Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis: Acts 1–28 (Full Book Doctrine Matrix)
Purpose and Methodology
This document is the PRD Phase 1 Step 4 doctrine matrix for the Acts curriculum in Maithili. It extends the baseline Romans doctrine_risk_registry.json framework and is fully consistent with the Acts assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json produced alongside it: same 40 doctrines, same names, same risk tiers, same review routing. No doctrine, risk level, or routing decision in this file contradicts that registry; this document instead lays the doctrines out chapter by chapter across the entire book, showing where each doctrine is textually anchored, so that Phase 2 segment translation has full verse-level traceability.
Per the FULL-BOOK COVERAGE mandate, every chapter of Acts (1–28) is reviewed below. Chapters that introduce no new doctrine beyond what is already anchored elsewhere are explicitly marked “reviewed — no new doctrine” rather than omitted; the core passage (Acts 2:1-41, Pentecost) is the theological anchor of the curriculum but not its scope boundary.
Risk tier definitions (identical to the registry):
- Critical — Mistranslation destroys essential doctrine. Human theologian review required for every occurrence.
- High — Mistranslation creates significant theological confusion or syncretism risk. Human theologian review required.
- Medium — Mistranslation reduces clarity but preserves essential meaning. Native speaker review recommended.
- Low — Mistranslation causes minor misunderstanding. Automated review sufficient.
Chapter 1 — Ascension, Waiting for the Spirit, Restoring the Twelve
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension of Christ | High | 1:9-11 | स्वर्गारोहण collides with the Mahabharata’s Pandava “Swargarohini” ascent narrative, well known across North India; render descriptively (ऊपर उठाओल गेला) rather than as a single noun to avoid mythic assimilation. | Human theologian |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | High | 1:8 | Foundational mission-mandate verse; “witness to the ends of the earth” must be introduced plainly (सुसमाचार प्रचार / साक्षी) since Mithila has thin prior mission vocabulary. | Human theologian |
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | Critical | 1:5, 1:8 | The promised baptism “with the Holy Spirit” anticipates Ch.2; must not be flattened to a generic blessing-empowerment idiom. | Human theologian |
| Kingdom Mission (kingdom_of_god background) | Medium | 1:3, 1:6 | Disciples’ “will you restore the kingdom to Israel?” question is a direct illustration of the political-kingdom misreading risk, sensitive given Mithila’s own historic Janak-kingdom identity. | Native speaker review |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Office and Practice) | Medium | 1:20-26 | Choosing Matthias by casting lots; a divinely-overseen selection of an authoritative office, not a genealogist/pandit-style credentialing process. | Native speaker review |
| Corporate Spirit-Guided Discernment and Casting Lots | Medium | 1:26 | Casting lots (गोटी फेकब) must be distinguished from regional astrological divination (ज्योतिष गणना) used for personal guidance. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 2 — Pentecost (Core Passage, Acts 2:1-41)
This is the curriculum’s theological anchor and carries the single densest concentration of Critical-risk doctrine in the book.
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | Critical | 2:1-4, 2:33, 2:38 | Wind (2:2) and fire (2:3) imagery collides with actively-worshipped Vayu/Pavan and Agni; Pentecost itself risks assimilation into Mithila’s own harvest festivals (Sama-Chakeva, Chhath) without an explicit one-time-historical-event note. | Human theologian |
| Tongues as Known Human Languages | High | 2:4, 2:6, 2:8, 2:11 | Must be sharply distinguished from Mithila’s living ojha/devī-āveś possession-trance speech, which the text does not depict or endorse. | Human theologian |
| The Last Days (Linear Eschatology) | High | 2:17 | Joel’s “last days” must not read as the cyclical Kali Yuga; this is a single, linear, unrepeated era. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Wonders and Signs | High | 2:19, 2:22, 2:43 | Must be distinguished from yogic/tantric siddhi and Puranic avatar-miracle narratives. | Human theologian |
| Resurrection of Christ | Critical | 2:24, 2:31-32 | पुनरुत्थान, never पुनर्जन्म; Peter’s Pentecost sermon is the book’s first full resurrection proclamation. | Human theologian |
| Hades and the State of the Dead | High | 2:27, 2:31 | Transliterate as हेडेस with gloss “realm of the dead,” avoiding the richly mythologized पाताल/अधोलोक cosmology. | Human theologian |
| Messianic Promise | Critical | 2:31, 2:36 | Must not assimilate the Christ/Messiah title to Ram/Krishna avatar expectation. | Human theologian |
| Lordship of Christ | Critical | 2:36 | Climactic declaration “God has made him both Lord and Christ” requires honorific verb register (छथि); exclusive supreme Lordship, not one devotional figure among several. | Human theologian |
| Calling on the Name of the Lord (Salvation Confession) | High | 2:21 | Must be a single trusting appeal to Christ, not repetitive meritorious nām-japa chanting. | Human theologian |
| Universal Scope of the Gospel (No Partiality) | Critical | 2:21 | ”Everyone who calls” must retain full unqualified universality against Panjikaran-conscious caste/lineage hierarchy. | Human theologian |
| Repentance and Baptism | High | 2:37-38, 2:41 | मन फेराव ≠ प्रायश्चित (merit-earning ritual expiation); बपतिस्मा ≠ स्नान (repeatable ritual river-bathing). | Human theologian |
| Forgiveness of Sins | High | 2:38 | God’s judicial pardon through Christ, not automatic dissolution of karmic debt. | Human theologian |
| The Gift of the Holy Spirit at Conversion | High | 2:38 | Keep terminologically distinct from आत्मिक वरदान (ministry gifts); the Spirit himself is the unearned gift. | Human theologian |
| The Church as Community | Medium | 2:42-47 | Common meals, “breaking of bread,” and shared possessions must read as voluntary Spirit-motivated fellowship, not caste-based obligation or prasad-style ritual food-sharing. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 3 — Healing at the Temple Gate and Peter’s Second Sermon
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Wonders and Signs | High | 3:6-16 | The healing “in the name of Jesus Christ” is God’s own authenticating act, not siddhi or a magical-name formula. | Human theologian |
| Messianic Promise | Critical | 3:18, 3:20 | The suffering-and-glorified Messiah proclaimed here is the specific OT-promised figure, not a regional avatar. | Human theologian |
| The Last Days (Linear Eschatology) — Restoration of All Things | High | 3:19-21 | ”Restoration of all things” is a single, final, linear event, not cyclical pralaya (cosmic dissolution/re-creation). | Human theologian |
| Repentance and Baptism | High | 3:19 | ”Repent and turn again” reinforces the Ch.2 doctrine; consistent rendering required. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Office and Practice) | Medium | 3:6-16 | Peter and John act with delegated apostolic authority, not personal spiritual attainment. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 4 — Arrest, Boldness, and the Sharing Community
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 4:13, 4:29-31 | निडरता (boldness) is Spirit-given courage under threat, not social defiance for its own sake, given the region’s small and vulnerable Christian presence. | Human theologian |
| Resurrection of Christ | Critical | 4:33 | The apostles’ continued testimony to “the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” must retain पुनरुत्थान consistently. | Human theologian |
| The Church as Community | Medium | 4:32-35 | ”One heart and soul,” pooled possessions — voluntary Spirit-motivated sharing, distinct from caste-community solidarity. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 5 — Ananias and Sapphira, Apostolic Signs, Obeying God
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 5:29 | ”We must obey God rather than men” — principled obedience to divine authority above human/religious authority. | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Wonders and Signs | High | 5:12 | Signs performed through the apostles authenticate God’s message, not personal spiritual power. | Human theologian |
| The Church as Community | Medium | 5:5, 5:11 | ”Great fear” upon the church is reverent fear of God’s holiness, not superstitious dread of ghosts/spirits (भूत-प्रेतक डर), which must be explicitly avoided. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 6 — Appointing the Seven
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Office and Practice) | Medium | 6:1-6 | The appointment of the Seven for diaconal सेवा models delegated church authority, distinct from Brahmin pandit or caste-role appointment. | Native speaker review |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 6:13 | False witness brought against Stephen begins the persecution narrative continued into Ch.7. | Human theologian |
Chapter 7 — Stephen’s Speech and Martyrdom
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 7:51, 7:54-60 | Stephen’s stoning marks the semantic shift of “witness” (साक्षी) toward “martyr” — one testifying unto death; flag this shift for reviewers. | Human theologian |
| Deity and Sonship of Christ | Critical | 7:59 | Stephen’s dying prayer addressed directly to Jesus (“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”) requires full co-equal divine sonship, never softened to “a great and holy man.” | Human theologian |
Chapter 8 — Persecution Scatters the Church; Simon Magus; the Ethiopian Eunuch
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorcery and Occult Power Confronted | Critical | 8:9-24 | Simon Magus’s attempt to purchase the Spirit’s power (simony) is a live temptation given regional tantra-mantra fee-for-power practice; condemnation must be preserved with full force, contrasted with freely-given grace. | Human theologian |
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles (extended: Samaritans and the eunuch) | High | 8:5-25, 8:26-39 | The gospel’s reach to Samaritans and to an Ethiopian court eunuch anticipates the fuller Jew-Gentile doctrine of Ch.10-15; must not be softened into a marginal exception. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 8:1 | Great persecution scatters believers, who preach the gospel wherever they go — persecution as occasion for witness, not defeat. | Human theologian |
Chapter 9 — Conversion of Paul; Peter’s Healing and Resuscitation Miracles
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion of Paul | High | 9:1-22 | Paul’s Damascus-road encounter is the book’s foundational conversion narrative; “scales fell from his eyes” (9:18) is a restored-sight idiom, not a devotional/ritual seeing act. | Human theologian |
| The Way as the Exclusive Path to God | Critical | 9:2 | Early self-designation of the church as “the Way” (मार्ग); must carry a mandatory clarifying note affirming Christ as the sole way, not one mārg among bhakti-mārg/karma-mārg/jñāna-mārg. | Human theologian |
| Deity and Sonship of Christ | Critical | 9:20 | Paul’s first post-conversion sermon proclaims Jesus as “the Son of God” — full co-equal divine sonship required immediately upon his conversion. | Human theologian |
| Election and Effectual Calling | High | 9:15 | Paul described as God’s “chosen instrument” (चुनल पात्र) — sovereign, personal choice, never karma-determined fate (प्रारब्ध). | Human theologian |
| Apostolic Wonders and Signs | High | 9:32-42 | Peter’s healing of Aeneas and resuscitation of Tabitha are God’s authenticating acts through an apostle. | Human theologian |
| Resurrection of Christ (terminological guard) | Critical | 9:40-41 | Tabitha’s resuscitation (जियाओल गेली) must NOT use पुनरुत्थान, preserving that term’s Critical, once-for-all reserved sense for Christ and the final resurrection only. | Human theologian |
Chapter 10 — Cornelius, Peter’s Vision, and the Gentile Pentecost
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles | High | 10:1-48 | Cornelius’s household receiving the Spirit “just as we did” is the book’s turning-point Gentile inclusion narrative. | Human theologian |
| Universal Scope of the Gospel (No Partiality) | Critical | 10:34-35 | ”God shows no partiality” (पक्षपात) directly challenges caste/lineage-based spiritual hierarchy tied to the Panjikaran registry; must retain unqualified force. | Human theologian |
| The Gift of the Holy Spirit at Conversion | High | 10:44-47 | The Spirit falls on Gentile hearers apart from circumcision or law-keeping — an unearned, non-reciprocal gift. | Human theologian |
| Lordship of Christ | Critical | 10:36 | ”He is Lord of all” — universal, exclusive Lordship proclaimed to a Gentile household. | Human theologian |
Chapter 11 — Peter’s Report to Jerusalem; the Church at Antioch
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles | High | 11:1-18 | Jerusalem church’s acceptance that “God has granted repentance that leads to life” even to Gentiles — the doctrine’s confirmation, not merely Peter’s private view. | Human theologian |
| Grace Alone unto Salvation | High | 11:23 | Barnabas encourages the Antioch believers, having “seen the grace of God” — grace as visible divine work, not human achievement. | Human theologian |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled (naming “Christians”) | High | 11:26 | Disciples “first called Christians” at Antioch — a faith-allegiance designation, not a birth-caste/community label. | Human theologian |
Chapter 12 — Peter’s Deliverance; Herod’s Death
Reviewed: contributes minimal new terminology beyond terms already established in Chapters 1–11; doctrine coverage below reuses established categories.
