Comparative Theology
04 Comparative Theology — 2 Timothy (English → Mandarin)
This document surveys how each of the twelve doctrines in 11_doctrine_analysis.md is interpreted across Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and secular perspectives, with a dedicated column for the destination culture’s dominant traditions (Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese folk religion — kept distinct from the pan-Asian Buddhist column already present, since these traditions carry their own specific collision risks documented in the baseline and in 08_core_glossary.md). For each doctrine: a comparison table, areas of agreement/divergence, translation misunderstandings to avoid, and sensitive terminology. This document informs but does not override the risk tiers fixed in assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json.
1. Inspiration and Sufficiency of Scripture
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Scripture alone (sola scriptura) is God-breathed and fully sufficient for salvation and Christian living; no supplementary living authority required. |
| Catholic | Scripture is inspired and authoritative, but read within Sacred Tradition and interpreted through the Magisterium; sola scriptura rejected. |
| Orthodox | Scripture is inspired but inseparable from Holy Tradition; the Fathers and councils frame its interpretation. |
| Jewish | The Hebrew Bible is divinely given and authoritative; 2 Timothy and the NT are outside the Jewish canon; authority is mediated through rabbinic interpretation. |
| Islamic | The Qur’an alone is regarded as God’s literal, dictated speech; prior scriptures including the Injil are believed to have been corrupted or superseded, so 2 Timothy’s self-description as “God-breathed” is not extended to it in Islamic thought. |
| Hindu | No closed-canon, verbally-inspired-and-inerrant category; authority is distributed across śruti (“heard,” e.g. Vedas) and smṛti (remembered tradition), with no single sufficient text. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | 经 (jīng) is applied to the Confucian Classics and Daoist/Buddhist scriptures as repositories of accumulated sage-wisdom or ritual efficacy, not as a personal God’s verbal self-disclosure; authority is sage-derived, not revelation-derived. |
| Buddhist | Sutras record the Buddha’s remembered teaching (dharma), valued pragmatically for their power to lead toward liberation, not as revelation from a creator God. |
| Secular | Scripture is an ancient human literary/religious document, product of its historical community; “God-breathed” is read metaphorically or set aside. |
Agreement: All traditions with a canon grant scripture real communal authority. Divergence: Location of ultimate authority — text alone (Protestant) vs text-plus-tradition (Catholic/Orthodox) vs closed prophetic line (Jewish) vs superseded-then-final revelation (Islamic) vs diffuse sage/soteriological authority (Hindu/Buddhist/Confucian-Daoist). Misunderstandings to avoid: Do not let 圣经 read as merely one venerable classic among the Confucian Five Classics or Buddhist/Daoist sutras; do not let 神所感示的 suggest folk-religious spirit-mediumship (通灵); do not let the sufficiency claim be softened into “one useful source among several.” Sensitive terminology: 经, 默示 (homophone risk with 末世), 神所感示的, 通灵.
2. Perseverance under Suffering
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Suffering for the gospel is expected and purposeful, sustained by grace and hope of future reward from a personal God. |
| Catholic | Similar, with added emphasis on the redemptive value of suffering united to Christ’s own suffering. |
| Orthodox | Suffering as participation in Christ’s self-emptying (kenosis) and in the Church’s ascetic tradition, formative for theosis. |
| Jewish | Suffering understood covenantally (the suffering righteous, exile, testing); can be disciplinary or purifying, not necessarily tied to Christ. |
| Islamic | Suffering/hardship (balā’) is a test from Allah requiring patience (ṣabr), rewarded in the afterlife — a real structural parallel grounded in submission to divine decree. |
| Hindu | Suffering often explained through karma accrued across lives; endurance can work off karmic debt. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Confucian tradition prizes endurance (忍) of hardship for moral formation and duty; folk religion often reads misfortune as retribution (报应) requiring ritual appeasement. |
| Buddhist | Suffering (苦, dukkha) is an inherent, universal feature of samsaric existence, to be transcended through detachment and the Eightfold Path, not endured for reward from a personal God. |
| Secular | Endurance framed as psychological resilience or personal virtue; suffering explained by natural or social causes. |
Agreement: Broad affirmation that suffering can carry formative meaning. Divergence: Source (test from a personal God / karma / natural causes) and telos (personal reward / karmic resolution / cessation of suffering / psychological growth). Misunderstandings to avoid: Do not suggest Paul’s suffering is karmic consequence (报应); do not let endurance itself read as merit accumulation (功德) toward salvation; 4:6’s libation language (浇奠/祭奠) must never be conflated with ancestor-veneration ritual. Sensitive terminology: 苦难, 浇奠/祭奠, 报应, 功德.
3. Guarding Sound Doctrine
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | The fixed apostolic gospel is to be guarded unchanged against error, with Scripture itself as the safeguard. |
| Catholic | Doctrine guarded through Scripture and apostolic Tradition, formally interpreted and defined by the Magisterium. |
| Orthodox | Doctrine guarded through Holy Tradition, the Ecumenical Councils, and the consensus (phronema) of the Fathers. |
| Jewish | Analogous concern to guard Written and Oral Torah against heretical distortion (minim), safeguarded by rabbinic authority. |
| Islamic | Authentic hadith and sunnah preserved against fabrication through a scholarly chain of transmission (isnād) — structurally close to Paul-Timothy-faithful men. |
| Hindu | Teaching transmitted through guru-disciple lineage (paramparā), but content can be reinterpreted or developed across schools. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Closest analogue is the Confucian transmission of “the Way” (道统, dàotǒng) from sage to sage, and the Chan Buddhist 传法 (dharma-transmission) lineage — both permit real development across generations, unlike Paul’s fixed, complete deposit. |
| Buddhist | Dharma is transmitted and reinterpreted across schools and lineages (Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Chan) with genuine doctrinal development over centuries. |
| Secular | ”Sound doctrine” reframed as institutionally maintained ideological orthodoxy; skepticism toward any claim of a fixed, unchanging truth-deposit. |
Agreement: Many traditions maintain transmission chains and guard against corrupted teaching. Divergence: Whether the guarded content is fixed and closed (Protestant/Catholic/Orthodox/Jewish/Islamic to varying degrees) or living and developing (Hindu/Buddhist/Chan/Confucian dàotǒng). Misunderstandings to avoid: The pervasive 道 in 传道/纯正的道理/正意分解 must never suggest an evolving Way progressively discovered, as in the Daoist/Chan framework; the apostolic deposit is complete and unchanging. Sensitive terminology: 传法, 道统, 纯正的道理, 正意分解.
4. Faithful Transmission of the Gospel
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Multi-generational faithful transmission (2:2) is central; content itself does not change across generations. |
| Catholic | Transmission formalized sacramentally through apostolic succession and ordination (Holy Orders). |
| Orthodox | Similarly grounded in apostolic succession through episcopal ordination and unbroken liturgical continuity. |
| Jewish | Pirkei Avot’s chain — Torah received at Sinai and handed down generation to generation — is a striking structural parallel. |
| Islamic | The isnād (chain of transmission) for hadith and the ijāzah certification system for religious learning closely parallel Paul’s charge. |
| Hindu | Guru-paramparā transmission, with more room for personal realization or innovation within a living lineage. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Confucian teacher-disciple transmission (师承) and family/ancestor-line continuation (过继, already baseline-flagged) both involve lineage continuity, but oriented toward family/ritual continuation rather than safeguarding an unchanging propositional message. |
| Buddhist | Dharma transmission across master-disciple lineages, sometimes formally certified (as in Zen), but understood as living realization rather than a static deposit. |
| Secular | Cultural/ideological transmission analyzed as tradition or inherited practice, without a divine guarantee of fidelity. |
Agreement: Strong cross-tradition value on faithful generational transmission of core teaching. Divergence: Sacramentally/institutionally guaranteed fidelity (Catholic/Orthodox) vs textually/chain-guaranteed fidelity (Protestant/Jewish/Islamic) vs openness to development (Hindu/Buddhist). Misunderstandings to avoid: 忠心 must not be read merely as Confucian ruler-loyalty (忠); the “faithful men” of 2:2 are not being installed as ritual heirs (过继) to preserve a family or ancestor line. Sensitive terminology: 忠心, 交托, 过继.
5. The Charge to Preach the Word
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Preaching is a central corporate-worship act; “the Word” is Scripture/gospel proclaimed with authority. |
| Catholic | Preaching (homily) is important but integrated with and subordinate to the Eucharistic liturgy; content overseen by the Magisterium. |
| Orthodox | Preaching integrated into liturgical life; the liturgy and sacraments carry more weight than the sermon in transmission. |
| Jewish | Public Torah reading and derash (exposition) in the synagogue — a structurally parallel proclamation-and-exposition practice. |
| Islamic | The khuṭbah (Friday sermon) is an authoritative public exhortation, structurally close to a solemn charge to speak God’s message publicly. |
| Hindu | Discourse or satsang led by a guru or paṇḍit, though not tied to a single closed, univocally authoritative text. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | 讲道/说法-style public moral or ritual instruction by Buddhist monks or Daoist priests already exists as a cultural pattern; risk that 传道 is heard as generic Confucian moral exhortation (讲学) rather than authoritative gospel proclamation. |
| Buddhist | Monks give dharma talks (说法) aimed at helping hearers pursue their own liberation, not proclaiming a finished, historical redemptive act. |
| Secular | Public speech judged rhetorically or ethically; no sense of divine commission or eschatological accountability (“judge the living and the dead”). |
Agreement: Nearly all traditions value some form of authoritative public exposition or exhortation. Divergence: Fixed historical gospel demanding personal response (Christian) vs evolving moral/spiritual teaching (Confucian/Buddhist) vs textual/legal exposition (Jewish/Islamic). Misunderstandings to avoid: 传道 must not collapse into generic Confucian moral instruction or into Daoist/Buddhist “teaching the Way/dharma” as one variant path among many equally valid ones. Sensitive terminology: 传道, 讲道, 说法, 讲学.
6. Apostasy and False Teachers in the Last Days
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Linear eschatology; the last days are the single period between Christ’s two comings, marked by real, increasing doctrinal danger requiring vigilance. |
| Catholic | Same linear eschatology; the Magisterium’s historical role in identifying and condemning heresy is an added institutional safeguard. |
| Orthodox | Same linear eschatology; heresy historically addressed through the Ecumenical Councils, with strong memory of specific named heresies (paralleling Hymenaeus and Philetus). |
| Jewish | False prophets (nevi’ei sheker) are addressed within Torah/Prophets; no “falling away from Christ” framework; Messianic-age eschatology differs substantially. |
| Islamic | Strong parallel: end-times deception (fitna) and a great deceiver figure (al-Dajjāl) are expected before the Day of Judgment, within a linear eschatology. |
| Hindu | Cyclical cosmology with Kali Yuga as a degenerate age of moral decline offers a surface parallel to 2 Timothy 3’s vice list, but embedded in a repeating cycle, not a single linear last-days period. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Cyclical dynastic-decline narratives (治乱循环) and historic folk-millenarian movements (which have invoked Maitreya-like coming-savior expectations) risk reframing 末世 as merely the next turn of a recurring cycle rather than the single, linear last days before Christ’s return. |
| Buddhist | East Asian “decline of the dharma” (mappō) teachings describe a degenerate age in which true teaching is corrupted — a genuine structural parallel, but without a personal divine judge returning to end it. |
| Secular | ”Apostasy” reframed as ordinary ideological or religious change, decline, or deconversion, without metaphysical evil or divine accountability. |
Agreement: Many traditions anticipate a future period of moral/doctrinal decline or testing. Divergence: Linear, one-time last days (Christian/Islamic/Jewish messianic hope) vs cyclical decline-and-renewal (Hindu yugas, Buddhist mappō, Confucian dynastic cycles). Misunderstandings to avoid: 末世 must not be read as merely the next turn of a recurring cycle (劫, 治乱循环); must not suggest a coming savior parallel to Maitreya (already Critical-flagged in the baseline under Messianic Promise); 神话 must never be used for “myths” (μῦθος), since it contains 神 and would wrongly suggest “God’s own account.” Sensitive terminology: 末世, 劫, 敬虔, 神话, 弥勒.
7. Assurance of Reward
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Assurance grounded in Christ’s finished work and God’s faithfulness; the crown is a gracious gift, not earned merit; perseverance is evidence, not cause, of salvation. |
| Catholic | Final reward tied to a grace-enabled life of good works and perseverance in a state of grace. |
| Orthodox | Reward framed within theosis — progressive, grace-enabled participation in divine life; crown imagery resonates with the martyrdom/ascetic tradition. |
| Jewish | Reward and the world to come (olam ha-ba) exist but are less systematized; righteous deeds (mitzvot) contribute to a person’s standing. |
| Islamic | Strong reward/punishment framework (Paradise/Jannah) based on the balance of deeds weighed by Allah, combined with his mercy — a close conceptual parallel to eschatological reward for faithful endurance. |
| Hindu | No personal Judge granting a crown; liberation (mokṣa) or improved rebirth results from accumulated karma, not a declared verdict of unearned reward. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Folk retribution theology (报应, and ancestral merit transferred to descendants, 阴德, already baseline-flagged) frames outcomes as an impersonal ledger; Daoist immortality-attainment (成仙) parallels the forbidden self-attainment framework (修成正果) already flagged for justification. |
| Buddhist | No personal judge or reward-giver; outcomes governed by impersonal karmic law; the closest analogue to “crown” is self-attained enlightenment through one’s own practice. |
| Secular | ”Reward” reinterpreted as psychological satisfaction, legacy, or social recognition; no literal eschatological Judge or afterlife crown. |
Agreement: Widespread cross-tradition intuition that faithful endurance should be met with a just outcome. Divergence: Personal, grace-based gift from a Judge (Christian, partly Islamic) vs impersonal karmic mechanism (Hindu/Buddhist/folk 报应) vs this-life social/psychological framing (secular). Misunderstandings to avoid: 公义的冠冕 must not be read as an earthly/imperial crown of political rule, nor as self-attained spiritual perfection (修成正果/成仙); grace-not-merit must be preserved as in the baseline’s Critical grace flag. Sensitive terminology: 冠冕, 报应, 阴德, 修成正果, 成仙.
8. Divine Calling to Ministry
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Personal, Spirit-given call to specific ministry, evidenced by gifting and confirmed by the church. |
| Catholic | Calling to ordained ministry formally conferred through the sacrament of Holy Orders after a discernment process under Church authority. |
| Orthodox | Similar sacramental ordination framework, discerned within the Church’s liturgical/monastic life. |
| Jewish | Calling to rabbinic leadership arises through study and communal recognition/ordination (semikhah), not a supernatural personal summons narrative. |
| Islamic | No ordained clergy class; religious authority arises through scholarly training and communal recognition rather than an individual charismatic call. |
| Hindu | Guru status attained through spiritual attainment or lineage initiation (dīkṣā), sometimes understood as resulting from karma across lives. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Risk of reading “calling” through the lens of 天命 (Mandate of Heaven, already Critical-flagged in the baseline) legitimizing a leader, or a Daoist master’s selection of a successor. |
| Buddhist | No analogous personal external call from a creator God; monastic vocation arises from renunciation or karmic disposition. |
| Secular | ”Calling” reinterpreted as personal passion, career fit, or social utility, without supernatural agency. |
Agreement: Most religious traditions recognize some process by which individuals are set apart for religious leadership. Divergence: Individual charismatic divine summons (Christian) vs sacramental conferral (Catholic/Orthodox) vs scholarly/communal recognition (Jewish/Islamic) vs karmic/lineage attainment (Hindu/Buddhist). Misunderstandings to avoid: 蒙召/呼召 must not read as 天命 bestowed on the cosmically worthy; the Spirit’s gift-triad’s 仁爱 must not read as self-cultivated Confucian virtue (仁); 按手 must not read as qi-transmission. Sensitive terminology: 呼召, 天命, 仁爱, 按手.
9. Sanctification and Purity for Ministry
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Progressive sanctification by the Spirit in a believer already justified by faith — grace-empowered, not self-achieved. |
| Catholic | Growth in holiness intertwined with sacramental grace (especially penance and Eucharist), enabling fitness for service. |
| Orthodox | Sanctification as theosis, gradual deification by grace through ascetic practice and sacramental life, in synergy with human effort. |
| Jewish | Ritual purity categories (ṭahara/ṭumah) are cultic, distinct from Christian moral sanctification; no close parallel to Spirit-wrought inner holiness “for ministry.” |
| Islamic | Tazkiyat al-nafs (“purification of the soul”) is a robust concept of moral-spiritual self-purification through worship and struggle (jihād al-nafs) — a genuine structural parallel, though self-effort-oriented rather than the Spirit’s unilateral work. |
| Hindu | Self-purification through yogic discipline and austerity (tapas) to advance spiritually — a strong self-effort/attainment framework. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | 成圣 (already Critical-flagged) is a direct borrowing of the Neo-Confucian term for self-cultivation into sagehood through personal moral effort; Daoist ritual purification (清净, already baseline-flagged) is likewise self/ritual-achieved. |
| Buddhist | Purification of mind through meditation and precepts, a self-directed path toward liberation rather than Spirit-given transformation. |
| Secular | ”Cleansing” reframed as psychological or ethical self-improvement achieved through discipline or therapy. |
Agreement: Near-universal cross-tradition value on moral/ritual purification before serving in a religious role. Divergence: Self-effort/attainment (Confucian/Daoist/Buddhist/Hindu/Islamic tazkiya, in varying degrees) vs Spirit-originated, grace-enabled transformation (Protestant emphasis) vs grace-cooperation synergy (Catholic/Orthodox). Misunderstandings to avoid: 成圣 must never be presented as self-achieved moral perfection; 洁净自己 must not suggest ritual self-purification apart from the Spirit’s prior work. Sensitive terminology: 成圣, 洁净, 清净, 修炼.
10. Christ’s Return and Final Judgment
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Two distinct, unrepeatable historical events (first coming, second coming) bracket a single linear age; final judgment is a specific future act by Christ personally. |
| Catholic | Same two-advent framework, plus an interim particular judgment at individual death and purgatorial purification for some souls prior to final glorification. |
| Orthodox | Same two-advent framework; strong emphasis on the general resurrection and final judgment, minimal interest in purgatory as a distinct place/state. |
| Jewish | Awaits a first, not a “second,” coming of the Messiah; a future Day of Judgment/Messianic age exists without the Christian second-advent structure. |
| Islamic | Strong parallel: belief in the return of Jesus (ʿIsā) before the Day of Judgment, and a personal, linear Last Day with resurrection and divine judgment — though Jesus is a prophet, not the divine Judge himself. |
| Hindu | Cyclical cosmology in which divine descents (avatāras) recur across ages offers a “coming of a divine figure” pattern, but repeatable/cyclical, unlike Christ’s two unrepeatable advents. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Risk of assimilating “appearing” (显现) to a deity’s periodic epiphany at folk-religious festivals, or to a bodhisattva’s manifestation pattern; must be clearly bounded as two unique historical events. |
| Buddhist | Maitreya’s expected single future appearance (already Critical-flagged under Messianic Promise in the baseline) is the most direct point of possible confusion for “Christ’s return.” |
| Secular | ”Final judgment” read metaphorically as historical reckoning or legacy assessment, or dismissed as mythological. |
Agreement: Many traditions anticipate some eschatological reckoning or a divine/prophetic figure’s future involvement in history’s culmination. Divergence: Unrepeatable linear two-advent Christology (Christian) vs single still-awaited first coming (Jewish) vs prophetic non-divine second appearance (Islamic) vs cyclical repeatable divine descents (Hindu) vs a future Buddha’s single anticipated appearance (Buddhist — the closest false parallel). Misunderstandings to avoid: 显现 must be taught as exactly two unique events, never a repeatable manifestation (化身/下凡, already baseline-forbidden); avoid any conflation with Maitreya’s expected appearance. Sensitive terminology: 显现, 弥勒, 化身/下凡, 审判.
