Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis: Acts (Greek)
Purpose
This document provides the full doctrine matrix for Acts 1–28, in strict consistency with doctrine_risk_registry.json (same doctrine names, same risk tiers, same review routing). It exists to give Phase 2 translators and reviewers a single chapter-anchored reference showing which doctrine is active in which passage, why it carries the risk tier assigned, and who must review it. Per the PRD’s full-book-coverage mandate, Section B maps every chapter of Acts — including chapters that mainly carry forward doctrines already introduced elsewhere — so that no chapter is silently skipped.
Acts 2:1–41 (Pentecost) remains the curriculum’s theological anchor and carries the single highest concentration of Critical-risk doctrine in the book (six of the eleven Critical doctrines converge in this one passage), but this analysis treats the entire book as in scope, consistent with the registry’s own chapter references extending through Acts 28.
Section A — Master Doctrine Matrix
34 doctrines total (11 Critical / 19 High / 4 Medium / 0 Low), organized under the nine curriculum doctrine headings, then two supporting clusters (Christology; Scripture/Providence) that recur across multiple headings. Risk tiers and review routing are copied exactly from doctrine_risk_registry.json.
1. The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 1:5,8; 2:1-4; 2:17-18,33; 10:44-46; 19:6 | Critical | Πνεύμα itself is lexically stable, but the doctrine collides with the repeatable “filling” pattern; must be taught as complementary to, not contradictory of, Romans 8’s once-for-all indwelling. | Human theologian |
| Spirit-Filling as Repeatable Empowerment | 2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9 | High | Risk of being read through Orthodox theosis categories of gradual transformation, obscuring Luke’s punctiliar empowerment-events. | Human theologian |
| Tongues as Comprehensible Xenoglossy | 2:4,6,8,11; 10:46; 19:6 | Critical | Must not be conflated with modern γλωσσολαλιά (unintelligible ecstatic speech) or with 1 Corinthians 14’s distinct phenomenon; Acts 2 explicitly describes known human languages understood by native hearers. | Human theologian |
| Signs and Wonders as Apostolic Authentication | 2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 14:3; 15:12 | High | Modern τέρας defaults to “monster”; always pair with σημεία/θαύματα, never left unglossed. | Human theologian |
2. The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 2:39; 10:1-48; 11:1-18; 13:46-48; 15:1-29; 28:28 | Critical | κοινός’s positive (“shared,” 2:44/4:32) and negative (“ritually impure,” 10:14-15,28) senses collide exactly at this doctrine’s key text (Peter’s vision); requires explicit cross-reference note in both directions. | Human theologian |
| God’s Impartiality | 10:34-35 | Medium | Transparent compound (προσωπολήπτης); doctrinal weight rests on connecting the principle to the Cornelius narrative, not on lexical ambiguity. | Native speaker review |
3. Repentance and Baptism
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repentance and Baptism | 2:37-41; 3:19; 8:36-38; 16:30-33; 19:1-5 | Critical | μετάνοια carries two live Modern Greek accretions (monastic prostrations; sacrament of Confession); βάπτισμα carries an implicit-paradigm risk (Acts’ adult, post-repentance pattern vs. later infant-sacramental norm). | Human theologian |
| Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ | 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5 | High | Ensure Acts’ consistent “in the name of Jesus” phrasing is not silently replaced by a later triadic formula’s full theological weight without a historical-development note. | Human theologian |
| John’s Baptism versus Christian Baptism | 19:1-5; 18:25 | High | Preserve the text’s own explicit two-stage distinction (reception of the Spirit is the differentiator); do not flatten into one undifferentiated concept. | Human theologian |
| The Gift of the Spirit as Unmerited Grace | 2:38; 8:18-24; 10:45; 11:17 | High | δωρεά risks a merely charitable/civic reading (organ/blood donation register); Simon Magus’s attempted purchase (8:18-24) is the text’s own sharpest grace-vs-money contrast — anchor explicitly to χάρη. | Human theologian |
4. The Church as Community