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | High | 12:1-19 | Peter’s miraculous prison escape while the church prays is an early instance of the providence doctrine fully developed in Ch.27; God’s personal governance, never भाग्य/प्रारब्ध. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 12:1-5 | Herod’s execution of James and imprisonment of Peter continues the persecution narrative. | Human theologian |
| The Church as Community | Medium | 12:5, 12:12 | The gathered church praying together for Peter models corporate intercessory fellowship. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 13 — Paul’s First Missionary Journey; Sermon at Pisidian Antioch
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justification apart from the Law | Critical | 13:38-39 | THE anchor verse: “by him everyone who believes is freed/justified from everything the law of Moses could not free you from.” Full compound phrase धर्मी घोषित कएल जाएब required, unabbreviated. | Human theologian |
| Messianic Promise | Critical | 13:22-23, 13:32-37 | Davidic-descent and resurrection argument for Jesus as Messiah, addressed to a synagogue audience. | Human theologian |
| Election and Effectual Calling | High | 13:48 | Gentile hearers “appointed to eternal life” believe — sovereign election, not प्रारब्ध-determined fate. | Human theologian |
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles | High | 13:46-48 | Paul and Barnabas turn deliberately to the Gentiles when rejected by the synagogue — programmatic for the rest of Acts. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 13:45-50 | Jealousy-driven opposition and expulsion from Antioch; the missionaries’ response models bold, non-retaliatory witness. | Human theologian |
| Sorcery and Occult Power Confronted | Critical | 13:6-11 | Elymas the sorcerer opposes the gospel and is struck blind — occult power directly confronted and defeated by apostolic authority. | Human theologian |
Chapter 14 — Lystra: Mistaken for Gods
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incarnation and the Avatar Collision (Lystra) | Critical | 14:8-18 | The crowd’s cry “the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men” (14:11) is the sharpest real-world parallel to Mithila’s own Ramayana-rooted avatar-descent narrative; Paul and Barnabas’s horrified refusal of worship (14:14-15) must be preserved as the very reaction distinguishing biblical incarnation from a repeatable mythic pattern. | Human theologian |
| Living God (vs. idols) | Critical | 14:15 | ”Turn from these vain things to a living God” directly parallels the incarnation collision and must cross-reference it. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 14:19-22 | Paul stoned and left for dead, yet returns to strengthen the disciples — persecution endured for the sake of bold continued witness. | Human theologian |
| Elders and Overseers as Church Office | Medium | 14:23 | Appointing elders in every church — a specific pastoral office, distinct from village panchayat councils. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 15 — The Jerusalem Council
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justification apart from the Law | Critical | 15:1-11 | The Council’s central question and resolution: salvation is not by circumcision/law-keeping but by grace through faith. | Human theologian |
| The Circumcision Controversy | High | 15:1, 15:5, 15:24 | खतना must be presented as historically real but explicitly NOT required for salvation. | Human theologian |
| Grace Alone unto Salvation | High | 15:11, 15:40 | ”We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” — the Council’s explicit doctrinal formula. | Human theologian |
| Idol Worship and the True, Unrepresentable God / Food Sacrificed to Idols | Critical / High | 15:20, 15:29 | The apostolic decree’s abstention from “food sacrificed to idols” directly parallels the living regional prasad-sharing custom; concern is idol-association, not food contamination. | Human theologian |
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles | High | 15:1-29 | The Council’s ruling secures full Gentile inclusion without requiring cultural/ritual Judaization — the doctrine’s climactic resolution. | Human theologian |
| Corporate Spirit-Guided Discernment and Casting Lots | Medium | 15:22-28 | ”It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” models Spirit-guided corporate consensus, not divination. | Native speaker review |
| Elders and Overseers as Church Office | Medium | 15:2-23 | Elders alongside apostles participate in the Council’s authoritative decision-making. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 16 — Timothy, Lydia, the Philippian Jailer, the Divining Spirit
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit of Divination and Christian Exorcism | Critical | 16:16-18 | The slave girl’s “spirit of divination” directly parallels living regional oracle-possession/devī-āveś practice; the text models exorcism in Christ’s authority, not veneration or negotiation with the spirit. | Human theologian |
| Repentance and Baptism | High | 16:15, 16:33 | Lydia’s and the jailer’s households are baptized immediately upon believing — a single, unrepeatable identification with Christ. | Human theologian |
| Calling on the Name of the Lord (Salvation Confession) | High | 16:31 | ”Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” — the jailer’s question and answer is a key catechetical exchange. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 16:19-24 | Paul and Silas imprisoned and beaten for the gospel, yet sing praises — bold endurance under persecution. | Human theologian |
| Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | 16:37-38 | Paul’s invocation of Roman citizenship; standard legal-procedural term, minimal doctrinal risk. | Automated review |
Chapter 17 — Thessalonica, Berea, and the Areopagus
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idol Worship and the True, Unrepresentable God | Critical | 17:16, 17:22-31 | Paul’s Areopagus argument that God “does not live in shrines made by human hands” and cannot be represented by an image directly confronts Mithila’s living murti-pūjā tradition; must be rendered with full theological clarity without gratuitously inflammatory phrasing. | Human theologian |
| Resurrection of Christ | Critical | 17:31-32 | Athenian mockery of the resurrection is the book’s clearest cross-cultural resurrection-denial episode; पुनरुत्थान must hold firm against being dismissed as merely one more curious foreign teaching. | Human theologian |
| Messianic Promise | Critical | 17:3 | Paul reasons from the Scriptures that “the Christ had to suffer and rise” — the OT-fulfillment argument repeated across cities. | Human theologian |
| The Judgment to Come | Medium | 17:31 | God’s coming forensic judgment “by a man he has appointed” — distinct from impersonal karmic reckoning (कर्म-फल). | Native speaker review |
Chapter 18 — Corinth; Gallio’s Tribunal; Apollos
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messianic Promise | Critical | 18:5, 18:28 | Paul and Apollos both publicly demonstrate from Scripture “that the Christ was Jesus.” | Human theologian |
| Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | 18:12-17 | Gallio’s judgment seat (βῆμα); standard legal-proceeding term. | Automated review |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Office and Practice) | Medium | 18:18 | Paul’s vow (मन्नत/संकल्प) is rooted in OT Nazirite practice directed to the one true God, not a devotional vrat-sankalp to a chosen deity. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 19 — Ephesus: Tongues, Exorcism, Sorcery, and Artemis
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tongues as Known Human Languages | High | 19:6 | The Ephesian disciples’ Spirit-reception with tongues echoes Ch.2 and Ch.10; consistent rendering required. | Human theologian |
| The Gift of the Holy Spirit at Conversion | High | 19:2-6 | Paul’s question “did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” reinforces that the Spirit is given at conversion, not earned by rite. | Human theologian |
| Spirit of Divination and Christian Exorcism | Critical | 19:12-16 | The seven sons of Sceva’s failed imitative exorcism directly parallels regional ojha jhāṛ-phūँk technique-based exorcism; the text warns against treating Jesus’ name as a magical formula. | Human theologian |
| Sorcery and Occult Power Confronted | Critical | 19:19 | Public burning of magic books — decisive, costly renunciation of occult practice, paralleling regional tantra-mantra fee-for-power custom. | Human theologian |
| Goddess-Cult Confrontation (Artemis of Ephesus) | Critical | 19:23-41 | The riot in defense of Artemis is the clearest NT parallel to Mithila’s own Shakta-goddess devotion (e.g., the Ugratara shrine); requires the same pastoral sensitivity mandated for goddess-devotion themes generally. | Human theologian |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | High | 19:20 | ”The word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily” — gospel-growth language central to the book’s mission theme. | Human theologian |
Chapter 20 — Farewell at Troas and to the Ephesian Elders
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctification vs. Ritual Purification | High | 20:32 | Paul commends the elders to God’s grace, which builds them up and gives an inheritance among “those who are sanctified” (पवित्रीकरण) — must not collapse into ritual purification (शुद्धिकरण). | Human theologian |
| Elders and Overseers as Church Office | Medium | 20:17-28 | Elders/overseers charged to “shepherd” (रखबारी करब) the flock — a specific pastoral office, not a caste-council role. | Native speaker review |
| Providence | High | 20:22-24 | Paul “constrained by the Spirit” toward Jerusalem despite foreseen suffering — purposive divine governance, not fatalism. | Human theologian |
Chapter 21 — Arrival in Jerusalem; Paul’s Arrest
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctification vs. Ritual Purification | High | 21:24, 21:26 | Paul’s own OT/Temple-era purification rite (शुद्धिकरण) is a literal historical description and must NOT be read back into the doctrine of sanctification itself. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 21:27-36 | Paul seized in the Temple and nearly killed by a mob — persecution narrative continuing toward his trials. | Human theologian |
Chapter 22 — Paul’s Defense Before the Jerusalem Crowd
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion of Paul | High | 22:3-21 | Paul’s first public retelling of his Damascus-road conversion before a hostile crowd. | Human theologian |
| The Way as the Exclusive Path to God | Critical | 22:4 | Paul recounts having persecuted “the Way” — reinforces the term’s exclusive self-designation for the church. | Human theologian |
| Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | 22:25-28 | Paul’s Roman citizenship invoked again before the tribune. | Automated review |
Chapter 23 — The Sanhedrin; the Plot Against Paul
Reviewed: contributes minimal new terminology; doctrine coverage below reuses established categories.
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resurrection of Christ (Sadducean denial) | Critical | 23:6-8 | Paul’s appeal to the resurrection hope splits the Sanhedrin (Pharisees affirm, Sadducees deny); पुनरुत्थान must hold its Critical weight even as a point of intra-Jewish controversy, not merely a Gentile-world curiosity. | Human theologian |
| Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | 23:23-35 | Transfer to Caesarea before Felix; standard legal-procedural narration. | Automated review |
Chapter 24 — Trial Before Felix
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outsider “Sect” Label vs. the Church’s Own Self-Understanding | Medium | 24:5, 24:14 | Tertullus calls the church a “sect” (सम्प्रदाय, the standard term for a recognized Hindu religious tradition/lineage); a note must clarify this is the accusers’ outside framing, not the church’s own exclusive-truth self-understanding via “the Way.” | Native speaker review |
| The Judgment to Come | Medium | 24:25 | Paul reasons with Felix “about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” — forensic judgment, not karmic reckoning. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 25 — Trial Before Festus; Appeal to Caesar
Reviewed: contributes minimal new terminology beyond established legal-procedural vocabulary.
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | 25:6-12 | ”I appeal to Caesar” — standard legal-procedural term, no doctrinal collision. | Automated review |
| Outsider “Sect” Label vs. the Church’s Own Self-Understanding | Medium | 25:19 | Festus’s report to Agrippa references “their own religion” and “a certain Jesus… whom Paul asserted to be alive” — outsider framing of resurrection claims. | Native speaker review |
Chapter 26 — Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion of Paul | High | 26:9-23 | Paul’s fullest retelling of his conversion, including his “heavenly vision” (26:19), which must be distinguished from the regional devotional practice of darshan (reciprocal deity-image viewing) — this is a unique, unrepeatable revelatory appearance of the risen Christ. | Human theologian |
| Messianic Promise | Critical | 26:22-23 | Paul says he preaches “nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen” — Christ’s suffering and resurrection as the specific fulfillment of Jewish Scripture. | Human theologian |
| Resurrection of Christ | Critical | 26:23 | ”The first to rise from the dead” — reinforces पुनरुत्थान at the climax of Paul’s personal testimony. | Human theologian |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | High | 26:26 | Paul speaks “boldly” (निडरतासँ) before a king, unashamed despite his chains. | Human theologian |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | High | 26:16-18 | Paul’s own commissioning restated — “to open their eyes, to turn from darkness to light, and from the power (अधिकार) of Satan to God.” | Human theologian |
Chapter 27 — The Voyage and Shipwreck
Reviewed: contributes no new theological vocabulary (confirmed in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md and analysis/08_core_glossary.md), but is the book’s single clearest sustained providence narrative and must not be silently omitted from doctrine coverage.
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | High | 27:1-44 | God’s personal, purposive preservation of Paul and all aboard through the storm and shipwreck; must never be rendered with भाग्य or प्रारब्ध, both strongly present in everyday Maithili religious idiom. | Human theologian |
| Thanksgiving and Gratitude | Low | 27:35 | Paul’s giving of thanks before eating; standard term, minor over-ritualization risk only. | Automated review |
Chapter 28 — Malta and Arrival in Rome
| Doctrine | Risk | Supporting Passages | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | High | 28:23, 28:31 | The book’s climactic closing verse — Paul proclaiming “with all boldness and without hindrance” (निर्बाध) — anchors this doctrine’s resolution; render with Romans 1:16-17-level cross-document consistency. | Human theologian |
| Idol Worship and the True, Unrepresentable God (background) | Critical | 28:4 | Maltese islanders’ inference that Paul must be “a god” or under the goddess Justice’s (Δίκη) punishment is reported pagan reasoning, not endorsed doctrine; note against karmic-cosmic-justice conflation. | Human theologian |
| Thanksgiving and Gratitude | Low | 28:15 | Paul “thanked God and took courage” on seeing fellow believers; standard term. | Automated review |
| Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | 28:16, 28:30 | Paul’s guarded custody in Rome; standard legal/administrative narration. | Automated review |
Full-Book Doctrine Summary Table
The table below consolidates every doctrine in this analysis, confirming full consistency with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json (same 40 doctrines, same tiers, same routing).
| # | Doctrine | Risk | Review Routing | Chapters Anchored |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | Critical | Human theologian | 1, 2 |
| 2 | Lordship of Christ | Critical | Human theologian | 2, 10 |
| 3 | Resurrection of Christ | Critical | Human theologian | 1, 2, 4, 9, 17, 23, 26 |
| 4 | Messianic Promise | Critical | Human theologian | 2, 3, 13, 17, 18, 26 |
| 5 | Incarnation and the Avatar Collision (Lystra) | Critical | Human theologian | 14 |
| 6 | Deity and Sonship of Christ | Critical | Human theologian | 7, 9 |
| 7 | Justification apart from the Law | Critical | Human theologian | 13, 15 |
| 8 | Universal Scope of the Gospel (No Partiality) | Critical | Human theologian | 2, 10 |
| 9 | The Way as the Exclusive Path to God | Critical | Human theologian | 9, 22 |
| 10 | Sorcery and Occult Power Confronted | Critical | Human theologian | 8, 13, 19 |
| 11 | Idol Worship and the True, Unrepresentable God | Critical | Human theologian | 15, 17, 28 |
| 12 | Spirit of Divination and Christian Exorcism | Critical | Human theologian | 16, 19 |
| 13 | Goddess-Cult Confrontation (Artemis of Ephesus) | Critical | Human theologian | 19 |
| 14 | Tongues as Known Human Languages | High | Human theologian | 2, 19 |
| 15 | Apostolic Wonders and Signs | High | Human theologian | 2, 3, 5, 9 |
| 16 | The Last Days (Linear Eschatology) | High | Human theologian | 2, 3 |
| 17 | Repentance and Baptism | High | Human theologian | 2, 3, 16 |
| 18 | Forgiveness of Sins | High | Human theologian | 2 |
| 19 | The Gift of the Holy Spirit at Conversion | High | Human theologian | 2, 10, 19 |
| 20 | Calling on the Name of the Lord | High | Human theologian | 2, 16 |
| 21 | Circumcision Controversy | High | Human theologian | 15 |
| 22 | Grace Alone unto Salvation | High | Human theologian | 11, 15 |
| 23 | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | High | Human theologian | 8, 10, 11, 13, 15 |
| 24 | Persecution and Bold Witness | High | Human theologian | 4-8, 12-14, 16, 20-22, 26 |
| 25 | Conversion of Paul | High | Human theologian | 9, 22, 26 |
| 26 | Election and Effectual Calling | High | Human theologian | 9, 13 |
| 27 | Providence | High | Human theologian | 12, 20, 27 |
| 28 | The Great Commission Fulfilled | High | Human theologian | 1, 11, 19, 26, 28 |
| 29 | Sanctification vs. Ritual Purification | High | Human theologian | 20, 21 |
| 30 | Ascension of Christ | High | Human theologian | 1 |
| 31 | Hades and the State of the Dead | High | Human theologian | 2 |
| 32 | Food Sacrificed to Idols and Christian Liberty | High | Human theologian | 15 |
| 33 | The Church as Community | Medium | Native speaker review | 2, 4, 5, 12 |
| 34 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Office and Practice) | Medium | Native speaker review | 1, 3, 6, 18 |
| 35 | Elders and Overseers as Church Office | Medium | Native speaker review | 14, 15, 20 |
| 36 | Outsider “Sect” Label vs. the Way | Medium | Native speaker review | 24, 25 |
| 37 | The Judgment to Come | Medium | Native speaker review | 17, 24 |
| 38 | Corporate Spirit-Guided Discernment and Casting Lots | Medium | Native speaker review | 1, 15 |
| 39 | Thanksgiving and Gratitude | Low | Automated review | 27, 28 |
| 40 | Legal and Procedural Vocabulary | Low | Automated review | 16, 18, 22, 23, 25, 28 |
Tier totals: Critical 13 · High 19 · Medium 6 · Low 2 — matching assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json risk_summary exactly (32 requiring theologian review, 6 requiring native speaker review, 2 automated only).
Coverage Confirmation
Every chapter of Acts (1–28) has been reviewed above. Chapters 12, 23, 25, and 27 introduce minimal or no new terminology and are explicitly marked as reviewed rather than silently omitted; each nonetheless carries doctrinal weight (Chapter 27 in particular is the book’s clearest sustained Providence narrative). The core passage, Acts 2:1-41, remains the theological and pedagogical anchor of this curriculum, carrying the highest concentration of Critical-risk doctrine, but full-book coverage above confirms the doctrine matrix spans the entire book as PRD Phase 1 requires.
See assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json for the canonical machine-readable doctrine registry and analysis/08_core_glossary.md for the full term-level glossary underlying this analysis.
Critical Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Maithili name: पवित्र आत्मा आ पिन्तेकुस्त
Key terms: holy_spirit, pentecost, tongues_of_fire, rushing_wind, gift_of_the_holy_spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
The Spirit’s outpouring is marked by wind and fire imagery that collides directly with two actively-worshipped Vedic deities in Mithila’s Brahmanical tradition — Vayu/Pavan (wind) and Agni (fire, central to ongoing havan/yagna ritual); and Pentecost itself risks assimilation into the region’s own harvest/seasonal festival calendar (Sama-Chakeva, Chhath) if not anchored as a unique, one-time historical event. Mandatory translator notes are required at every occurrence.
Lordship of Christ
Maithili name: ख्रीष्टक प्रभुत्व
Key terms: lord, son_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 2:36’s climactic declaration that God has made Jesus ‘both Lord and Christ’ requires the honorific verb register (छथि) consistently; exclusive, supreme Lordship must not read as one revered figure among Mithila’s several devotional objects (Ram, Krishna, Shiva).
Resurrection of Christ
Maithili name: ख्रीष्टक पुनरुत्थान
Key terms: resurrection, raised_to_life_resuscitation
Review routing: Human theologian
पुनरुत्थान must never be rendered पुनर्जन्म; Acts repeatedly stages this doctrine against direct cultural challenge (Athenian mockery 17:32, Sadducean denial 23:8), and against a competing regional resuscitation narrative (Tabitha, 9:40-41) which must be kept terminologically distinct so as not to dilute the Critical, once-for-all weight of Christ’s own resurrection.
Messianic Promise
Maithili name: मसीहाई प्रतिज्ञा
Key terms: messiah, seed_of_david
Review routing: Human theologian
मसीह names a specific Jewish Old Testament figure fulfilled exclusively in Jesus; repeated apostolic preaching throughout Acts must not be heard as assimilating Christ to Ram or Krishna as awaited/celebrated avatar-figures within Mithila’s own Vaishnava devotional tradition.
Incarnation and the Avatar Collision (Lystra)
Maithili name: देहधारण आ अवतार-भ्रम
Key terms: incarnation, living_god
Review routing: Human theologian
The Lystra crowd’s assumption that ‘the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men’ (14:11) is the sharpest real-world biblical parallel to the region’s own Ramayana-rooted avatar-descent narrative culturally ‘owned’ in Mithila; Paul and Barnabas’s horrified refusal of worship (14:14) must be preserved as the very reaction that distinguishes Christ’s unique, permanent incarnation from a repeatable, mythic pattern of divine appearance.
Deity and Sonship of Christ
Maithili name: ख्रीष्टक ईश्वरत्व आ पुत्रत्व
Key terms: son_of_god, god, holy_spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
Stephen’s dying prayer addressed directly to Jesus (7:59) and Paul’s first post-conversion sermon proclaiming Jesus as ‘the Son of God’ (9:20) both require full co-equal divine sonship, not metaphorical, adoptive, or elevated-devotee status; must never soften to ‘a great and holy man.‘
Justification apart from the Law
Maithili name: व्यवस्थाक बिना धर्मी घोषित कएल जाएब
Key terms: justification, law, circumcision, imputed_righteousness
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 13:38-39 is the book’s key anchor verse: ‘by him everyone who believes is freed/justified from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.’ The full compound phrase (धर्मी घोषित कएल जाएब) must appear without abbreviation, and the Jerusalem Council’s resolution (15:11) must make unmistakably clear that circumcision (खतना) and law-keeping (व्यवस्था) are NOT added requirements alongside grace/faith for salvation.
Universal Scope of the Gospel (No Partiality)
Maithili name: सुसमाचारक सार्वभौमिक व्याप्ति (पक्षपातरहित)
Key terms: no_partiality, gentiles, call_on_the_name_of_the_lord
Review routing: Human theologian
Peter’s declaration ‘God shows no partiality’ (10:34) directly challenges caste-and-lineage-based spiritual hierarchy embedded in Maithil Brahmin social structure via the Panjikaran genealogical-registry system; this has particular force in Mithila and must retain unqualified universality without softening.
The Way as the Exclusive Path to God
Maithili name: मार्गक रूपमे एकमात्र मुक्तिदायी मार्ग
Key terms: the_way
Review routing: Human theologian
मार्ग is deeply embedded in Hindu soteriological vocabulary as one of three classical parallel paths (bhakti-mārg, karma-mārg, jñāna-mārg) to the same goal (moksha); without a mandatory clarifying note affirming Christ as the sole way, readers risk hearing Christianity presented as merely one more equally valid mārg among several.
Sorcery and Occult Power Confronted
Maithili name: जादू-टोना आ तंत्र-मंत्रक विरुद्ध
Key terms: sorcery, name_of_jesus
Review routing: Human theologian
Mithila has an actively practiced regional tantra-mantra and ojha (folk-healer/exorcist) tradition; Simon Magus’s attempt to purchase the Spirit’s power (simony) is a live temptation given regional tantric fee-for-power practices, and the narrative’s condemnation of sorcery must be preserved with its full force, contrasted explicitly with God’s freely-given gift (grace).
Idol Worship and the True, Unrepresentable God
Maithili name: मूर्तिपूजा आ सच्चा अप्रतिनिधित्व-योग्य परमेश्वर
Key terms: idol, unknown_god, food_sacrificed_to_idols
Review routing: Human theologian
Mithila has a deeply embedded and continuously practiced murti-pūjā (image-worship) tradition across its Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta devotional life (household shrines, temple images of Durga, Kali, Shiva, Ram-Sita); Paul’s Areopagus argument that the true God cannot be represented by a crafted image must be rendered with full theological clarity while avoiding gratuitously inflammatory phrasing not present in the source text.
Spirit of Divination and Christian Exorcism
Maithili name: भविष्यवाणीक दुष्ट आत्मा आ ख्रीष्टीय भूत-निकासी
Key terms: spirit_of_divination, demon
Review routing: Human theologian
These episodes directly parallel living regional practices of village oracle-possession, devī-āveś (spirit/goddess possession used for divination), and ojha-mediated fortune-telling and exorcism (jhāṛ-phūँk); the text models exorcism/expulsion in Christ’s own authority, NOT veneration, consultation, technique-based binding, or negotiation with such spirits, a distinction that must be made explicit.
