Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Acts (English–Japanese)
This glossary catalogs every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning Acts 1–28. Terms already established in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json are reused exactly and marked [Baseline Reuse]; their full definitional entries are not repeated here except for Acts-specific contextual notes. New terms introduced by the Acts curriculum receive full entries. Risk tiers follow the baseline’s four-tier framework (Critical / High / Medium / Low).
Section A — Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (Romans TM), with Acts-Specific Context
| Term | Japanese | Risk (Baseline) | Acts Chapters Used | Acts-Specific Contextual Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | 神 | Critical | 1–28 (pervasive) | Qualifying language (唯一のまことの神) especially required at Acts 17:23 (Areopagus “unknown god”) and Acts 14:11–13 (Paul/Barnabas mistaken for gods). |
| Jesus | イエス | Critical | 1–28 | Consistent form throughout; Acts 9’s “Jesus of Nazareth” self-identification (9:5) is a key conversion moment. |
| Holy Spirit | 聖霊 | Critical | 1–2, 4–8, 10, 13, 15, 19, 21 | Central doctrinal term for Holy Spirit and Pentecost; NEVER 霊 alone, per baseline; especially load-bearing at 2:4, 2:17–18, 2:38, 5:3, 10:45, 15:28, 19:6. |
| Lord | 主 | Critical | 2, 9–10, 16, 19 | Acts 2:36 (“Lord and Christ”) and Acts 9:5 (“Lord, who are you?”) are key Lordship of Christ texts; 9:5 shows the term’s initial ambiguity before full confession. |
| Son of God | 神の子 | Critical | (implicit; Christ’s Sonship affirmed via Lord/Christ titles) | No direct “Son of God” title occurrence in Acts core narrative beyond allusion; reused as needed in doctrinal summary teaching alongside Acts 2:36, 13:33. |
| Salvation | 救い | Critical | 2, 4, 11, 15–16, 27–28 | 2:21, 2:40, 4:12, 16:30–31 are key proof texts; NEVER 解脱; extreme care with 極楽往生 bridge language per baseline. |
| Grace | 恵み | Critical | 11, 13–15, 18, 20 | 15:11 (council’s summary statement) and 20:24 (Paul’s ministry-defining verse) are key; non-transactional clarification required throughout, especially against Acts 8’s Simon-Magus purchasable-power contrast. |
| Righteousness | 義 | Critical | 13, 24 | 13:39 (justification) and 24:25 (Paul before Felix) both require the Bushido-virtue distinguishing note mandated by baseline. |
| Justification | 義と認められること | Critical | 13, 15 | 13:38–39 is the first full Acts statement of Justification apart from the Law; 15’s council ruling is its narrative outworking. |
| Resurrection | 復活 | High | 1–2, 4, 17, 23–26 | 2:24–32 (core passage) is central; 17:18, 17:32 (Athens) and 23–26 (trial speeches) show resurrection as a repeated point of controversy — reinforces baseline’s warning to actively restore doctrinal weight against pop-culture dilution. |
| Faith | 信仰 | High | 3, 6, 13–16, 20, 26 | 13:39 and 16:31 are key; distinguished throughout from generic religious sentiment per baseline. |
| Called / Calling | 召された／召し | High | 1–2, 9, 13, 16 | 2:39’s “as many as the Lord our God will call” and 9:15’s “chosen instrument” both reinforce sovereign, non-meritorious calling. |
| Election | 選び | High | 9, 13 | 9:15 (σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς) is the key text; must resist Japan’s competitive-exam-selection framing. |
| Holy / Saints / Sanctification | 聖い／聖徒／聖化 | High | 13, 26 | 13:2 (Spirit “sets apart” for mission); 26:18 (“inheritance among those who are sanctified”). |
| Law | 律法 | Medium | 13, 15, 21 | Central to Justification apart from the Law; 15’s Jerusalem Council is the key narrative resolution. |
| Sin | 罪 | High | 2–3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 26 | 2:38’s “forgiveness of sins” is the key Repentance/Baptism proof text; reinforces guilt-before-God distinction against Japan’s shame-orientation risk. |
| Gentiles | 異邦人 | Medium | 9–11, 13–15, 18, 21–22, 26, 28 | Central to Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine throughout; 10’s Cornelius narrative and 15’s council are the doctrinal hinge points. |
| Apostle | 使徒 | Low | 1–2, 4–6, 8–9, 11, 13–16 | Central to Apostolic Authority and Miracles; low collision risk maintained throughout Acts. |
| Church | 教会 | Medium | 2 (implicit), 5, 8–9, 11–15, 20 | Central to Church as Community; must remain distinct from 会堂 (synagogue, new Acts term, see Section B). |
| Fellowship | 交わり | Low | 2 | 2:42’s “the fellowship” is the key Church as Community proof text. |
| Kingdom of God | 神の国 | High | 1, 8, 14, 19–20, 28 | Acts 1:6 and Acts 28:31 bookend the entire narrative; both require the baseline’s mandatory doctrinal anchoring against pre-1945 State Shinto (神国日本) resonance. |
| Messiah / Christ | キリスト | Critical | 2–3, 5, 8–9, 11, 13, 17–18, 26 | 2:31, 2:36 are key; heavy explanatory teaching required per baseline (biblical-illiteracy risk, not competing-concept risk). |
| Prophet / Prophecy | 預言者／預言 | Medium | 2–3, 7, 13, 15, 21, 26, 28 | 2:16’s Joel citation is the key text; verify 預 kanji throughout per baseline homophone warning. |
| Providence | 摂理 | High | 2, 20, 27 | 2:23’s “determined plan and foreknowledge” and 20:27’s “whole counsel of God” both reuse this concept; 27’s shipwreck narrative illustrates providential care without introducing new vocabulary. |
| Power of God | 神の力 | Medium | 1–4, 6, 8, 19 | 2:22, 1:8 (“power” for witness) are key; NEVER 気 or パワー per baseline. |
| Mission | 宣教 | Medium | 1, 13, 28 | 1:8’s programmatic statement and 28’s closing statement bookend Great Commission Fulfilled; carries baseline’s Kirishitan-persecution historical weight. |
| David | ダビデ | Low | 1–2, 4, 7, 13, 15 | 2:25–34’s Psalm citations are key Davidic Covenant / Messianic Promise texts. |
| Israel | イスラエル | Medium | 1–2, 4, 7, 9–10, 13, 21, 26, 28 | 2:36’s “all the house of Israel” reinforces Unity of Jews and Gentiles alongside Gentile-inclusion texts. |
| Exhort | 勧める | Low | 2, 11, 14–15, 20, 27 | 2:40’s Peter exhortation; low risk maintained. |
| Intercession | とりなし | Medium | 12 | Prayer for Peter’s release (implicit; reuse concept, no new vocabulary). |
Section B — New Terms Introduced by the Acts Curriculum
| # | Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk Tier | Doctrine Category | Chapters | Distinguishing / Collision Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pentecost | πεντηκοστή / pentēkostē | 五旬節 (gojunsetsu) | Medium | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2, 20 | Biblical-illiteracy gap: secular readers need OT Feast-of-Weeks background taught from scratch. ペンテコステ acceptable as supplementary gloss. |