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Church as Community | 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 5:11; 9:31 | Medium | εκκλησία’s institutional/building-sense drift is the primary risk; preserve the passive “were added” (divine agency) rather than reading it as mere headcount. | Native speaker review |
| Koinonia and Shared Possessions | 2:44-45; 4:32-35 | High | κοινός here is positive (“shared”), sharply opposite in valence to its ritual-purity sense at 10:14-15,28; requires bidirectional cross-referencing. Must not be taught as a coerced/permanent economic system. | Human theologian |
| The Breaking of Bread | 2:42,46; 20:7,11 | High | Sits between ευχαριστία (Eucharist) and κοινωνία (Holy Communion); the text’s genuine ambiguity between ordinary shared meal and proto-Eucharistic rite must be preserved, not resolved either way. | Human theologian |
| ”The Way” as the Church’s Self-Identity | 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22 | High | Modern ὁδός is the ordinary word for “street/road” (postal-address usage); requires a consistent capitalization/glossing convention every occurrence. | Human theologian |
| Church Leadership and Office (Elders/Overseers) | 11:30; 14:23; 15:2-23; 20:17,28 | High | ἐπίσκοπος/πρεσβύτερος used interchangeably in Acts 20 for the same office, but their Modern Greek descendants denote a later, developed three-tier hierarchy; present Acts’ own functional equivalence honestly. | Human theologian |
| Diakonia and the Origin of Church Service | 6:1-6 | High | Modern διάκονος almost exclusively means the ordained deacon; Acts 6’s emphasis is Spirit-qualified practical service distinguished from word-ministry, not yet a hierarchical sacramental office. | Human theologian |
5. Apostolic Authority and Miracles
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 3:1-10; 4:7-12; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; 19:11-12 | High | Miracles are done explicitly “through”/“in the name of” Jesus, not by apostolic independent power; this agency-distinction plus the τέρατα-”monster” risk must both be managed. | Human theologian |
| Laying On of Hands and Commissioning | 6:6; 8:17-19; 13:2-3; 19:6 | High | Connects to Modern Greek χειροτονία (ordination); Acts uses the gesture for at least three distinct functions (commissioning, sending, Spirit-impartation) — track each occurrence’s specific function. | Human theologian |
| Casting Lots and Apostolic Designation | 1:17,20,25-26 | High | κλῆρος is the direct root of Modern Greek “ο κλῆρος” (the clergy) — an institutional sense entirely absent from Acts 1’s ordinary sense of sortition/portion; requires an explanatory note. | Human theologian |
| The Jerusalem Council and Spirit-Guided Decision | 15:1-29 | High | Frame so the Spirit’s authority is neither reduced to rhetorical flourish over a human decision nor treated as revelation independent of Scripture — the council’s decision is explicitly Scripture-grounded (15:15-18). | Human theologian |
6. Persecution and Bold Witness
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 7:54-8:3; 12:1-19; 28:30-31 | Critical | The μάρτυς/witness word-family carries a dual Modern Greek sense (legal witness AND “martyr”) that develops specifically out of Acts’ own narrative arc; early forensic occurrences must not be over-read as “martyr” prematurely. | Human theologian |
| Witness and the Origin of Martyrdom | 1:8; 2:32; 7:54-60; 22:20 | Critical | Acts 22:20 (“your witness Stephen”) is the payoff of the whole book’s μάρτυς theme, dramatizing the term’s historical development into “martyr” within the text itself. | Human theologian |
| Confrontation with Greco-Roman Religion | 14:8-18; 16:16-18; 17:16-34; 19:23-41 | High | Names actual figures/sites from native Greek mythology and religion still culturally present in Modern Greek education and identity (Zeus, Hermes, the Pythian oracle, Artemis, the Areopagus); every episode must be framed as the pagan world’s mistaken reaction, corrected by the apostles — never endorsement or syncretism. | Human theologian |
| Hades and the Realm of the Dead | 2:27,31 | High | Ἅδης is the actual name of the Greek underworld god/realm; requires an explicit note that the NT/LXX usage co-opts an existing word for Sheol/the realm of the dead, not an affirmation of Greek underworld cosmology. | Human theologian |
7. Conversion of Paul
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion of Paul | 9:1-22; 22:3-21; 26:9-23 | Critical | Told three times; requires exact terminological consistency across all three tellings (Κύριος, σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς, ἡ Οδός). Converges with the baseline’s Critical election/εκλογή term. | Human theologian |