Goddess-Cult Confrontation (Artemis of Ephesus)
Maithili name: देवी-पूजाक सामना (इफिसुसक आर्तेमिस)
Key terms: artemis, power_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
This is the single clearest real-world New Testament parallel to the flagged risk regarding शक्ति and regional Shakta-goddess devotion (e.g. the Ugratara shrine, and the wider Durga/Kali worship tradition); the narrative’s portrayal of fierce civic devotion to a goddess figure threatened by an exclusive gospel claim requires the same pastoral sensitivity mandated whenever this curriculum addresses goddess-devotion themes.
High Risk Doctrines
Tongues as Known Human Languages (Not Trance-Speech)
Maithili name: अन्य भाषासभ (परमानसिक बोलीसँ भिन्न)
Key terms: other_tongues
Review routing: Human theologian
Mithila has active folk traditions of spirit-possession trance speech (ojha exorcism, village devi-avesh) in which a possessed person utters unintelligible or altered speech; the Pentecost miracle of real, recognizable human languages must be sharply distinguished from these possession phenomena, which the passage does not describe or endorse.
Apostolic Wonders and Signs
Maithili name: प्रेरितसभक अद्भुत कार्य आ चिन्ह
Key terms: wonders_and_signs
Review routing: Human theologian
Must be clearly distinguished from siddhi — supernatural powers attained through yogic/tantric austerity in regional devotional practice — and from the miracle-narratives of Puranic avatars; these are God’s own authenticating acts through his apostles, not powers earned by human spiritual achievement.
The Last Days (Linear Eschatology)
Maithili name: अन्तिम दिनसभ (रैखिक अन्तकाल-सिद्धान्त)
Key terms: last_days, restoration_of_all_things
Review routing: Human theologian
Must be sharply distinguished from the Hindu cyclical concept of Kali Yuga (the present, degenerating cosmic age within an endlessly repeating four-yuga cycle) and from pralaya (periodic cosmic dissolution/re-creation); biblical last-days language and the restoration of all things describe a single, linear, unrepeated era and a final, once-for-all event.
Repentance and Baptism
Maithili name: मन फेराव आ बपतिस्मा
Key terms: repentance, baptism, cut_to_the_heart
Review routing: Human theologian
मन फेराव must be sharply distinguished from प्रायश्चित, the Hindu ritual act of penance/expiation performed to cancel ritual or karmic guilt through a prescribed rite; and बपतिस्मा must be distinguished from स्नान, the region’s living ritual purificatory river/tank bathing custom. Both are single, grace-granted, unrepeatable acts of turning to and identifying with Christ, not repeatable merit-earning rituals.
Forgiveness of Sins
Maithili name: पापक क्षमा
Key terms: forgiveness_of_sins, sin
Review routing: Human theologian
क्षमा must be understood as God’s judicial pardon through Christ’s atoning work specifically, not merely interpersonal reconciliation, and not the automatic dissolution of karmic debt through the passage of time or ritual action — a live conceptual competitor in the regional worldview.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit at Conversion
Maithili name: धर्मपरिवर्तनक समय पवित्र आत्माक उपहार
Key terms: gift_of_the_holy_spirit, spiritual_gifts
Review routing: Human theologian
Must be kept terminologically distinct from आत्मिक वरदान (Spirit-given ministry enablements); वरदान is rejected for its Puranic boon-for-austerity connotation and दान for its meritorious-giving connotation — every believer receives the Spirit himself as an unearned, non-reciprocal gift upon repentance/faith/baptism.
Calling on the Name of the Lord (Salvation Confession)
Maithili name: प्रभुक नाम पुकारब (उद्धारक स्वीकारोक्ति)
Key terms: call_on_the_name_of_the_lord, salvation
Review routing: Human theologian
Regional devotional practice includes nām-japa/nām-smaran — repetitive chanting of a chosen deity’s name to accrue merit or spiritual power; ‘calling on the Lord’s name’ here must be preserved as a single, trusting, saving appeal to Christ specifically, not repetitive meritorious chanting.
The Circumcision Controversy
Maithili name: खतनाक विवाद
Key terms: circumcision, law, justification
Review routing: Human theologian
The central Judaizer controversy of the Jerusalem Council; खतना must be presented as historically real but explicitly NOT required for salvation, preserving the Council’s resolution that grace/faith alone justifies, apart from the law and its rites.
Grace Alone unto Salvation
Maithili name: केवल अनुग्रहद्वारा उद्धार
Key terms: grace, salvation
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 15:11’s explicit statement of salvation ‘through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will’ must preserve the contrast against law-keeping/circumcision and against the region’s karma-merit worldview and Sita-modeled ideal of achieved virtue.
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Maithili name: यहूदी आ अन्यजातिक एकता
Key terms: gentiles, god_fearer, light_for_the_gentiles
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly challenges caste and lineage-based spiritual hierarchy embedded in Maithil Brahmin social structure; the equalizing claim that Gentiles receive the same Spirit and the same salvation without becoming culturally/ritually Jewish must not be softened.
Persecution and Bold Witness
Maithili name: उत्पीड़न आ निडर साक्षी
Key terms: boldness, witness, obey_god_rather_than_men, persecution
Review routing: Human theologian
निडरता must be framed explicitly as Spirit-given courage in gospel proclamation under threat, not social confrontation or civil defiance for its own sake, given the region’s comparatively small and vulnerable Christian presence relative to its dominant devotional traditions.
Conversion of Paul
Maithili name: पौलुसक धर्मपरिवर्तन
Key terms: the_way, chosen_instrument, heavenly_vision, son_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
Paul’s Damascus-road encounter (his ‘heavenly vision,’ 26:19) must be distinguished from the regional devotional practice of darshan (the reciprocal seeing of a deity’s temple image), a core and frequently repeated devotional act in Mithila; Paul’s vision is a unique, unrepeatable revelatory appearance of the risen Christ establishing his apostleship, not an ongoing devotional practice.