| 2 | Tongues (known languages, Pentecost sense) | γλῶσσαι / glōssai | 他国の言葉 (tagoku no kotoba) | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2 | Must be terminologically distinguished from 異言 (see #3) to avoid conflating the two distinct phenomena Acts describes. |
| 3 | Tongues (ecstatic utterance sense) | γλῶσσαι / glōssai | 異言 (igen) | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 10, 19 | Distinct from #2; risk of being heard as generic ecstatic/trance speech resembling folk-shamanic or new-religious-movement practices if not carefully anchored to Spirit-given, church-edifying purpose. |
| 4 | Filled with the [Holy] Spirit | πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου / πληρόω / plērēs pneumatos hagiou | 聖霊に満たされる (Seirei ni mitasareru) | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2, 4, 6–7, 9, 11, 13 | Must be distinguished from Japanese folk spirit-possession vocabulary (霊が取り憑く) — this is empowering communion with a personal divine Person, not ambiguous possession. |
| 5 | Repentance | μετάνοια / μετανοέω / metanoia | 悔い改め (kuiaratame) | High | Repentance and Baptism | 2–3, 5 (implicit theme), 8, 11, 13, 17, 19–20, 26 | Must be distinguished from 反省 (secular self-reflection/regret, common in Japanese corporate/social apology culture) and from 懺悔 (Buddhist ritual confession). This is Godward whole-person reorientation, not a socially-performed acknowledgment. |
| 6 | Baptism | βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω / baptisma | バプテスマ (Baputesuma); alt. 洗礼 (senrei) | High | Repentance and Baptism | 1–2, 8–11, 16, 18–19, 22 | Must be distinguished from Shinto ritual water-purification (清め／禊, harae/misogi), which addresses ceremonial pollution (穢れ), not forgiveness of sin before a holy, personal God. |
| 7 | Forgiveness of sins (baptism context) | ἄφεσις τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν / aphesis tōn hamartiōn | 罪の赦し (tsumi no yurushi) | Critical | Repentance and Baptism; Justification apart from the Law | 2, 10, 13, 26 | Requires clear catechesis that baptism is the response accompanying, not the meritorious cause of, forgiveness — guards against an implicit works-righteousness reading. |
| 8 | Gift of the Holy Spirit | δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος / dōrea tou hagiou Pneumatos | 聖霊の賜物 (Seirei no tamamono) | Critical | Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Grace | 2, 8, 10–11 | Combination of two individually Critical/High-risk baseline terms; must resist on-giri reciprocity framing — the Spirit is freely given, never purchasable (cf. Simon Magus, Acts 8). |
| 9 | Signs and wonders | σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα / sēmeia kai terata | しるしと不思議 (shirushi to fushigi) | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 2, 4–6, 8, 14–15 | 不思議 risks secular dilution toward “curious/mysterious” in everyday usage; teaching must restore weight as divinely authenticating acts. |
| 10 | Boldness | παρρησία / parrēsia | 大胆に (daitan ni) | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4, 9, 13–14, 19, 26, 28 | Risk of reading as socially inappropriate self-assertion given Japan’s “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down” conformity culture; must be framed as Spirit-empowered, God-directed courage, not personality trait. |
| 11 | Witness / testify | μάρτυς, διαμαρτύρομαι / martys, diamartyromai | 証人 (shounin); 証しする (shoushi suru) | High | Persecution and Bold Witness; Apostolic Authority | 1–2, 7, 10, 13, 22, 26 | Must be distinguished from a merely legal-courtroom sense; connect forward to 殉教 (martyrdom, #12) as the same conceptual root Greek unifies but Japanese vocabulary separates. |
| 12 | Martyr / martyrdom | (root: μάρτυς, extended sense) | 殉教 (junkyou) / 殉教者 (junkyousha) | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | 7, 22 | Introduce explicitly at Stephen’s death (ch. 7) with a note tying back to μάρτυς/witness (#11) — Greek uses one word family where Japanese requires two distinct terms. |
| 13 | The Way (Christian movement) | ἡ ὁδός / hē hodos | この道 (kono michi) | High | Church as Community; Great Commission Fulfilled | 9, 19, 22, 24 | Strong overlap with Japanese religious/philosophical 道 (dō) vocabulary (茶道, 剣道, 神道 itself); valuable teaching bridge but must be anchored to specific content (faith in the risen Lord Jesus), not left as a generic disciplined “path” interchangeable with other named Ways. |
| 14 | Common / unclean (ceremonial) | κοινός / koinos | 汚れたもの／きよくないもの (kegareta mono / kiyokunai mono) | High | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Justification apart from the Law | 10 | Must be taught as abolition of OT ceremonial law fulfilled in Christ, not conflated with Shinto kegare/ritual-pollution categories, which address a different kind of impurity entirely. |
| 15 | God shows no partiality | οὔκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ θεός / ouk estin prosōpolēptēs ho theos | 神は人を偏り見ない (Kami wa hito wo katayorimi nai) | High | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10 | Must remain fully unqualified universal statement; resist softening toward uchi-soto (insider/outsider) social framing. |
| 16 | Household (salvation context) | οἶκος / oikos | 家族 (kazoku) | Medium | Repentance and Baptism; Church as Community | 10, 16, 18 | Japan’s ie household-continuity tradition risks a collectivist misreading implying automatic corporate salvation; each household member’s own faith-response must be affirmed. |
| 17 | Conversion / turning | ἐπιστροφή, ἐπιστρέφω / epistrophē, epistrephō | 回心 (kaishin) | High | Conversion of Paul | 3, 9, 11, 15, 26 | Must be distinguished from the term’s secular usage for any decisive change of opinion/attitude; this is a Spirit-wrought, God-initiated total reorientation. |
| 18 | Chosen instrument / vessel of election | σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς / skeuos eklogēs | 選びの器 (erabi no utsuwa) | High | Conversion of Paul; Grace; Election (baseline reuse) | 9 | Must resist Japan’s competitive-exam-selection framing (受験, 選抜) — Paul is chosen despite active opposition to God, not because of merit. |
| 19 | Magic / sorcery | μαγεία / mageia | 魔術 (majutsu) | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Grace | 8, 13, 19 | Distinguish biblical condemnation of manipulative, purchasable spiritual power from respectful treatment of Japan’s own folk-magic/occult heritage (陰陽師 traditions) as a cultural reference point only, not a target of derision. |
| 20 | Laying on of hands | ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν / epithesis tōn cheirōn | 手を置く (te wo oku) / 按手 (anshu) | Medium–High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 6, 8, 13, 19 | Distinguish from Buddhist esoteric hand-laying rites (加持) understood as transmitting the practitioner’s own spiritual attainment; this is a prayerful sign accompanying God’s sovereign gift, not a power-transmission technique. |
| 21 | In the name of Jesus | ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ / en tō onomati Iēsou | イエスの名によって (Iesu no na ni yotte) | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Lordship of Christ (baseline reuse) | 3–4, 8, 16, 19 | Distinguish from magical name-invocation/incantation formulas in Japanese folk-magic and pop-culture “power word” tropes; this is authorized action under Christ’s Lordship. |
| 22 | Unknown god / idols | ἄγνωστος θεός / εἴδωλον / agnōstos theos / eidōlon | 知られていない神 (shirarete inai kami) / 偶像 (guuzou) | Critical | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 17 | Genuinely apt bridge to Japan’s yaoyorozu no kami tradition, but per baseline’s Critical 神 entry, must clearly present the true God as categorically singular and knowable, not “one more kami now identified.” |
| 23 | Ascension | ἀνάληψις, ἀναλαμβάνω / analēpsis, analambanō | 天に上げられた (ten ni agerareta) / 昇天 (shouten) | High | (undergirds Lordship of Christ, Great Commission) | 1 | Distinguish from Daoist/immortal-ascension and Buddhist/Shinto afterlife-departure folk motifs; a unique, bodily, historical event to a specific throne of authority. |
| 24 | Restoring the kingdom (nationalistic expectation) | ἀποκαθιστάνεις τὴν βασιλείαν / apokathistaneis tēn basileian | 王国を回復してくださる (oukoku wo kaifuku shite kudasaru) | High | Kingdom Mission (baseline reuse); Great Commission Fulfilled | 1 | Text itself corrects a nationalistic-restoration expectation toward global mission — a natural anchor point against 神の国’s State Shinto historical resonance flagged in the baseline. |
| 25 | To the end(s) of the earth | ἔσχατος τῆς γῆς / eschatos tēs gēs | 地の果てまで (chi no hate made) | Medium | Great Commission Fulfilled | 1, 13, 28 | Should be read as a literal global-scope statement structuring the whole book’s narrative arc, not merely poetic hyperbole. |
| 26 | Casting lots | κλῆρος / klēros | くじ (kuji) | Medium | (Apostolic Authority, minor) | 1 | Superficial resemblance to Shinto/Buddhist fortune-slip practice (おみくじ) requires a brief clarifying note distinguishing Spirit-guided decision-method from fortune-telling. |
| 27 | Breaking of bread | κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου / klasis tou artou | パンを裂くこと (pan wo saku koto) | Medium | Church as Community | 2, 20 | Distinguish from generic communal meal-sharing (会食); carries covenantal/sacramental significance. |
| 28 | Holding all things in common | εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά / eichon hapanta koina | 持ち物を共有していた (mochimono wo kyouyuu shite ita) | Medium | Church as Community | 2, 4 | Must be taught as voluntary, Spirit-motivated generosity, not an enforced or ideological collectivist economic system. |
| 29 | Christian(s) | Χριστιανός / Christianos | クリスチャン (Kurisuchan) | Low | Church as Community | 11 | Established loanword with broad but often superficial secular recognition; some explanatory teaching still useful. |
| 30 | Circumcision | περιτομή / peritomē | 割礼 (katsurei) | Medium | Justification apart from the Law | 15–16, 21 | Primarily a biblical-illiteracy gap; requires full explanation of the rite’s OT covenantal significance for secular readers. |
| 31 | The whole counsel of God | πᾶσα ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ θεοῦ / pasa hē boulē tou theou | 神のみこころのすべて (Kami no mikokoro no subete) | Medium–High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 2 (adjacent), 20 | Ties to baseline 摂理 (providence); emphasizes complete, undiluted proclamation of God’s purpose. |
| 32 | Overseer / elder / shepherd (pastoral office) | ἐπίσκοπος, πρεσβύτερος, ποιμαίνω / episkopos, presbyteros, poimainō | 監督 (kantoku) / 長老 (chourou) / 牧する (boku suru) | Medium | Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | 14, 20 | 監督’s secular “coach/director” overtones and the shepherd metaphor’s biblical-illiteracy gap (no strong Japanese pastoral-herding tradition) both require explanatory teaching. |
| 33 | Synagogue | συναγωγή / synagōgē | 会堂 (kaidou) | Low–Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Great Commission Fulfilled | 6, 9, 13–14, 17–19, 24, 26, 28 | Keep distinct from 教会 (church, baseline term) to preserve the historical Jewish-institutional identity distinct from the emerging Christian church. |
| 34 | Sanhedrin | συνέδριον / synedrion | サンヘドリン (Sanhedorin) / 議会 (gikai) | Low–Medium | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4–6, 22–23, 25 | 議会 alone risks a modern-parliament reading; prefer transliteration with explanatory gloss (ユダヤの最高法院). |
| 35 | Ignorance / times of ignorance | ἄγνοια / agnoia | 無知の時代 (muchi no jidai) | Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Universal Human Accountability (baseline reuse) | 17 | Applied universally to “all people,” reinforcing baseline’s Universal Human Accountability doctrine in a fully cross-cultural (pagan Athenian) setting. |
| 36 | Opening eyes / turning from darkness to light | ἀνοῖξαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς… ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς | 目を開かせ、闇から光に立ち返らせる | Medium | Conversion of Paul; Great Commission Fulfilled | 9, 26 | Anchor specifically to spiritual/moral blindness before God, not generalized “enlightenment” language that could echo Buddhist 悟り. |
| 37 | Inheritance (among the sanctified) | κλῆρος ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις / klēros en tois hēgiasmenois | 聖徒たちの間の相続財産 (seito-tachi no aida no souzoku zaisan) | High | Great Commission Fulfilled; Sanctification (baseline reuse) | 26 | Reinforces that Jew and Gentile alike share equally in this inheritance, echoing baseline Adoption entry’s positive full-inheritance framing. |
Risk Summary (New Acts Terms, Section B)
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 3 | Human theologian |
| High | 18 | Human theologian |
| Medium–High | 3 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 11 | Native speaker review |
| Low–Medium | 2 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 2 | Automated review |
Combined with Section A baseline-reused terms (all of which retain their original baseline risk tiers and review routing exactly as recorded in doctrine_risk_registry.json), this glossary provides full-book coverage of load-bearing theological vocabulary for Acts 1–28, ready for extension into the Phase 1 doctrine risk registry (Step 2) and the Phase 2 translation memory update process.
Cross-reference: analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md for full contextual and verse-level treatment of every term listed above.
All Section A terms MUST be reused exactly as recorded in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json; no re-derivation permitted.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Kami
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / God
Rejected alternatives: 八百万の神の一柱としての神, 神様
Original: θεός
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: qualifying language (唯一のまことの神) required at first occurrence and in doctrinally weighty statements. Acts context: especially load-bearing at Acts 17:23 (Areopagus ‘unknown god’ altar — see unknown_god_idols entry, Section B) and Acts 14:11-13 (Paul and Barnabas mistaken for Zeus and Hermes).
Jesus
Approved rendering: イエス
Transliteration: Iesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ゼズス
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] Use イエス exclusively. Acts context: Acts 9:5’s self-identification (‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting’) is the key Conversion of Paul moment.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊
Transliteration: Seirei
Doctrine: Sanctification / Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: 霊, 幽霊
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: NEVER 霊 alone. Acts context: this is the single most frequently recurring theological term in Acts (chs. 1-2, 4-8, 10, 13, 15, 19, 21); given this density, require the 聖 qualifier at EVERY occurrence in Acts materials, not only first use, to guard against Japan’s vivid folk spirit-world (幽霊, 妖怪, ancestral spirits).
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: shu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主君, ご主人様
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] Acts context: Acts 2:34-35’s Psalm 110 citation places YHWH (‘the LORD’) and the Messiah (‘my Lord’) side by side, both rendered identically as 主 — a translator’s note distinguishing the two referents is REQUIRED at this passage. Acts 9:5’s Saul addressing the risen Jesus as κύριε functions initially as generic respectful address (‘sir/master’) before resolving into full confession; distinguish this staged usage from the exclusive-Lordship confession sense of Acts 2:36 and Romans 10:9.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: 神の子
Transliteration: Kami no Ko
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 現人神, 神の化身
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: NEVER 現人神. Acts context: Acts 2:36’s ‘God made him both Lord and Christ’ and Acts 13:33’s ‘today I have begotten you’ citation both require an explanatory note guarding against an adoptionist reading — resurrection/exaltation publicly vindicates and installs, but does not originate, Christ’s eternal Sonship. See made_lord_and_christ, Section B.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救い
Transliteration: sukui
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 極楽往生
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 解脱; extreme care with 極楽往生 bridge language. Acts context: Acts 2:21, 2:40, 4:12 (‘salvation in no one else’), and 16:30-31 (‘what must I do to be saved?’, echoing 2:37) are key proof texts.
Grace
Approved rendering: 恵み
Transliteration: megumi
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 恩返しが要る恵み, 功徳
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: non-transactional; never implies on-giri repayment obligation (恩・義理); NEVER 功徳. Acts context: Simon Magus’s attempt to purchase the Spirit’s power (Acts 8:18-24) is a vivid narrative refutation of any transactional reading, reinforcing 11:23; 13:43; 14:3,26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: gi
Doctrine: Salvation / Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: 道徳, 正義感
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: must be flagged against the Bushido-virtue sense (rectitude/moral courage, per Nitobe’s Bushido) whenever used in a justification/accountability context. Acts context: NOTE a register shift within Acts itself — Acts 13:38-39 uses 義 in the strict forensic (justification) sense, while Acts 24:25 (‘righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment’ before Felix) uses it closer to general moral righteousness in an apologetic speech; do not treat both occurrences identically without a contextual note.
Justification
Approved rendering: 義と認められること
Transliteration: gi to mitomerareru koto
Doctrine: Salvation / Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: 悟りを開くこと, 解脱
Original: δικαιοῦσθαι / δικαίωσις
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: forensic declaration, not a process; NEVER 悟りを開く. Acts context: Acts 13:38-39’s direct pairing with 律法 (‘you could not be justified by the law of Moses’) is the FIRST full Acts statement of Justification apart from the Law and functions as this curriculum doctrine’s thesis text; the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) is its narrative outworking.
Messiah
Approved rendering: キリスト
Transliteration: Kirisuto
Doctrine: Messianic Promise / Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 救世主
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] Requires heavy explanatory teaching (biblical-illiteracy risk, not competing-concept risk). Acts context: Acts 2:31,36 and 13:32-37 are key OT-fulfillment proof texts; most secular readers know ‘Kirisuto’ only as a foreign cultural brand (commercialized Christmas, wedding-chapel aesthetics).
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: 罪の赦し
Transliteration: tsumi no yurushi
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism / Justification apart from the Law
Original: ἄφεσις τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term (Acts). The remission of sin’s guilt before God, promised as the result of repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18). CRITICAL: requires clear catechesis that baptism is the God-ordained response accompanying, not the meritorious cause of, forgiveness. Japanese sequencing grammar around ‘baptism for forgiveness’ is more permissive of a causal/works-righteousness misreading than English; flag every co-occurrence with baptism vocabulary for theologian review.
Gift Of Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊の賜物
Transliteration: Seirei no tamamono
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost / Grace
Original: δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term (Acts). The Holy Spirit given freely, not earned, poured out identically on Jews (2:38) and Gentiles (8:20; 10:45; 11:17). CRITICAL compound stacking two individually Critical/High-risk terms (聖霊 + 賜物/恵み family); must resist on-giri reciprocity framing. Simon Magus’s attempt to purchase this gift (Acts 8:18-20) is directly condemned — the standing narrative refutation of any transactional reading.
Unknown God Idols
Approved rendering: 知られていない神
Transliteration: shirarete inai kami
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἄγνωστος θεός / εἴδωλα
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term (Acts). The Athenian altar ‘to an unknown god’ Paul uses as a rhetorical bridge (Acts 17:23); also 偶像 (guuzou, idols, 17:16). CRITICAL: the single most theologically delicate bridge-term in the curriculum — genuinely apt parallel to Japan’s yaoyorozu no kami (八百万の神) tradition, in which countless deities are honored without exhaustive individual knowledge, BUT this is also the danger: too smooth a bridge risks the true God being received as merely one more identified kami. MANDATORY 唯一のまことの神 qualifier required immediately alongside this term at every occurrence, per the baseline’s Critical 神 entry.
Yhwh And Messiah Lord
Approved rendering: 主は私の主に言われた
Transliteration: Shu wa watashi no Shu ni iwareta
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
New term (Acts). Psalm 110’s ‘The LORD said to my Lord’ as cited at Acts 2:34-35, David under inspiration distinguishing YHWH from ‘my Lord’ (the Messiah) — OT proof of the Messiah’s divine status. Both referents render identically as 主 in Japanese, unlike English’s LORD/Lord capitalization convention. MANDATORY translator’s note required distinguishing the two referents at every occurrence of this citation.