| Election and Calling of Paul | 9:15; 13:2; 22:14-15; 26:16-18 | High | Direct tie to the baseline’s Critical election/ἐκλογή term (Romans 9-11); cross-reference explicitly, guarding against the ballot-box connotation. | Human theologian |
8. Justification apart from the Law
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justification apart from the Law | 13:38-39; 15:1-11; 15:19-29 | Critical | Acts 13:38-39 is Acts’ own clearest justification-by-faith statement, spoken by Paul and doctrinally parallel to Romans 3-4/Galatians 2-3; must use identical δικαίωση/δικαιοσύνη terminology in a forensic (not colloquial-vindication or theosis-transformation) sense. | Human theologian |
9. The Great Commission Fulfilled
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | 1:8; 28:23,30-31 | High | 1:8 is the book’s programmatic thesis, 28:31 its deliberately open, triumphant close; ἀκωλύτως is a rare, distinctive final word deserving its own teaching note. | Human theologian |
10. Christology of Acts (cross-cutting; underlies several curriculum doctrines above)
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resurrection of Christ (Acts’ Preaching and Controversy) | 2:24-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,32; 23:6-8; 26:23 | Critical | Acts dramatizes the doctrine’s collision with both Greek philosophical resurrection-skepticism (17:32) and internal Jewish theological debate (23:6-8) within the narrative itself; a Modern Greek reader inherits both the Πάσχα devotional tradition and the ancient philosophical skepticism this passage records. | Human theologian |
| Lordship and Messiahship of Christ | 2:36; 10:36; 17:3; 18:5,28 | Critical | Acts 2:36 is the single highest doctrinal-density phrase in the core passage, converging Κύριος (secular-bleaching risk) and Χριστός (preferred over Μεσσίας); “made” (ἐποίησεν) must read as historical vindication/installation, not denial of eternal Sonship. | Human theologian |
| Deity and Sonship of Christ | 3:13-15; 9:20; 13:33 | Critical | Reuses the baseline’s Critical son_of_god/deity_of_christ terms exactly; ἀρχηγός (“Prince/Author of life,” 3:15) is a live secular word (also “party leader”) that must retain its “originator/source of life” sense. | Human theologian |
| The Son of Man Title | 7:55-56 | High | Must not be lexically or doctrinally merged with “Son of God” — a distinct Christological title rooted in Daniel 7:13-14, at the climax of Stephen’s martyrdom. | Human theologian |
11. Scripture and Providence (cross-cutting)
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence and Divine Sovereignty | 2:23; 27:21-26,34 | Medium | πρόνοια’s secular “social welfare” bleaching risk applies; Acts 27 presents providence narratively rather than didactically; 2:23 holds human guilt and divine plan together without resolving the tension. | Native speaker review |
| Inspiration and Fulfillment of Scripture | 2:16-21,25-28,34-35; 13:33-35; 15:15-18 | Medium | A Greek reader can access the Septuagint’s own wording directly alongside Luke’s citations — a genuine advantage unique to this Language Package; draw the OT-to-NT fulfillment line explicitly in teaching. | Native speaker review |
Corrected risk totals (recalculated directly from the 34 doctrine entries above; the totals row of the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json is provided for cross-reference but see note below):
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 11 | Human theologian |
| High | 19 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 4 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 0 | — |
| Total | 34 | 30 theologian / 4 native speaker |
Note: the risk_summary block in doctrine_risk_registry.json (Critical: 12, High: 17, total 33) does not sum to the 34 individual doctrine entries recorded in that same file’s doctrines object; this document’s tier-by-tier count (above) is derived directly from those individual entries and should be treated as the authoritative summary going forward. No individual doctrine’s assigned tier has been altered from the registry.
Section B — Chapter-by-Chapter Coverage Map (Acts 1–28)
Every chapter is listed. Chapters that primarily carry forward doctrines already fully introduced elsewhere are marked “(continuity)” and explicitly reviewed rather than omitted.
| Ch. | Narrative Content | Active Doctrines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ascension; promise of the Spirit; casting lots for Matthias | The Great Commission Fulfilled (1:8, thesis statement); Casting Lots and Apostolic Designation; Holy Spirit and Pentecost (promise, anticipatory) |
| 2 | Pentecost — core passage | Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Spirit-Filling; Tongues as Comprehensible Xenoglossy; Signs and Wonders (2:19,22,43); Inspiration/Fulfillment of Scripture (2:16-21); Resurrection of Christ (2:24-32); Hades (2:27,31); Lordship/Messiahship (2:36); Repentance and Baptism (2:37-41); Gift of the Spirit as Grace (2:38); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (2:39, “far off”); Church as Community; Koinonia and Shared Possessions (2:44-45); Breaking of Bread (2:42,46); Providence (2:23) |
| 3 | Healing of the lame man; Peter’s temple sermon | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Deity and Sonship of Christ (3:13-15, “Author of life”); Repentance (3:19) |
| 4 | Peter and John before the council; prayer for boldness; community sharing | Persecution and Bold Witness (4:1-31); Spirit-Filling (4:8,31); Apostolic Authority and Miracles (4:7-12); Deity/Sonship (continuity); Koinonia (4:32-35) |
| 5 | Ananias and Sapphira; apostles imprisoned and released | Koinonia (negative counter-example); Apostolic Authority and Miracles (5:12-16); Persecution and Bold Witness (5:17-42) |
| 6 | Choosing the Seven; Stephen full of the Spirit | Diakonia and the Origin of Church Service (6:1-6); Laying On of Hands (6:6); Signs and Wonders (6:8) |
| 7 | Stephen’s speech and martyrdom | Witness and the Origin of Martyrdom (7:54-60); The Son of Man Title (7:55-56); Persecution and Bold Witness (continuity) |
| 8 | Philip in Samaria; Simon Magus; the Ethiopian eunuch | Gift of the Spirit as Grace (8:18-24, Simon’s attempted purchase); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (Samaritan inclusion); Repentance and Baptism (8:36-38); “The Way” (8:1,3, persecution backdrop) |
| 9 | Saul’s conversion; Ananias heals Saul; Peter raises Tabitha | Conversion of Paul (9:1-22); Election and Calling of Paul (9:15); “The Way” (9:2); Apostolic Authority and Miracles (9:32-42) |
| 10 | Cornelius and Peter’s vision | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (10:1-48); Koinonia’s negative-sense collision (10:14-15,28, κοινός); God’s Impartiality (10:34-35); Gift of the Spirit (10:45); Baptism in the Name of Jesus (10:48) |
| 11 | Report to Jerusalem; church at Antioch; “Christians” first named | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (11:1-18); Church as Community (11:22,26); Gift of the Spirit (11:17) |
| 12 | Peter’s imprisonment and angelic deliverance; death of James | Persecution and Bold Witness (12:1-19); Providence (continuity) |
| 13 | Barnabas and Saul commissioned; Cyprus; Elymas; Antioch sermon | Laying On of Hands and Commissioning (13:2-3); Election and Calling of Paul (13:2, “set apart”); Justification apart from the Law (13:38-39); Resurrection of Christ (13:33-35) |
| 14 | Iconium; Lystra; healing; mistaken for Zeus and Hermes | Apostolic Authority and Miracles (continuity); Confrontation with Greco-Roman Religion (14:8-18); Persecution and Bold Witness (continuity, stoning) |
| 15 | The Jerusalem Council | Jerusalem Council and Spirit-Guided Decision; Justification apart from the Law (15:1-11,19-29); Church Leadership and Office (15:2-23) |
| 16 | Lydia; the Philippian jailer; the Python-spirit girl | Repentance and Baptism (16:15,33, continuity); Confrontation with divination (16:16-18, spirit of divination); Persecution and Bold Witness (imprisonment) |
| 17 | Areopagus; Athens; “unknown god” | Confrontation with Greco-Roman Religion (17:16-34); Resurrection of Christ (17:18,32, philosophical mockery); Great Commission Fulfilled (proclamation to Gentile philosophers) |
| 18 | Corinth; Gallio; Apollos | Lordship and Messiahship of Christ (18:5,28, continuity); John’s Baptism vs. Christian Baptism (18:25, Apollos’s partial knowledge) |
| 19 | Ephesus; disciples with only John’s baptism; sons of Sceva; Artemis riot | John’s Baptism vs. Christian Baptism (19:1-5); Tongues (19:6); Apostolic Authority and Miracles (19:11-12); Confrontation with Greco-Roman Religion (19:23-41, Artemis) |
| 20 | Eutychus raised; Miletus farewell address to elders/overseers | Church Leadership and Office (20:17,28); Breaking of Bread (20:7,11); Apostolic Authority and Miracles (continuity) |
| 21 | Paul returns to Jerusalem; purification vow; arrest | Repentance and Baptism cluster (21:23-26, ceremonial purification, distinguished from ἁγιασμός); Persecution and Bold Witness (arrest) |
| 22 | Paul’s defense before the crowd; conversion retold | Conversion of Paul (22:3-21); Election and Calling of Paul (22:14-15); Witness and the Origin of Martyrdom (22:20, “your witness Stephen”) |
| 23 | Sanhedrin; Pharisee/Sadducee dispute over the resurrection; plot against Paul | Resurrection of Christ (23:6-8); Persecution and Bold Witness (continuity); Providence (23:11) |
| 24 | Trial before Felix | ”The Way” (24:14,22); Persecution and Bold Witness (continuity) |
| 25 | Trial before Festus; appeal to Caesar | Persecution and Bold Witness (continuity); Providence (25:11, “call upon”/appeal) |
| 26 | Trial before Agrippa; conversion retold a third time | Conversion of Paul (26:9-23); Election and Calling of Paul (26:16-18); Resurrection of Christ (26:23); Witness and the Origin of Martyrdom (continuity) |
| 27 | Shipwreck | Providence and Divine Sovereignty (27:21-26,34) |
| 28 | Malta; snakebite; arrival in Rome; unhindered preaching | Great Commission Fulfilled (28:23,30-31, closing thesis); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (28:28); Apostolic Authority and Miracles (continuity, snakebite) |
Full-book coverage confirmation: all 28 chapters of Acts have been reviewed. No chapter was found to contribute zero doctrine-bearing content; every chapter above is mapped to at least one doctrine from Section A, either as a first introduction or as an explicitly marked continuity occurrence of a doctrine introduced elsewhere.
Cross-reference: doctrine_risk_registry.json (Acts) for the machine-readable risk registry; 08_core_glossary.md for term-level renderings; translation_memory.json/bible_term_registry.json (Romans/Galatians baseline) for all reused terms.
Critical Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Greek name: το Άγιο Πνεύμα και η Πεντηκοστή
Key terms: holy spirit, pentecost, filled with the holy spirit, poured out
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Άγιο Πνεύμα is the baseline’s own Critical term, but Acts is the book where the doctrine is most narratively dense. The specific Greek risk is not lexical drift on Πνεύμα itself but the doctrine’s collision with the repeatable-‘filling’ pattern (2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9), which a reader accustomed to Romans 8’s once-for-all indwelling language may read as contradictory rather than complementary. Must be taught as a distinct, repeatable empowerment category alongside the settled indwelling.
Tongues as Comprehensible Xenoglossy
Greek name: οι γλώσσες ως κατανοητή ξενόγλωσση ομιλία
Key terms: tongues, other tongues, in his own language, gave utterance
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 2 explicitly and repeatedly describes known human languages understood by native hearers — the opposite of the modern coinage γλωσσολαλιά (unintelligible ecstatic speech), which some Modern Greek charismatic/Pentecostal minorities associate with ‘speaking in tongues.’ Left unaddressed, this produces a doctrinally confused Pentecost lesson conflating Acts 2 with 1 Corinthians 14’s distinct phenomenon.
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Greek name: το ευαγγέλιο στους Ιουδαίους και τα έθνη
Key terms: gentiles, far off, no partiality, common/unclean
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the κοινός term collision (positive ‘shared’ at 2:44/4:32 vs. negative ‘ritually impure’ at 10:14-15,28) sits at the exact center of this doctrine’s key text (Peter’s vision). A Modern Greek reader risks importing either sense into the other chapter without an explicit cross-reference note, undermining the very point (purity-boundaries abolished) the vision makes.
Repentance and Baptism
Greek name: η μετάνοια και το βάπτισμα
Key terms: repent, baptism, forgiveness of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: μετάνοια carries two live Modern Greek accretions — monastic prostrations (μετάνοιες) and the formal sacrament of Confession — either of which risks narrowing Peter’s call to an immediate, universally-available inward reorientation into a physical gesture or a priest-mediated rite. Compounded by βάπτισμα’s implicit-paradigm risk (Acts’ adult, immediate, post-repentance baptism vs. the later infant-sacramental Orthodox norm).
Persecution and Bold Witness
Greek name: ο διωγμός και η τολμηρή μαρτυρία
Key terms: boldness, witness, persecution, unhindered
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the μάρτυς/witness word-family carries a dual sense in Modern Greek (ordinary legal witness AND ‘martyr,’ one who died for testifying) that developed specifically out of Acts’ own narrative arc (Stephen’s death). Early forensic-sense occurrences (2:32) must not be over-read as ‘martyr’ prematurely, while the word’s later technical sense must be acknowledged explicitly once it crystallizes narratively (7; 22:20).
Witness and the Origin of Martyrdom
Greek name: η μαρτυρία και η καταγωγή του μαρτυρίου
Key terms: witnesses, your witness Stephen, fell asleep
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 22:20 (‘your witness Stephen’) is the payoff of the whole book’s μάρτυς theme, dramatizing within the text itself the term’s historical development into ‘martyr.’ Every occurrence across the book requires theologian review given this doctrinal weight and the term’s genuine dual meaning in Modern Greek.
Conversion of Paul
Greek name: η μεταστροφή του Παύλου
Key terms: heavenly light and voice, chosen instrument, the Way, scales fell from his eyes
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: told three times in the book, requiring exact terminological consistency across all three tellings (Κύριος, σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς, ἡ Οδός). Saul’s persecuting zeal, dramatic reversal, and sovereign divine election converge here with the baseline’s Critical election/εκλογή risk (guard against the modern political ‘voting’ bleaching).