11. Christian Fellowship and Partnership in Ministry
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Fellowship (koinonia) is Spirit-given union transcending kinship/social hierarchy, expressed through practical mutual support. |
| Catholic | Fellowship expressed through the communion of saints, parish community, and shared sacramental life. |
| Orthodox | Fellowship expressed through liturgical communion and the parish as an extended spiritual family. |
| Jewish | Strong communal obligation (kehillah, tzedakah/mutual aid) parallels the practical care shown to Paul, grounded in covenant peoplehood. |
| Islamic | The ummah (global community of believers) and strong mutual-aid obligations (zakat, hospitality) closely parallel New Testament practical fellowship. |
| Hindu | Satsang (fellowship of truth-seekers) and guru-centered communities provide relational support, organized around a teacher/tradition. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Risk of reading 2 Timothy’s named-individual relational warmth through the lens of guanxi (关系)-based reciprocal social obligation or clan/宗族 loyalty networks, which carry an implicit expectation of reciprocal debt. |
| Buddhist | Sangha (monastic community) provides fellowship among practitioners pursuing shared liberation, not grounded in union with a personal saving God. |
| Secular | Fellowship reframed as a social support network or friendship group, valuable for wellbeing but without transcendent grounding. |
Agreement: Virtually all traditions value mutual material and relational support among adherents. Divergence: Union with Christ (Christian) vs covenant peoplehood (Jewish) vs ummah solidarity (Islamic) vs shared pursuit of liberation (Buddhist/Hindu) vs reciprocal social obligation (Confucian guanxi). Misunderstandings to avoid: Named-individual greetings must not read as transactional guanxi reciprocity; native speaker review should confirm relational warmth without a transactional overtone. Sensitive terminology: 团契, 关系, 宗族.
12. Thanksgiving and Personal Testimony
| Tradition | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Protestant | Personal testimony of faith heritage (Lois, Eunice) is valued as encouragement and evidence of grace across generations; thanksgiving is directed to God specifically. |
| Catholic | Similar; also values devotion passed through family and godparents, with sacramental confirmation of faith. |
| Orthodox | Similar; strong emphasis on the household as a “domestic church” transmitting faith. |
| Jewish | Strong precedent for generational transmission of faith within the family (the Shema’s command to teach children); thanksgiving (todah) directed to God for his faithfulness. |
| Islamic | Gratitude (shukr) to Allah is a central devotional theme; family transmission of faith is highly valued. |
| Hindu | Gratitude expressed toward gurus, deities, and ancestors; family transmission of dharma/tradition highly valued but pluriform across lineages. |
| Confucian / Daoist / Chinese Folk Religion | Filial piety (孝) and ancestor veneration provide a strong native framework for valuing generational transmission of belief and practice, but oriented toward honoring ancestors/family lineage rather than gratitude to a personal God for saving grace. |
| Buddhist | Gratitude expressed toward the Buddha, teachers, and parents; merit is often dedicated to family members, differing from thanksgiving addressed to a personal covenant God. |
| Secular | Gratitude reframed as general appreciation for people or circumstances, without reference to divine agency. |
Agreement: Widespread value placed on gratitude and family transmission of belief/values. Divergence: Object of gratitude (personal covenant God vs ancestors/gurus/generalized universe) and the rationale for valuing generational transmission (grace vs filial duty vs karmic merit dedication). Misunderstandings to avoid: 感恩 must be anchored explicitly to God, not read as generic secular gratitude or as filial ancestor-honoring (孝). Sensitive terminology: 感恩, 孝.
Summary Table: Doctrines Requiring Heightened Cross-Tradition Vigilance
| Doctrine | Most Likely Cross-Tradition Confusion in Mandarin Context |
|---|---|
| Apostasy and False Teachers in the Last Days | Buddhist mappō / folk-millenarian Maitreya expectation; cyclical dynastic-decline reading of 末世 |
| Christ’s Return and Final Judgment | Maitreya’s anticipated single future appearance; folk deity epiphany patterns |
| Assurance of Reward | Karmic retribution (报应) and Daoist self-attained immortality (成仙) reframing the crown as earned |
| Sanctification and Purity for Ministry | Neo-Confucian self-cultivation into sagehood (成圣 as a pre-existing technical term) |
| Guarding Sound Doctrine / Faithful Transmission | Chan Buddhist dharma-transmission (传法) model of living, evolving realization |
| Inspiration and Sufficiency of Scripture | Folk spirit-mediumship (通灵); Confucian/Buddhist/Daoist canon-parity reading of 经 |
This document must be read alongside 08_core_glossary.md and 11_doctrine_analysis.md, and loaded before any Phase 2 translation or human review session for this curriculum.