Made Lord And Christ
Approved rendering: 神はこの方を主とし、またキリストとされたのです
Transliteration: Kami wa kono kata wo Shu to shi, mata Kirisuto to sareta no desu
Doctrine: Deity and Sonship of Christ / Lordship of Christ
New term (Acts). The climactic christological confession of Peter’s sermon (Acts 2:36): ‘God made him both Lord and Christ.’ CRITICAL: requires a mandatory explanatory theologian’s note guarding against an adoptionist reading — the resurrection/exaltation publicly vindicates and installs, but does not originate, Christ’s eternal Lordship/Sonship, echoing the same caution the Romans baseline records for Romans 1:4.
High Risk Terms
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fukkatsu
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 輪廻転生, カムバック
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 輪廻転生; actively restore doctrinal weight against pop-culture ‘comeback’ dilution. Acts context: Acts 2:24-32 (core passage) is the doctrinal anchor; Acts 17:18,32 (Athenian mockery) and Acts 23-26 (trial-speech controversy, including the Pharisee/Sadducee dispute at 23:6-8) dramatize resurrection as a recurring flashpoint of unbelief more intensively than Romans does.
Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: shinkou
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 信心, 宗教心
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package.] Personal trust in Christ; distinguish from generic 宗教心. Acts context: paired repeatedly with 聖霊-fullness as a ministry qualification (Acts 6:5; 11:24), reinforcing that this is Spirit-given trust, not administrative competence or general piety; also the basis of household salvation at Acts 16:31.
Called
Approved rendering: 召された
Transliteration: mesareta
Doctrine: Divine Calling / Election and Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 運命づけられた, 天職
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] Avoid 運命づけられた and unqualified 天職. Acts context: Acts 2:39 (‘as many as the Lord our God will call’) and Acts 9:15 (‘chosen instrument’) both reinforce sovereign, non-meritorious calling.
Calling
Approved rendering: 召し
Transliteration: meshi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 天職
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 運命 alone. Acts context: undergirds the Acts 1-2 apostolic and Pentecost calling narrative; no distinct new Acts risk beyond reinforcing the personal, relational summons.
Election
Approved rendering: 選び
Transliteration: erabi
Doctrine: Effectual Calling / Election and Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 合格, 選抜
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] Avoid Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ framing (受験, 選抜). Acts context: Acts 9:15 (σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς, ‘chosen instrument’) and Acts 15:7 (Gentile inclusion) are key texts; Paul is chosen WHILE actively persecuting the church, directly overturning any merit-based reading. See chosen_instrument, Section B.
Holy
Approved rendering: 聖い
Transliteration: kiyoi
Doctrine: Sanctification / Separation unto God’s Service
Rejected alternatives: 清らか, 穢れがない
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
[Inherited from Romans package.] Distinguish from Shinto ritual purity (清らか, kegare-focused). Acts context: Acts 13:2’s ἀφορίσατε (‘set apart for me’) ties Spirit-directed missionary commissioning to this term family; distinguish from ascetic self-withdrawal (修行).
Saints
Approved rendering: 聖徒
Transliteration: seito
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: 聖者, 菩薩
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 菩薩 or 聖者. Acts context: Acts 26:18’s inheritance language (‘an inheritance among those who are sanctified’) applies corporately, reinforcing that Jew and Gentile believers share this inheritance equally. See inheritance_among_sanctified, Section B.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: 聖化
Transliteration: seika
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 修行, 悟り
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἡγιασμένοι
Category: Sanctification
[Inherited from Romans package.] Distinguish from 修行 and 悟り. Acts context: the group described as ἡγιασμένοι (‘sanctified’) at Acts 26:18, part of Paul’s Gentile commissioning.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: tsumi
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 恥, 迷惑をかけること
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
[Inherited from Romans package.] Guilt before a holy God, not shame (恥) or 迷惑. Acts context: Acts 2:38’s ‘forgiveness of sins’ is the key Repentance/Baptism proof text; Acts 2:37’s ‘pierced to the heart’ response must be taught as guilt before God, not public loss of face, reinforcing the shame/guilt cultural caution with a vivid narrative example.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神の国
Transliteration: Kami no Kuni
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: 神国日本
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER let stand unanchored, given pre-1945 State Shinto ultranationalist resonance (神国日本). Acts context: uniquely bookends the ENTIRE book (Acts 1:6, where the disciples’ nationalistic-restoration question is directly corrected by Jesus toward global mission, and Acts 28:31, the book’s final theological statement) — both require the mandatory doctrinal anchor, and Acts 1:6 is itself a built-in teaching opportunity.
Providence
Approved rendering: 摂理
Transliteration: setsuri
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 宿命
Original: βουλή / πρόνοια
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 運命 or 宿命. Acts context: Acts 2:23’s ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει (‘determined plan and foreknowledge’) pairs this concept with 予知 (‘foreknowledge’), risking a fortune-telling-clairvoyant reading if not anchored to purposive personal governance; the shipwreck narrative (Acts 27) illustrates providence entirely through narrative action, requiring explicit teaching notes since no direct vocabulary appears there.
Tongues Known Languages
Approved rendering: 他国の言葉
Transliteration: tagoku no kotoba
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: 異言 (for this specific sense)
Original: ἑτέραι γλῶσσαι
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term (Acts). The known human languages of the diaspora nations, miraculously spoken by the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2:4-11). Must be terminologically distinguished from 異言 (tongues_ecstatic, see below) to avoid conflating two distinct phenomena Acts describes under overlapping Greek vocabulary (γλῶσσαι). Flag the distinction explicitly at first occurrence (Acts 2:4).
Tongues Ecstatic
Approved rendering: 異言
Transliteration: igen
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: 他国の言葉 (for this specific sense)
Original: γλῶσσαι
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term (Acts). Ecstatic Spirit-given utterance accompanying Gentile Spirit-reception (Acts 10:46) and the Ephesian believers’ baptism in the Spirit (Acts 19:6). Distinct from tongues_known_languages above. Risk of being heard as generic ecstatic/trance speech resembling folk-shamanic or mediumship phenomena (e.g., itako mediums); must be anchored to Spirit-given, church-edifying purpose, never dissociated trance.
Filled With Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊に満たされる
Transliteration: Seirei ni mitasareru
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: 霊が取り憑く
Original: πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου / ἐπλήσθησαν πνεύματος ἁγίου
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term (Acts). A distinct, repeatable empowering experience of the Holy Spirit enabling bold proclamation (Acts 2:4; 4:8,31; 6:3,5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9,52). Must NEVER be rendered with or associated with 霊が取り憑く (folk spirit-possession vocabulary, associated with malevolent or ambiguous folk spirits in popular horror/exorcism culture) — this is empowering communion with the personal third Person of the Trinity, not possession.