Justification apart from the Law
Greek name: η δικαίωση χωρίς τον νόμο
Key terms: everyone who believes is justified, forgiveness of sins, the law of Moses could not justify
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 13:38-39 is Acts’ own clearest justification-by-faith statement, textually and doctrinally parallel to Romans 3-4 and Galatians 2-3, spoken by the same author (Paul) as in those epistles — must be rendered with identical δικαίωση/δικαιοσύνη terminology and forensic (not colloquial-vindication or theosis-transformation) sense. The Jerusalem Council’s resolution (15:1-29) is the narrative enactment of this doctrine and must be taught in strict continuity with it.
Resurrection of Christ (Acts’ Preaching and Controversy)
Greek name: η ανάσταση του Χριστού (στο κήρυγμα και στην αντιπαράθεση των Πράξεων)
Key terms: God raised him up, resurrection, he was not abandoned to Hades
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts dramatizes the doctrine’s collision with both Greek philosophical resurrection-skepticism (17:32, Athenian mockery) and internal Jewish theological debate (23:6-8, Pharisee/Sadducee split) within the narrative itself. A Modern Greek reader inherits both the Orthodox Πάσχα devotional tradition AND the ancient philosophical skepticism this passage records — both must be named explicitly.
Lordship and Messiahship of Christ
Greek name: η κυριότητα και η μεσσιανικότητα του Χριστού
Key terms: Lord and Christ, Jesus is Lord, God has made him
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 2:36 is the single highest-doctrinal-density phrase in the core passage, converging Κύριος (Mister/Sir secular-bleaching risk) and Χριστός (Anointed One, preferred over Μεσσίας). ‘Made’ (ἐποίησεν) must not be read as denying eternal Sonship/deity but as historical vindication and public installation of a status already eternally true of him.
Deity and Sonship of Christ
Greek name: η θεότητα και η υιότητα του Χριστού
Key terms: Son of God, Holy and Righteous One, Prince/Author of life
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: reuses the baseline’s Critical son_of_god/deity_of_christ terms exactly; ἀρχηγός (‘Prince/Author of life,’ 3:15) is a live secular Modern Greek word (also ‘party leader’) that must retain its ‘originator/source of life’ sense rather than flattening to mere organizational leadership.
High Risk Doctrines
Spirit-Filling as Repeatable Empowerment
Greek name: η πλήρωση με το Πνεύμα ως επαναλαμβανόμενη ενδύναμωση
Key terms: filled with the Spirit, boldness, power
Review routing: Human theologian
The formulaic ‘πλήσθηκαν με Άγιο Πνεύμα’ recurs at moments of specific empowered speech/action. Risk: a Modern Greek reader may read this against Orthodox theosis categories of gradual, ongoing participatory transformation, obscuring Luke’s own pattern of decisive, punctiliar empowerment-events for particular tasks.
Signs and Wonders as Apostolic Authentication
Greek name: τα σημεία και τέρατα ως θεία επιβεβαίωση των αποστόλων
Key terms: signs and wonders, miracles, power of God
Review routing: Human theologian
Modern Greek τέρας has drifted overwhelmingly toward ‘monster’ in ordinary usage (e.g. ‘το τέρας του Λοχ Νες’); an unglossed rendering of the fixed τέρατα/σημεῖα formula risks an unintentionally comic or jarring misreading. Requires consistent pairing with θαύματα/σημεία across every occurrence of this repeated Acts formula.
Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ
Greek name: το βάπτισμα στο όνομα του Ιησού Χριστού
Key terms: in the name of Jesus Christ, baptized
Review routing: Human theologian
Baptism’s authority and meaning are located specifically in Christ; the risk is procedural/paradigmatic rather than purely lexical — ensure the curriculum does not silently substitute a later triadic baptismal formula’s full weight for Acts’ own consistent ‘in the name of Jesus’ phrasing without noting the historical development.
John’s Baptism versus Christian Baptism
Greek name: το βάπτισμα του Ιωάννη έναντι του χριστιανικού βαπτίσματος
Key terms: John’s baptism, baptism of repentance, received the Holy Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
Requires preserving the text’s own explicit two-stage distinction rather than flattening both into a single undifferentiated ‘baptism’ concept; the distinguishing element (reception of the Spirit) must remain clear in translation.
The Gift of the Spirit as Unmerited Grace
Greek name: το χάρισμα του Πνεύματος ως αναξιοπαθής χάρη
Key terms: gift of God, grace, cannot be purchased
Review routing: Human theologian
δωρεά in ordinary Modern Greek functions largely in charitable/civic contexts (organ/blood donation), risking a merely benevolent-giving reading rather than a decisively divine, Spirit-constituting gift; Simon Magus’s attempted purchase (8:18-24) is the text’s own sharpest dramatization of the grace-versus-money contrast and must anchor the doctrine explicitly to χάρη (baseline Critical).
Koinonia and Shared Possessions
Greek name: η κοινωνία και τα κοινά αγαθά
Key terms: all things in common, fellowship, koinos (positive sense)
Review routing: Human theologian
κοινός here carries its positive ‘shared’ sense (root of κοινωνία), sharply opposite in valence to the same word’s later ritual-purity sense at 10:14-15,28. Requires explicit cross-referencing in both directions so a Modern Greek reader does not wrongly import either sense into the other passage. Also: this voluntary sharing must not be taught as a coerced or permanent economic system.
The Breaking of Bread
Greek name: το σπάσιμο του άρτου
Key terms: breaking of bread, in their homes, glad and generous hearts
Review routing: Human theologian
Sits at the intersection of the baseline’s ευχαριστία (Eucharist) and κοινωνία (Holy Communion) notes; a Modern Greek Orthodox reader will very readily default to reading this as the Divine Liturgy. The text’s own genuine ambiguity between ordinary shared meals with devotional significance and a proto-Eucharistic rite must be preserved honestly, not resolved in either direction.
”The Way” as the Church’s Self-Identity
Greek name: η “Οδός” ως αυτοπροσδιορισμός της εκκλησίας
Key terms: the Way, persecuting those who belonged to the Way
Review routing: Human theologian
Modern Greek ὁδός is the completely ordinary word for ‘street/road’ used in every postal address; unglossed, this technical designation for the Christian movement is lexically invisible or reads as a literal street name. Requires a consistent capitalization/glossing convention across every occurrence.
Church Leadership and Office (Elders/Overseers)
Greek name: η ηγεσία και το αξίωμα στην εκκλησία (πρεσβύτεροι/επίσκοποι)
Key terms: elders, overseers, shepherd the flock
Review routing: Human theologian
ἐπίσκοπος and πρεσβύτερος are used interchangeably in Acts 20 for the same local leaders, but their Modern Greek descendants (επίσκοπος ‘bishop,’ a distinct higher office; πρεσβύτερος-root priesthood vocabulary) denote a later, developed three-tier hierarchy absent from the text’s own single-office usage. The curriculum must present Acts’ own functional equivalence honestly rather than reading the later hierarchy back into the text.
Diakonia and the Origin of Church Service
Greek name: η διακονία και η καταγωγή της υπηρεσίας στην εκκλησία
Key terms: daily distribution, ministry of the word, the Seven
Review routing: Human theologian
Modern Greek διάκονος almost exclusively means the ordained deacon; Acts 6’s own emphasis is on Spirit-qualified practical service distinguished from word-ministry within a united community, not yet a hierarchical, sacramentally-ordained office. Requires careful theologian framing honoring both the historical trajectory and the text’s more modest claim.
Laying On of Hands and Commissioning
Greek name: η επίθεση των χειρών και η ανάθεση αποστολής
Key terms: laying on of hands, set apart, sent them off
Review routing: Human theologian
Connects to Modern Greek χειροτονία (ordination), a major Orthodox sacrament; Acts uses the gesture for at least three distinct functions (commissioning for a task, sending for mission, Spirit-impartation) that later sacramental theology sometimes collapses into a single ordination category. Track each occurrence’s specific function.
Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Greek name: το αποστολικό αξίωμα και τα θαύματα
Key terms: power of God, signs and wonders, in the name of Jesus
Review routing: Human theologian
Apostolic miracles authenticate a specific gospel message and are done explicitly ‘through’ or ‘in the name of’ Jesus, not by the apostles’ independent power — this agency-distinction, and the τέρατα-‘monster’ bleaching risk on the accompanying formula, must both be actively managed.
Casting Lots and Apostolic Designation
Greek name: η κλήρωση και ο ορισμός του αποστόλου
Key terms: lot, share of this ministry, Matthias
Review routing: Human theologian
κλῆρος is the direct root of Modern Greek ‘ο κλῆρος’ (the clergy) — an institutional-office sense entirely absent from Acts 1’s actual meaning of random sortition and individual portion/share. Requires an explanatory note distinguishing this ordinary sense from the later technical ecclesiastical development.
