im Schiffbruch
Key terms: providence
Review routing: Native speaker review
Models providential care through natural crisis via an angelic reassurance (27:23-24); thematically continues but adds no new lexical risk to the already-established Vorsehung doctrine.
The Promised Restoration of All Things
German name: Die verheißene Wiederherstellung aller Dinge
Key terms: restoration_of_all_things
Review routing: Native speaker review
Must be distinguished from the later, disputed technical theological doctrine of universal salvation (also called ‘Apokatastasis’ in scholarly literature), a narrower and controversial claim this text itself does not make.
The Sanhedrin Dispute and the Hope of the Resurrection
German name: Der Streit vor dem Hohen Rat und die Hoffnung der Auferstehung
Key terms: resurrection
Review routing: Native speaker review
The Pharisee/Sadducee dispute over bodily resurrection (23:6-8) reinforces the already-established historical, bodily (not metaphorical) sense of ‘Auferstehung’; low additional risk beyond the existing baseline discipline.
Simon Magus and the Purity of Spiritual Power
German name: Simon der Zauberer und die Reinheit geistlicher Macht
Key terms: sorcery_simon_magus
Review routing: Native speaker review
Origin-narrative of the German church-historical term ‘Simonie’ (buying/selling ecclesiastical office); note this legacy explicitly for readers with church-historical background who will likely supply the association unprompted.
Low Risk Doctrines
Ministry Partnership and Steady Growth at Corinth
German name: Dienstpartnerschaft und stetiges Wachstum in Korinth
Review routing: Automated review
Chapter reviewed and confirmed to introduce no new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond terms already documented elsewhere (synagogue, baptism per the established ch.2/16 caution at 18:8); narrates Paul’s Corinthian ministry, partnership with Priscilla and Aquila, and Gallio’s judicial dismissal with minimal independent doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages