Doctrine Analysis

Acts — Full Doctrine Analysis (Hmong Language Package)

This document has two parts. Part A is the doctrine matrix — the nine assigned doctrines, each with supporting passages drawn from across the whole book, risk level, translation risk description, and review routing. It is fully consistent with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json: same nine doctrines, same tiers, same routing. Part B is the chapter-by-chapter coverage log mandated by the PRD’s full-book-coverage rule — every chapter of Acts, first (1) to last (28), is walked through explicitly, noting which doctrine(s) it touches, which glossary terms (Part A/B of 08_core_glossary.md) it activates, and — where a chapter contributes no new terms or doctrinal material beyond what is already logged — an explicit “reviewed, no new risk” notation rather than a silent omission.

Part A — Doctrine Matrix

#	Doctrine	Risk	Review Routing
1	The Holy Spirit and Pentecost	Critical	Human theologian
2	The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles	Critical	Human theologian
3	Repentance and Baptism	High	Human theologian
4	The Church as Community	High	Human theologian
5	Apostolic Authority and Miracles	Critical	Human theologian
6	Persecution and Bold Witness	High	Human theologian
7	Conversion of Paul	Critical	Human theologian
8	Justification apart from the Law	Critical	Human theologian
9	The Great Commission Fulfilled	High	Human theologian

1. The Holy Spirit and Pentecost — Critical

Supporting passages: Acts 1:4-5, 1:8; 2:1-4, 2:16-21, 2:33, 2:38 (core passage); 4:8, 4:31; 5:3-9; 8:15-17; 9:17; 10:44-46; 11:15-17; 13:9, 13:52; 19:1-6.

Translation risk description: This is the single highest-density collision zone in the book. (a) puv npo ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig (“filled with the Holy Spirit,” 2:4 and eight further occurrences) must never be rendered with nkag, the verb describing a spirit entering/possessing a txiv neeb in shamanic trance; that substitution would present Pentecost as mass spirit-possession rather than the divine Person’s personal indwelling. (b) nchuav (“pour out,” 2:17-18, 2:33, 10:45) is the identical verb used for ancestor/spirit libation-pouring and must always carry an explicit divine subject (“Vajtswv/tus Tswv nchuav…”) to avoid reading as a ritual exchange technique. (c) Ananias and Sapphira’s judgment for lying to/testing “the Holy Spirit” (5:3, 9) depends entirely on the fixed Vaj Ntsuj Plig collocation retaining full personhood — a dropped “Vaj” prefix confuses the divine Person with an animistic wandering human soul (ntsuj plig). (d) The Pentecost sermon’s climactic invocation clause “call on the name of the Lord… will be saved” (2:21) inherits the Romans-baseline permanent prohibition on the verb hu (ritual soul-calling/hu plig) for this sense. (e) Tongues of fire (2:3) and speaking in other tongues (2:4) must be kept lexically separate (nplaig reserved for the literal fire-imagery; hais lwm yam lus for the speech-miracle) to avoid conflating two distinct sign-phenomena.

Review routing: Human theologian (Critical).

2. The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles — Critical

Supporting passages: Acts 2:9-11, 2:39; 8:26-39; 10:1-48; 11:1-18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:1-29; 17:22-31; 18:6; 21:19; 22:21; 28:28.

Translation risk description: Peter’s vision of the sheet of foods (10:9-16; 11:5-9) uses qias tsis huv / dawb huv, extending the Romans-baseline High-risk dawb huv (ritual-purity) collision into the specific domain of Hmong food and death-contact taboos; if taught as a hygiene statement rather than God’s declaration of Gentile inclusion, the passage’s actual doctrinal point — the abolition of the Jew/Gentile purity boundary — is lost entirely. The vision experience itself (yog toog) is the identical term for a shaman’s deliberately induced trance-journey, risking assimilation of God-initiated revelation into the shamanic paradigm (this risk is shared with Doctrine 7 below). Paul’s Areopagus speech (17:23) deliberately identifies the Athenians’ “unknown god” with the true God, rendered with the fixed capitalized Vajtswv; without careful historical-rhetorical framing this risks being generalized into a syncretistic principle legitimizing Hmong ancestor- or nature-spirit veneration as unknowing worship of the true God — a misreading the curriculum must explicitly foreclose.

Review routing: Human theologian (Critical).

3. Repentance and Baptism — High

Supporting passages: Acts 2:38, 2:41 (core passage); 3:19; 8:12, 8:36-38; 9:17-18; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 16:30-33; 19:1-7; 22:16.

Translation risk description: hloov siab lees txim tso kev txhaum tseg (repentance) collides with the Hmong custom of treating wrongdoing (txhaum) as a reparable social/ritual fault against elders, clan order, or spirits, correctable by restitution or apology — not the decisive, inward, God-ward reorientation Acts requires at every evangelistic climax. Baptism (kev cai raus dej) inherits the Romans-baseline High-risk kevcai collision with ritual purification from spirit-contamination, and Acts additionally requires a two-stage distinction absent from Romans: John’s water-only, repentance-oriented baptism (19:1-7) versus Christian baptism in Jesus’ name joined with reception of the Spirit. The invocation formula “in the name of Jesus Christ” (2:38 and parallels) risks being heard as a magical incantation available to any invoker — a danger the text itself dramatizes negatively through the Sons of Sceva (19:13-17) — rather than as inseparable from genuine faith-relationship with the risen Christ.

Review routing: Human theologian (High).

4. The Church as Community — High

Supporting passages: Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 6:1-7; 9:31; 11:19-30; 12:1, 12:5, 12:12; 13:1-3; 14:23, 14:27; 15:1-29, 15:41; 16:5; 18:22-23; 20:7-12, 20:17-28.

Translation risk description: The “breaking of bread” (2:42, 2:46; also 20:7, 20:11) reuses the shared-meal domain that in Hmong traditional practice is also the domain of ancestor-feast offerings — food ritually shared with or presented to spirits/ancestors — risking assimilation of ordinary/sacramental table-fellowship into ancestor-veneration feast patterns unless explicitly distinguished. “Elder” (cov txwj laus) is a strong positive bridge to real Hmong clan-elder authority, but unqualified use would conflate ecclesial eldership with clan/village elder authority, which in traditional practice is entangled with ancestor-ritual and shamanic-consultation decision-making — hence the mandatory qualifier “(hauv pawg ntseeg)” at every occurrence. “Overseer” (episkopos, 20:28) and “elder” must be taught as the same office viewed from two angles, not two separate offices, to avoid structural confusion. The radical common-purse generosity of 2:44-45 and 4:32-35 carries an under-teaching risk (voluntary devotion vs. perceived compulsory redistribution) rather than a collision risk.

Review routing: Human theologian (High).

5. Apostolic Authority and Miracles — Critical

Supporting passages: Acts 2:22, 2:43; 3:1-10; 4:29-31, 4:33; 5:12-16; 8:9-24; 9:32-43; 12:1-19; 13:6-12; 14:3, 14:8-18; 16:16-18, 16:25-26; 19:11-20; 20:7-12; 23:6-9; 26:22-23; 28:1-10.

Translation risk description: This doctrine contains the single most direct, unavoidable collision term in the book: khawv koob (sorcery/magic), the actual living Hmong term for magical/sorcerous incantation-arts, applied to Simon Magus (8:9-24), Elymas (13:6-12), and the Ephesian exorcists (19:13-19) — every instance must present it as condemned/counterfeit power or the text’s own built-in contrast-teaching collapses. tej cim thiab tej txuj ci (“signs and wonders”) is otherwise indistinguishable from a shaman’s ritual feats unless anchored explicitly to God’s confirming action (“…ntawm Vajtswv”). “Laying on of hands” (6:6; 8:17-19; 9:12,17; 13:3; 19:6; 28:8) risks being read as a shamanic power-transmission gesture — a danger the Simon Magus narrative itself dramatizes by depicting his attempt to purchase this power (8:18-20). “Resurrection of the dead,” applied here to Tabitha (9:36-42) and Eutychus (20:9-12) as well as being defended before the Sanhedrin and Agrippa (23:6-8; 26:8, 26:23), collides with the Hmong belief that the dead continue as ancestor-spirits requiring ongoing ritual engagement, rather than being bodily raised to renewed physical life.

Review routing: Human theologian (Critical).

6. Persecution and Bold Witness — High

Supporting passages: Acts 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 6:8-15; 7:54-60; 8:1-3; 9:23-25, 9:29; 12:1-5; 14:19-20; 16:19-24; 21:27-36; 22:22-23:11; 24:1-27; 25:1-12; 26:1-32.