Repentance
Approved rendering: 悔い改め
Transliteration: kuiaratame
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: 反省, 懺悔
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term (Acts). Decisive, whole-person Godward reorientation away from sin (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). NEVER equate with 反省 (secular self-reflection/regret, reinforced by Japan’s corporate/political apology-press-conference culture) or 懺悔 (Buddhist-influenced ritual confession aimed at self-purification). Require an explanatory note at first occurrence (Acts 2:38).
Baptism
Approved rendering: バプテスマ
Transliteration: Baputesuma
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: 洗礼 (as unqualified substitute)
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term (Acts). Ritual water immersion marking public identification with Christ (Acts 2:38,41; 8:12,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:5). Transliteration バプテスマ preferred as primary term over native compound 洗礼, whose literal ‘washing rite’ sense risks conflation with Shinto ceremonial water purification (清め／禊, harae/misogi), which addresses ceremonial pollution (穢れ), not forgiveness of sin before a holy, personal God. Acts 19:3-5 distinguishes John’s preparatory baptism from full Christian baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Boldness
Approved rendering: 大胆に
Transliteration: daitan ni
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: παρρησία
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term (Acts). Spirit-given confidence to proclaim the gospel publicly despite threat (Acts 4:13,29,31; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31). Direct, sustained collision across seven+ occurrences with Japan’s conformity culture (出る杭は打たれる, ‘the nail that sticks out gets hammered down’); frame at every occurrence as flowing from having been with Jesus (4:13) and Spirit-fullness (4:31), never as a personality trait or social transgression.
Witness
Approved rendering: 証人
Transliteration: shounin
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness / Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: μάρτυς / διαμαρτύρομαι
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term (Acts). One who testifies firsthand to Christ’s resurrection and lordship; the programmatic term of Acts 1:8. 証人 also names a legal courtroom witness in ordinary Japanese usage, risking a merely juridical reading. Must be connected forward to 殉教 (martyr, below) as the same conceptual root Greek μάρτυς unifies but Japanese vocabulary formally separates — flag at Acts 2:32 and its fulfillment at Acts 7.
Martyr
Approved rendering: 殉教
Transliteration: junkyou
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: μάρτυς (extended sense)
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term (Acts). One who dies for their testimony to Christ; first realized at Stephen’s death (Acts 7:54-60) and echoed at Acts 22:20. Introduce explicitly at Stephen’s death with a note tying back to 証人/witness — this is the narrative fulfillment of the witness-to-martyr trajectory announced at Acts 1:8 and 2:32. Person form: 殉教者 (junkyousha).
The Way
Approved rendering: この道
Transliteration: kono michi
Doctrine: Church as Community / Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Church as Community
New term (Acts). Early designation for the Christian movement (Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22). Strong overlap with Japanese religious/philosophical 道 (dō) vocabulary (茶道, 剣道, and especially 神道 itself, ‘the way of the kami’) — the highest-value/highest-risk bridge term in the Acts glossary. Must be anchored to specific content (faith in the risen, exclusive Lord Jesus), never left implying a generic disciplined spiritual path interchangeable with other named Ways.
Common Unclean
Approved rendering: 汚れたもの
Transliteration: kegareta mono
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles / Justification apart from the Law
Original: κοινός
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term (Acts). Ceremonially defiled/profane under OT categories, applied metaphorically to Gentiles in Peter’s vision and directly overturned (Acts 10:14-15,28). Directly intersects Shinto’s kegare (穢れ) ritual-pollution concept and its harae/misogi remedy — a LIVE, still-practiced category in modern Japan, unlike most other collision risks in this book. Must be taught as abolition of a specific OT ceremonial distinction fulfilled in Christ, never as commentary on or replacement for the ongoing Shinto purity system.
No Partiality
Approved rendering: 神は人を偏り見ない
Transliteration: Kami wa hito wo katayorimi nai
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: οὔκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ θεός
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term (Acts). God’s impartiality regardless of ethnicity, social class, or status (Acts 10:34). Must be preserved as an unqualified universal statement; validation required that natural Japanese diplomatic-hedging register has not softened this into a less absolute claim. Resist Japan’s uchi-soto (insider/outsider) social framing.
Conversion
Approved rendering: 回心
Transliteration: kaishin
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: ἐπιστροφή / ἐπιστρέφω
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term (Acts). A radical, God-initiated reversal of life-orientation; the paradigm case is Paul’s conversion, narrated three times (Acts 9; 22; 26). 回心 is the standard Japanese Christian theological term but is ALSO ordinary secular vocabulary for any decisive change of opinion or attitude (e.g., a political conversion). Require an explicit note at EACH of the three narrations that this is Spirit-wrought and God-initiated, not self-generated psychological reflection — the risk is cumulative across the book, not a single-occurrence risk.
Chosen Instrument
Approved rendering: 選びの器
Transliteration: erabi no utsuwa
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul / Grace / Election and Effectual Calling
Original: σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term (Acts). A person set apart and equipped by God’s sovereign choice (Acts 9:15, σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς). Must not be read through Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜) — Paul is chosen WHILE actively persecuting the church, directly overturning any merit-based reading; getting this wrong inverts the passage’s own doctrinal purpose.
Magic Sorcery
Approved rendering: 魔術
Transliteration: majutsu
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles / Grace
Original: μαγεία
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term (Acts). Occult power-manipulation practices condemned when Simon attempts to purchase the Spirit’s power (Acts 8:9-24) and when magic books are burned at Ephesus (Acts 19:19). Must be taught as condemnation of manipulative, PURCHASABLE spiritual power generally (of which Japan’s own indigenous occult/divination heritage, onmyouji 陰陽師, is one culturally proximate example, not the sole referent) — never framed as derision of Japanese folk tradition specifically.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: 手を置く
Transliteration: te wo oku
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles / The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term (Acts). Physical gesture accompanying prayer for impartation of blessing, commissioning, or the Spirit (Acts 6:6; 8:17; 13:3; 19:6). Must be distinguished from Buddhist esoteric hand-laying rites (加持, kaji, Shingon/Tendai practice) understood to transmit ritual power through the practitioner’s own spiritual attainment; this is a prayerful sign accompanying God’s SOVEREIGN GIVING, not a power-transmission technique. Ordination-context alternative: 按手 (anshu).
Name Of Jesus
Approved rendering: イエスの名によって
Transliteration: Iesu no na ni yotte
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles / Lordship of Christ
Original: ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term (Acts). Acting under and by Christ’s delegated authority, not a magical incantation formula; basis of the healing of the lame man (Acts 3:6) and repeated exorcisms/healings (4:10; 16:18; 19:13). Must be clearly distinguished from magical name-invocation formulas in Japanese folk-magic (陰陽師 spell traditions) and modern occult/pop-culture ‘chant the name for power’ tropes; this is submission to and authorized action under Christ’s Lordship.