The Jerusalem Council and Spirit-Guided Decision
Greek name: η Σύνοδος της Ιερουσαλήμ και η καθοδήγηση του Πνεύματος
Key terms: it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, yoke, circumcision
Review routing: Human theologian
Requires careful framing so the Spirit’s authority is neither reduced to rhetorical flourish over a merely human decision, nor treated as infallible independent revelation apart from Scripture — the council’s decision is explicitly grounded in and defended from Scripture (15:15-18).
Confrontation with Greco-Roman Religion
Greek name: η αντιπαράθεση με την ελληνορωμαϊκή θρησκεία
Key terms: Zeus, Hermes, Artemis, spirit of divination, unknown god
Review routing: Human theologian
Uniquely and repeatedly sensitive for this Language Package: Acts names actual figures and sites from native Greek mythology and religion (Zeus, Hermes, the Pythian/Delphic oracle, Artemis, the Areopagus) still culturally present in Modern Greek education and identity. Every such episode must be framed as the pagan world’s mistaken reaction which the apostles urgently and explicitly correct — never as endorsement, common ground beyond rhetorical strategy, or syncretism. Human theologian review required for every occurrence.
Hades and the Realm of the Dead
Greek name: ο Άδης και το βασίλειο των νεκρών
Key terms: Hades, you will not abandon my soul
Review routing: Human theologian
Ἅδης is the actual name of the Greek underworld god and realm from native mythology; a Modern Greek reader inevitably hears the mythological name even though the NT/LXX usage co-opts the word generically for Sheol/the realm of the dead. Requires an explicit note that the text uses an existing word for a biblical concept, not an affirmation of Greek underworld cosmology.
Election and Calling of Paul
Greek name: η εκλογή και η κλήση του Παύλου
Key terms: chosen instrument, set apart from my mother’s womb, to carry my name
Review routing: Human theologian
Direct tie to the baseline’s Critical election/ἐκλογή term (Romans 9-11 material); Ananias’s description of Saul as God’s σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς must be cross-referenced explicitly for cross-curriculum consistency, guarding against the ballot-box connotation Modern Greek defaults to.
The Son of Man Title
Greek name: ο τίτλος “Υιός του Ανθρώπου”
Key terms: Son of Man, standing at the right hand of God
Review routing: Human theologian
Must not be lexically or doctrinally merged with ‘Son of God’ — a distinct Christological title rooted in Daniel 7:13-14, appearing at the climax of Stephen’s martyrdom; a distinguishing note is required so the two titles are not flattened into synonyms.
The Great Commission Fulfilled
Greek name: η εκπλήρωση της μεγάλης αποστολής
Key terms: witnesses to the ends of the earth, unhindered, the kingdom of God
Review routing: Human theologian
1:8 is the programmatic thesis of the whole book and 28:31 its deliberately open, triumphant closing word; ἀκωλύτως is a rare, distinctive word chosen deliberately as the final note and deserves its own dedicated teaching note tying together boldness, witness, and the geographic mission horizon.
Medium Risk Doctrines
God’s Impartiality
Greek name: η αμεροληψία του Θεού
Key terms: no partiality, God shows no favoritism
Review routing: Native speaker review
Transparent compound (προσωπολήπτης), low lexical risk; the doctrinal weight rests on correctly connecting this principle to the surrounding Cornelius narrative rather than on any translation ambiguity in the phrase itself.
The Church as Community
Greek name: η εκκλησία ως κοινότητα
Key terms: church, fellowship, one accord, added to their number
Review routing: Native speaker review
εκκλησία’s institutional/building-sense drift is the primary Modern Greek risk, per baseline; the passive-voice ‘were added’ (προσετέθησαν) implying divine agency in church growth should also be preserved rather than read as mere headcount.
Providence and Divine Sovereignty
Greek name: η πρόνοια και η κυριαρχία του Θεού
Key terms: not a hair from your head will perish, definite plan and foreknowledge of God
Review routing: Native speaker review
πρόνοια’s secular ‘social welfare’ bleaching risk per baseline applies; Acts 27 presents providence narratively (the storm/shipwreck) rather than didactically, and 2:23 holds human guilt and divine sovereign plan together without resolving the tension by removing either.
Inspiration and Fulfillment of Scripture
Greek name: η θεοπνευστία και η εκπλήρωση της Γραφής
Key terms: as it is written, the prophet Joel, David says
Review routing: Native speaker review
A Greek reader can access the Septuagint’s own wording directly alongside Luke’s citations — a genuine advantage unique to this Language Package; ensure the OT-to-NT fulfillment line is drawn explicitly in teaching rather than assumed.
Referenced passages