Translation risk description: “Witness” (tus timkhawv) undergoes a visible semantic development at Stephen’s martyrdom (ch.7) toward the technical sense of “one killed on account of testimony.” The Hmong rendering itself does not change, but the curriculum must explicitly teach this development, or the doctrinal link between faithful testimony and potential death — central to this doctrine across chapters 4-8, 12, 16, 21-26 — will be lost on hearers who default to the ordinary legal-witness sense. The idiom for gospel “boldness” (ua siab tawv qhia, e.g., 4:13, 4:29, 4:31, 9:27-28, 14:3, 19:8) shares a root with the already-flagged negative idiom lub siab tawv (hardened heart, Romans-baseline “hardening” entry); without a clear verbal-versus-nominal distinction, positive Spirit-given boldness in proclamation risks being heard as the same phenomenon as sinful, judgment-inviting hard-heartedness. Paul’s repeated legal defenses before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa (chs. 24-26) additionally require the “governing authority” qualifier (cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws, inherited from Romans) to keep Roman civil power lexically distinct from hwjchim in its divine or shamanic senses.

Review routing: Human theologian (High).

7. Conversion of Paul — Critical

Supporting passages: Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-21; 26:9-23.

Translation risk description: Paul’s Damascus-road experience and its two retellings hinge entirely on yog toog (vision/trance), the identical Hmong term used for a shaman’s deliberately self-induced or ritually-induced trance-journey to the spirit-world. This is the single highest-priority collision term surfaced in this Language Package, on par with the Holy-Spirit cluster in Doctrine 1: without rigorous, repeated contrast-teaching that Paul’s vision was entirely God-initiated, unsought, unnegotiated, truthful, and Christ-centered — never a religious technique Paul employed or could repeat at will — hearers will naturally assimilate the conversion narrative into the shamanic trance paradigm, inverting the doctrine’s claim that this was a sovereign divine interruption of a persecutor’s life, not a religious achievement. The “chosen instrument” designation (9:15, lub yias uas Vajtswv xaiv) must retain the mandatory Election volitional qualifier from the Romans baseline to prevent this being heard as impersonal fate (hmoov) rather than personal divine commissioning.

Review routing: Human theologian (Critical).

8. Justification apart from the Law — Critical

Supporting passages: Acts 13:38-39; 15:1-11, 15:19-21; 16:3; 21:17-26.

Translation risk description: Acts 13:38-39 places the Romans-baseline Critical-risk terms raug suav tias ncaj ncees (justify/reckon as righteous) and Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes) (the Law) in explicit antithesis — “by him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” Any rendering suggesting the Law could partially justify would reintroduce works-righteousness at Acts’ single clearest verse for this doctrine. The Jerusalem Council’s invocation of txiaj ntsim (grace, 15:11) as the sole ground of Gentile salvation apart from circumcision must never drift toward the forbidden koob hmoov (fate/fortune) framing established as permanently forbidden in the Romans baseline. Paul’s own later participation in a Jewish purification vow (21:23-26) while elsewhere teaching justification apart from the Law creates a genuine risk that curriculum content could be misread as doctrinal compromise unless explicitly framed as voluntary cultural accommodation for the sake of Jewish believers, never a concession regarding the Law’s justifying power.

Review routing: Human theologian (Critical).

9. The Great Commission Fulfilled — High

Supporting passages: Acts 1:8, 1:26; 8:4-8, 8:39-40; 13:47; 19:20; 28:23-31.

Translation risk description: This doctrine’s bookending terms — mus txog thaj chaw kawg ntawm ntiajteb (“ends of the earth,” 1:8) and qhia tsis muaj leej twg thaiv (“proclaiming without hindrance,” 28:31) — are themselves Low risk, but the doctrine cumulatively depends on the High-risk hwjchim (power, always qualified “Vajtswv hwjchim”) and kev cawm dim (salvation, anchored to Yexus Khetos) terms at its programmatic center (1:8). Additionally, the casting-of-lots practice used to complete the apostolic band (1:26, ua nrig xaiv) closely resembles Hmong and broader animist lot-divination for discerning fate or spirit-will; curriculum content must teach this as a superseded, one-time, pre-Pentecost practice — not an ongoing sanctioned method for discerning God’s will — or the Commission narrative risks legitimizing divinatory technique precisely at its launch point.

Review routing: Human theologian (High).

Part B — Chapter-by-Chapter Coverage Log (Full Book, Acts 1-28)

Every chapter is logged explicitly per the full-book-coverage mandate. Chapters contributing no doctrinally load-bearing new material are marked “Reviewed — no new risk beyond terms already logged.”

Ch.	Content Summary	Doctrine(s) Touched	Key Terms Activated	Coverage Note
1	Ascension; Great Commission charge (1:8); casting of lots to replace Judas (1:26)	9 (Great Commission), 5 (apostolic office), 1 (Spirit promised)	`hwjchim`, `kev cawm dim` (implicit), `ua nrig xaiv` (B8), `tus Tub Txib`	New term: casting lots (B8) — flagged Critical-adjacent per doctrine 9 note above.
2	Core passage. Pentecost outpouring, tongues, Peter’s sermon, mass repentance/baptism, church formed	1, 2, 3, 9	`puv npo ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig`, `nchuav`, `hais lwm yam lus`, `hloov siab lees txim…`, `kev cai raus dej`, `hu lub npe ntawm tus Tswv`	Theological anchor of the whole book; every mandatory qualifier phrase converges here.
3	Healing of the lame man; Peter’s temple sermon; call to repentance (3:19)	3, 5	`tej cim thiab tej txuj ci`, `hloov siab…`, B29 (Servant/pais title, 3:13,3:26)	Reviewed — reuses Ch.2/existing terms; B29 (pais) newly logged here.
4	Peter/John before the Sanhedrin; filled with the Spirit and boldness (4:8, 4:31); cornerstone quotation (4:11); common ownership (4:32-37, spills into ch.5)	1, 5, 6, 4	`puv npo…Vaj Ntsuj Plig`, `ua siab tawv qhia`, B30 (cornerstone), `qhev` (self-designation, 4:29)	Cornerstone (B30) newly logged; deliberately distinguished from `stumbling_block`.
5	Ananias and Sapphira; apostolic signs; Gamaliel’s counsel; second arrest and flogging	1, 5, 6	`Vaj Ntsuj Plig` (personhood at stake, 5:3,9), `tej cim thiab tej txuj ci`	Reviewed — reinforces Doctrine 1’s Ananias/Sapphira risk already logged; no new term.
6	Selection of the Seven; Hellenists/Hebrews; Stephen’s Spirit-filled reputation	4, 6	`tus pab tu pawg ntseeg` (deacon), B25 (Hellenists/Hebrews), `puv npo…Vaj Ntsuj Plig`	New term B25 logged; sets up Stephen’s martyrdom narrative.
7	Stephen’s speech (Israel’s history, idolatry excursus); vision of Son of Man; martyrdom	6, 5 (implicit, contrast to idolatry), 2 (Law/covenant history)	`dab mlom` (idol, Romans-inherited), B28 (Son of Man), `lub yeeb koob` (glory), `ntsuj plig` (Stephen’s spirit, 7:59)	New term B28 logged; `ntsuj plig` here is the anthropological sense — must not receive “Vaj” prefix.
8	Persecution scatters the church; Philip in Samaria; Simon Magus; Ethiopian eunuch’s baptism	2, 3, 5 (sorcery contrast), 6	`khawv koob` (B9, Simon Magus), `kev cai raus dej`, `tsa tes rau saum` (laying on of hands, B10)	New terms B9, B10 fully activated; first appearance of the sorcery-contrast pattern central to Doctrine 5.
9	Saul’s Damascus-road conversion; Ananias’s vision; Saul’s baptism and preaching; Tabitha raised	7 (Conversion of Paul), 3 (baptism), 1 (chosen instrument/foreknowledge), 5 (resurrection miracle)	`yog toog` (B11), B17 (chosen instrument), B31 (resurrection of the dead)	Highest-density new-term chapter alongside ch.2; B11 flagged Critical, mandatory theologian review.
10	Cornelius’s vision; Peter’s vision of clean/unclean; Gentile household receives the Spirit and baptism	2, 1, 3	`qias tsis huv / dawb huv` (B12), `yog toog` (B11), `nchuav`	Reviewed for term reuse; B12 newly and fully activated here — Critical, mandatory theologian review.
11	Peter reports to Jerusalem; defense of Gentile inclusion; church at Antioch; disciples first called “Christians”	2, 4	B12, B26 (Christian)	New term B26 logged.
12	Herod’s persecution; James martyred; Peter’s angelic prison rescue; Herod’s death	6, 5	B27 (angel of the Lord), `hwjchim`	New term B27 logged; must never use bare `dab`/spirit vocabulary for the angel.
13	First missionary journey begins; Elymas the sorcerer; Paul’s Antioch sermon (justification apart from Law, 13:38-39); Spirit commissions Paul and Barnabas	8, 5, 2, 9, 1	`khawv koob` (Elymas), `raug suav tias ncaj ncees`, `Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes)`, `txiaj ntsim`	Doctrine 8’s single clearest anchor verse (13:38-39) occurs here — highest scrutiny required.
14	Iconium and Lystra; healing of the lame man; mistaken for gods (Zeus/Hermes); stoning of Paul	5, 6, 2	`tej cim thiab tej txuj ci`, `dab mlom` (idolatrous misidentification)	Reviewed — reuses established terms; idolatry-contrast reinforced.
15	Jerusalem Council; circumcision controversy resolved by grace; apostolic decree; the yoke of the Law	8, 4, 2	`txiaj ntsim` (15:11), `kev txiav`, B34 (yoke), B35 (apostolic decree)	Doctrinally central chapter for Doctrine 8 alongside ch.13; new terms B34, B35 logged.
16	Lydia’s conversion; the spirit of divination exorcised; Philippian jailer’s household baptized; imprisonment and earthquake	3, 2 (contrast), 6, 5	`kev cai raus dej`, B14 (spirit of divination)	B14 newly and fully activated — Critical, mandatory theologian review; direct textual contrast with Doctrine 1’s Holy Spirit.
17	Athens; Areopagus speech; the “unknown god”; resurrection preached and mocked	2, 5	B18 (unknown god), B31 (resurrection)	B18 newly and fully activated here — Critical, mandatory theologian review.
18	Corinth; Gallio’s tribunal; Priscilla and Aquila; continued mission	4, 6, 9	`cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws` (Gallio)	Reviewed — reuses Romans-baseline governing-authority term; no new risk.
19	Ephesus; disciples of John re-baptized and receive the Spirit; Sons of Sceva; burning of magic scrolls; riot of the silversmiths	3 (two-stage baptism), 1, 5, 6	`kev cai raus dej` (two-stage distinction), `khawv koob`, `hauv lub npe ntawm Yexus Khetos` (B33)	B33 newly and fully activated — Critical, mandatory theologian review (Sons of Sceva incident).
20	Miletus farewell to Ephesian elders; Eutychus raised; breaking of bread	4, 5, 6 (implicit warning of suffering ahead)	`cov txwj laus (hauv pawg ntseeg)` (B23), `tus saib xyuas pawg ntseeg` (B24), B21 (breaking of bread), B31	New terms B23, B24, B21 logged; elder/overseer equivalence established here.
21	Warnings of Paul’s arrest; Paul’s Jewish purification vow; arrest in the temple	8 (voluntary accommodation vs. Law), 6	`Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes)`, `kev txiav`	Reviewed — reinforces Doctrine 8’s accommodation-risk note; no new term.
22	Paul’s defense before the crowd; second retelling of his conversion	7, 6	`yog toog`	Reviewed — reuse of B11 in a new retelling context; same Critical flag applies.
23	Paul before the Sanhedrin; Pharisee/Sadducee dispute over the resurrection; plot against Paul’s life	6, 5	B31 (resurrection, doctrinal dispute)	Reviewed — reuse; no new term.
24	Paul before Felix; Paul’s defense; reference to “the Way”	6, 3 (repentance/faith implied)	B16 (the Way)	Reviewed — B16 reactivated from ch.9/19; no new risk beyond existing logging.
25	Paul before Festus; appeal to Caesar	6	`cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws`	Reviewed — no new term; reinforces civil-authority qualifier discipline.
26	Paul before Agrippa; third retelling of his conversion; defense of the resurrection hope	7, 5, 6	`yog toog`, B31, `kev cia siab` (hope)	Reviewed — culminating retelling; same Critical flags as chs. 9, 22 apply.
27	Shipwreck voyage; angelic reassurance; Paul’s leadership and thanksgiving aboard ship	9 (mission advancing toward Rome)	B27 (angel of the Lord), `ua tsaug`	Reviewed — low incremental risk; providence theme, no new doctrinal term.
28	Malta; snake-bite miracle; healing ministry; arrival in Rome; preaching without hindrance (28:31)	5, 9	`tej cim thiab tej txuj ci`, B37 (proclaiming without hindrance)	Final capstone chapter for Doctrine 9; B37 newly and fully activated, closing the book’s thematic frame set at 1:8.

Coverage confirmation: All 28 chapters of Acts have been explicitly reviewed above. No chapter was silently skipped; chapters 5, 14, 18, 21-25, and 27 are logged as contributing primarily reinforcement/reuse of already-catalogued terms and doctrines rather than new lexical risk, per the full-book-coverage mandate’s explicit-reviewed-not-omitted rule.

Governing Note

This document extends assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json (Acts baseline) without contradiction: the same nine doctrines, the same risk tiers, and the same review routing are used throughout. It additionally satisfies the PRD’s full-book-coverage mandate by walking every chapter of Acts from 1 to 28. Any future Phase 2/3 generation task touching a Critical-tier doctrine (1, 2, 5, 7, 8) or High-tier doctrine (3, 4, 6, 9) must be routed to mandatory human theologian review before publication, with no automated-review bypass, consistent with the Romans-baseline escalation convention.