Ascension
Approved rendering: 天に上げられた
Transliteration: ten ni agerareta
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 仙人が天に昇る
Original: ἀνάληψις / ἀναλαμβάνω
Category: Christology
New term (Acts). Christ’s bodily, visible, historical ascent to heaven and enthronement (Acts 1:9-11), the basis for his present Lordship (Acts 2:33). Must be distinguished from Daoist/immortal-ascension motifs in East Asian folk religion (仙人が天に昇る) and from generic Buddhist/Shinto afterlife-departure imagery. Compact doctrinal-noun alternative: 昇天 (shouten) — use only alongside, never in place of, the fuller descriptive form.
Restoring Kingdom
Approved rendering: 王国を回復してくださる
Transliteration: oukoku wo kaifuku shite kudasaru
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission / Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἀποκαθιστάνεις τὴν βασιλείαν
Category: Kingdom Mission
New term (Acts). The disciples’ nationalistic question about restoring Israel’s political kingdom (Acts 1:6), directly corrected by Jesus toward Spirit-empowered global mission (1:8). This is a mistaken question the text itself corrects; must always be paired with Jesus’s correction in the same teaching unit — a drafter who renders it neutrally loses the built-in teaching opportunity against 神の国’s State Shinto historical resonance.
Whole Counsel Of God
Approved rendering: 神のみこころのすべて
Transliteration: Kami no mikokoro no subete
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles / Providence
Original: πᾶσα ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term (Acts). The entirety of God’s revealed purpose, which faithful apostolic ministry must proclaim without partial selection (Acts 20:27). Ties to 摂理 (providence) and to Acts 2:23’s βουλή vocabulary; the connection is not obvious without an explicit cross-reference note. Lock this exact phrase in translation memory for cross-document consistency.
Inheritance Among Sanctified
Approved rendering: 聖徒たちの間の相続財産
Transliteration: seito-tachi no aida no souzoku zaisan
Doctrine: Great Commission Fulfilled / Sanctification
Original: κλῆρος ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις
Category: Great Commission Fulfilled
New term (Acts). The full inheritance shared by all who are sanctified through faith in Christ, part of Paul’s Gentile commissioning (Acts 26:18). Long descriptive compound with no single established Japanese term; lock this exact rendering in translation memory to guarantee cross-document consistency. Reinforces that Jew and Gentile alike share equally in this inheritance, echoing the baseline Adoption entry’s positive full-inheritance framing.
Obey God Rather Than Men
Approved rendering: 人に従うより神に従うべきです
Transliteration: hito ni shitagau yori Kami ni shitagau beki desu
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term (Acts). Peter and John’s principle before the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:29), grounding legitimate conscience-based resistance to human authority under God’s higher authority. Genuinely counter-cultural given Japan’s strong hierarchical-obedience culture (seniority systems, corporate hierarchy, historic Bushido loyalty-to-lord ethics, already flagged in the Romans baseline’s Obedience of Faith entry); requires careful, non-inflammatory framing that does not read as generic anti-authority rebellion.
Medium Risk Terms
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: ritsuhou
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読むこと, 法律
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 法律 (secular civil law). Acts context: central to the Jerusalem Council’s resolution (Acts 15) of whether Gentile believers must keep the Mosaic Law, and to Paul’s Antioch sermon (Acts 13:38-39) — the central textual anchor for Justification apart from the Law as a distinct Acts doctrine.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 異邦人
Transliteration: ihoujin
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: 外人
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] Avoid casual 外人; resist Japan’s uchi-soto (insider/outsider) framing. Acts context: central category throughout Acts 9-11, 13-15, 18, 21-22, 26, 28; Acts 10 (Cornelius) and Acts 15 (Jerusalem Council) are the doctrinal hinge chapters.
Church
Approved rendering: 教会
Transliteration: kyoukai
Doctrine: Church as God’s People / Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER 寺 or 神社. Acts context: must be kept strictly distinct from 会堂 (synagogue, new Acts term), since Acts narrates the church emerging out of, and eventually distinct from, the synagogue context (chs. 6, 9, 13-14, 17-19); formally named ‘Christians’ at Antioch (Acts 11:26).
Prophet
Approved rendering: 預言者
Transliteration: yogensha
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture / Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 予言者, 占い師
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] Verify 預 kanji, not 予, at every occurrence. Acts context: recurs at Acts 2:16, 3:18-25, 7, 13:20, 15:15, 21:10, 26:22, 28:23 — the homophone risk applies throughout the whole book, not a single instance.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: yogen
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 予言, 占い
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] Same 預言/予言 homophone risk as ‘prophet.’ Acts context: Acts 2:17-18’s Joel citation (‘your sons and daughters shall prophesy’) is the key gender-inclusive proof text for Spirit-given prophetic gifting, exercised by named individuals at 11:27-28 and 21:9-11.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神の力
Transliteration: Kami no Chikara
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 気, パワー
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] Avoid 気 and パワー. Acts context: Acts 1:8 (‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you’) and Acts 2:22 tie this power directly to Spirit-empowered witness, not generic supernatural ability.
Mission
Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: senkyou
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations / Great Commission Fulfilled
Rejected alternatives: 布教
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] Carries the Kirishitan-persecution and sakoku historical weight. Acts context: Acts 1:8’s programmatic statement and Acts 28’s closing statement bookend the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine specifically, structuring the entire book’s Jerusalem-to-Rome geography.
Israel
Approved rendering: イスラエル
Transliteration: Isuraeru
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] Established proper name form. Acts context: Acts 2:36’s ‘let all the house of Israel know’ directly addresses the Jewish audience; care required in later chapters (13, 18, 28) to avoid supersessionist-sounding language when describing Jewish rejection of apostolic preaching.
Intercession
Approved rendering: とりなし
Transliteration: torinashi
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: προσευχή (ἐκτενής)
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package.] Distinguish from Shinto/Buddhist ritual petition (お参り, おみくじ). Acts context: the church’s earnest, corporate prayer for Peter’s release from prison (Acts 12:5).
Pentecost
Approved rendering: 五旬節
Transliteration: gojunsetsu
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: ペンテコステ (as primary term)
Original: πεντηκοστή
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term (Acts). The Feast of Weeks/Shavuot, celebrated fifty days after Passover (Leviticus 23:15-21). Secular Japanese readers have zero prior exposure to this OT festival — a blankness/biblical-illiteracy risk, not a competing concept. Retain 五旬節 as the primary anchor for continuity with the OT festival calendar; ペンテコステ (transliteration) may supplement but never replace it. Also used at Acts 20:16 as Paul’s travel deadline.
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: しるしと不思議
Transliteration: shirushi to fushigi
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: 超能力, 霊力
Original: σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term (Acts). Divinely authenticating miracles (Acts 2:22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12). 不思議 risks secular dilution toward ‘curious/mysterious’ in everyday usage (casual ‘不思議だね’), parallel to 復活’s pop-culture dilution risk; teaching must actively restore its weight as divinely authenticating acts.