Election and Effectual Calling
Maithili name: परमेश्वरक चुनाव आ प्रभावी बजाओल जाएब
Key terms: election, called, calling, chosen_instrument, appointed_to_eternal_life
Review routing: Human theologian
God’s sovereign, personal choice — Paul as ‘chosen instrument’ (9:15) and hearers ‘appointed to eternal life’ (13:48) — must not be rendered with terms implying impersonal karma-determined fate (प्रारब्ध), a deeply embedded concept in everyday Maithili religious idiom.
Providence
Maithili name: परमेश्वरक विधान
Key terms: providence, power_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 27’s shipwreck narrative is the book’s clearest sustained providence account; God’s personal, purposive governance preserving Paul and all aboard must never be rendered with भाग्य or प्रारब्ध (fate/destiny), both strongly present in everyday Maithili religious idiom.
The Great Commission Fulfilled
Maithili name: महान आज्ञाक पूर्ति
Key terms: witness, mission, unhindered, kingdom_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
The book’s climactic closing verse (28:31, Paul proclaiming ‘with all boldness and without hindrance’) anchors this doctrine; given Mithila’s comparatively thin history of mission-institution presence, mission vocabulary must be introduced and explained rather than assumed familiar, and this verse’s rendering should receive the same cross-document consistency discipline as Romans 1:16-17.
Sanctification vs. Ritual Purification
Maithili name: पवित्रीकरण बनाम कर्मकाण्डीय शुद्धिकरण
Key terms: sanctification, purification_rite, holy
Review routing: Human theologian
Paul’s own OT/Temple-era ceremonial purification rite (ἁγνισμός, 21:24, 26) is correctly rendered शुद्धिकरण as a literal historical description, but this must not be read back into the doctrine of sanctification itself, which explicitly rejects शुद्धिकरण, to avoid implying Christian holiness is achieved through ritual purification or Mithila’s own संस्कार rites.
Ascension of Christ
Maithili name: ख्रीष्टक स्वर्गारोहण
Key terms: ascension
Review routing: Human theologian
The noun स्वर्गारोहण is strongly associated regionally with the Mahabharata’s account of the Pandavas’ final ascent to heaven (the Himalayan peak literally named ‘Swargarohini’ in the epic, well known across North India); Christ’s unique, bodily, glorified, permanent ascension must be distinguished from this mythic departure, preferably via a descriptive verb-phrase rather than the single noun.
Hades and the State of the Dead
Maithili name: हेडेस आ मृतकसभक अवस्था
Key terms: hades, resurrection
Review routing: Human theologian
पाताल/अधोलोक are richly mythologized Puranic cosmological realms (home of nagas, part of the triloka cosmic structure) with extensive independent narrative traditions; transliterating as हेडेस with a clarifying gloss avoids importing unrelated Puranic underworld mythology into this resurrection-prophecy text.
Food Sacrificed to Idols and Christian Liberty
Maithili name: मूर्तिकेँ चढ़ाओल भोजन आ ख्रीष्टीय स्वतन्त्रता
Key terms: food_sacrificed_to_idols, idol
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly parallels the living regional practice of prasad — food ritually offered to a deity’s image and then distributed and eaten as blessed; the apostolic decree’s pastoral concern about idol-association, not food contamination per se, must be clearly conveyed to avoid confusion with this closely analogous regional custom.
Medium Risk Doctrines
The Church as Community
Maithili name: समुदायक रूपमे मण्डली
Key terms: church, fellowship, breaking_of_bread, all_things_in_common, one_heart_and_soul, souls_persons
Review routing: Native speaker review
The early church’s shared life (common meals, pooled possessions, one heart and soul) must be presented as voluntary, Spirit-motivated fellowship transcending caste-community boundaries, not a caste-based communal obligation or forced redistribution.
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Office and Practice)
Maithili name: प्रेरितत्वक अधिकार आ अभ्यास
Key terms: apostle, name_of_jesus, wisdom_spirit_given, casting_lots, office
Review routing: Native speaker review
Apostolic office and authority (choosing Matthias by lot, healing in Jesus’ name, appointing the Seven) must be presented as divinely delegated authority distinct from the culturally dominant Maithil Brahmin pandit/genealogist role and from ordinary technical procedure.
Elders and Overseers as Church Office
Maithili name: प्राचीन आ अध्यक्ष: मण्डलीक पद
Key terms: elders, overseer, shepherd_verb
Review routing: Native speaker review
प्राचीन/अध्यक्ष must be distinguished from the regional village/caste-council panchayat institution (a body with social and customary-legal, not spiritual-pastoral, authority); this is a specific appointed church office of oversight and care.
Outsider ‘Sect’ Label vs. the Church’s Own Self-Understanding
Maithili name: ‘सम्प्रदाय’क बाहरी नाम बनाम मण्डलीक स्व-बोध
Key terms: sect, the_way
Review routing: Native speaker review
सम्प्रदाय is the standard Maithili/Hindi term for a recognized Hindu religious tradition or lineage; when used of the early church by outside accusers, a note must clarify this is the accusers’ framing, not the church’s own exclusive-truth self-understanding conveyed by ‘the Way.‘
The Judgment to Come
Maithili name: आगामी न्याय
Key terms: judgment_future, righteousness
Review routing: Native speaker review
God’s coming forensic judgment must be distinguished from impersonal karmic reckoning (कर्म-फल), a live conceptual competitor in the regional worldview.
Corporate Spirit-Guided Discernment and Casting Lots
Maithili name: पवित्र आत्मा-निर्देशित सामूहिक विवेचन आ गोटी फेकब
Key terms: it_seemed_good, casting_lots
Review routing: Native speaker review
Casting lots must be distinguished from regional astrological or fortune-telling divination (ज्योतिष) used for personal guidance, being a one-time, Spirit-superseded apostolic-era practice never repeated after Pentecost; corporate discernment (‘it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us’) models Spirit-guided consensus, not divination.
Low Risk Doctrines
Thanksgiving and Gratitude
Maithili name: धन्यवाद आ कृतज्ञता
Key terms: thanksgiving
Review routing: Automated review
Standard term; minor risk of over-ritualization only.
Legal and Procedural Vocabulary
Maithili name: कानूनी आ प्रक्रियागत शब्दावली
Key terms: roman_citizen, judgment_seat, appeal_to_caesar
Review routing: Automated review
Standard legal-procedural vocabulary describing Paul’s trials; no significant doctrinal collision risk.
Referenced passages