Household
Approved rendering: 家族
Transliteration: kazoku
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism / Church as Community
Original: οἶκος
Category: Church as Community
New term (Acts). A family/household unit responding to the gospel together (Cornelius, ch.10; Lydia, 16:15; the Philippian jailer, 16:31-34; Crispus, 18:8). Japan’s ie (家) household-continuity tradition, reinforced historically by the Edo-period terauke temple-registration system, risks a collectivist misreading in which the household head’s faith automatically secures salvation for all members. Teaching must clarify each household member’s own faith-response.
End Of The Earth
Approved rendering: 地の果てまで
Transliteration: chi no hate made
Doctrine: Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἔσχατος τῆς γῆς
Category: Great Commission Fulfilled
New term (Acts). The entire inhabited world, no geographic limit; the programmatic scope statement of Acts 1:8, echoed at 13:47, fulfilled narratively by ch.28. Must be read as literal global scope structuring the whole book’s Jerusalem-to-Rome narrative arc, not poetic hyperbole.
Casting Lots
Approved rendering: くじ
Transliteration: kuji
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: κλῆρος
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term (Acts). Casting of lots to select Matthias (Acts 1:26). くじ carries strong associations with Japanese festival/shrine lot-drawing (おみくじ, omikuji, fortune-slips drawn at shrines/temples), a near-universal cultural practice; requires a brief clarifying note that this is a Spirit-guided decision-method within the apostolic community, not fortune-telling.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: パンを裂くこと
Transliteration: pan wo saku koto
Doctrine: Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: 会食 (as unqualified substitute)
Original: κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου
Category: Church as Community
New term (Acts). Shared communal meals, likely including or anticipating the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42,46; 20:7,11). Must be distinguished from 会食 (kaishoku, ordinary communal meal-sharing), a common secular Japanese social term carrying no inherent sacramental/covenantal meaning.
Holding All Things Common
Approved rendering: 持ち物を共有していた
Transliteration: mochimono wo kyouyuu shite ita
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά
Category: Church as Community
New term (Acts). Voluntary, Spirit-motivated sharing of possessions with the needy (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35). Given Japan’s strong group-harmony (和) culture and historically collectivist regional economic memory, must be clearly taught as VOLUNTARY, Spirit-motivated generosity flowing from love, never an enforced or ideological communal-property system.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: 割礼
Transliteration: katsurei
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: περιτομή
Category: Justification apart from the Law
New term (Acts). Physical rite marking the Abrahamic/Mosaic covenant; the central question at the Jerusalem Council over whether Gentile believers must be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:1,5). Pure biblical-illiteracy gap — no cultural analog exists; requires full first-principles explanation of the rite’s covenantal significance.
Pastoral Office
Approved rendering: 監督
Transliteration: kantoku
Doctrine: Church as Community / Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἐπίσκοπος / πρεσβύτερος / ποιμαίνω
Category: Church as Community
New term (Acts). Pastoral oversight and shepherding care entrusted to elders/overseers (Acts 20:17,28: ἐπίσκοπος/overseer, πρεσβύτερος/elder, ποιμαίνω/shepherd). 監督’s secular ‘coach/director’ overtones (also used for a sports team manager or film director) risk a merely managerial, non-sacrificial reading; the shepherd/flock metaphor is also a biblical-illiteracy gap given Japan’s lack of a strong indigenous pastoral-herding tradition. Alternative forms: 長老 (chourou, elder), 群れを牧する (mure wo boku suru, to shepherd the flock).
Synagogue
Approved rendering: 会堂
Transliteration: kaidou
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles / Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: συναγωγή
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term (Acts). The Jewish congregational/worship institution, the consistent starting point of Paul’s missionary strategy (Acts 13:5,14; 14:1; 17:1; 18:4; 19:8). Keep strictly distinct from 教会 (church); Acts narrates the church’s emergence out of, and eventual distinction from, the synagogue context across many of the same narrative scenes.
Sanhedrin
Approved rendering: サンヘドリン
Transliteration: Sanhedorin
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: 議会 (as unqualified substitute)
Original: συνέδριον
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term (Acts). The Jewish high court/ruling council in Jerusalem, repeatedly opposing the apostolic mission (Acts 4-6; 22-23; 25). Prefer transliteration サンヘドリン with explanatory gloss (ユダヤの最高法院, ‘the supreme Jewish court’); 議会 alone risks a modern-parliament reading (Japan’s own National Diet is 国会).
Times Of Ignorance
Approved rendering: 無知の時代
Transliteration: muchi no jidai
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles / Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἄγνοια
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term (Acts). The period of pagan ignorance now ended, from which God commands ‘all people’ to repent (Acts 17:30). Must not be read as excusing prior ignorance from present accountability; pair explicitly with the repentance command in the same breath, per the verse’s own grammar, to prevent an excuse-clause misreading.
Opening Eyes Darkness To Light
Approved rendering: 闇から光に立ち返らせる
Transliteration: yami kara hikari ni tachikaeraseru
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul / Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἀνοῖξαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς… ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term (Acts). Conversion as illumination and reorientation from spiritual blindness (Acts 9:18; 26:18). Broadly cross-cultural, low collision, but must be anchored specifically to spiritual/moral blindness before God, avoiding vocabulary evocative of Buddhist inner-awakening (悟り, satori).
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: shito
Doctrine: Apostleship / Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: 教祖
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] Avoid 教祖 (post-Aum Shinrikyo negative associations). Acts context: central to the narrative structure of Acts 1-16; low collision risk maintained throughout despite doctrinal centrality.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: 交わり
Transliteration: majiwari
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship / Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: 仲間意識
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] Distinguish from 仲間意識 (generic wa-culture in-group harmony). Acts context: Acts 2:42’s fourfold list (teaching/fellowship/breaking of bread/prayer) is the key Church as Community proof text; keep 交わり anchored to this apostolic-teaching context, never isolated.
David
Approved rendering: ダビデ
Transliteration: Dabide
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] Standard Shinkaiyaku proper name form. Acts context: Acts 2:25-34 and 13:22-37’s Psalm citations are key Davidic Covenant / Messianic Promise proof texts.
Exhort
Approved rendering: 勧める
Transliteration: susumeru
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package.] Standard term. Acts context: Peter’s exhortation at the close of the Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:40); low risk maintained.
Christians
Approved rendering: クリスチャン
Transliteration: Kurisuchan
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: Χριστιανοί
Category: Church as Community
New term (Acts). First NT designation of believers as a distinct community, coined at Antioch (Acts 11:26). Established loanword with broad but often superficial secular recognition in Japan, similar to キリスト’s shallow cultural-brand familiarity; some explanatory teaching still useful to move past a generic Western-associated sense.
Referenced passages