Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis
This Language Package’s doctrine_risk_registry.json tracks 40 doctrines across Romans 1–16, each assigned a risk tier that drives Phase 2 review routing.
Risk tier summary
| Tier | Count | Review routing | Example doctrines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | 9 | Human theologian, every occurrence | Salvation, Grace, Sanctification, Incarnation, Deity of Christ, Sonship of Christ, Resurrection of Christ, Lordship of Christ, Messianic Promise |
| High | 18 | Human theologian | Divine Calling, Faith, Adoption, Providence, Universal Scope of the Gospel, Unity of Jews and Gentiles |
| Medium | 9 | Native speaker review | Gospel, Peace with God, Spiritual Gifts, Mission to the Nations, Evangelism |
| Low | 4 | Automated review only | Apostleship, Thanksgiving, Mutual Edification, Christian Fellowship |
Why Critical doctrines cluster where they do
Mandarin’s nine Critical-risk doctrines split across three distinct competing traditions rather than one: Salvation, Resurrection, and Messianic Promise are Critical because of ready-made Buddhist vocabulary (解脱, 轮回, 弥勒); Grace is Critical because of Buddhist merit-accounting vocabulary (功德); Sanctification is Critical because of a direct Neo-Confucian philosophical borrowing (成圣); and Incarnation, Deity of Christ, Sonship of Christ, and Lordship of Christ are Critical partly because of classical imperial-political vocabulary (天子, 天命). This is different from a single-substrate language, where Critical risk typically clusters around one worldview; in Mandarin, a reviewer trained to catch Buddhist-flavored errors will not automatically catch a Confucian- or imperial-flavored one.
Review routing rationale
Critical and High risk doctrines (27 of 40) require mandatory human theologian review because an automated or native-speaker-only check could confirm the Mandarin is fluent — even elegant — without catching that it imports a contradictory framework from whichever of the three traditions is active in that passage. Native speaker review is sufficient for Medium-risk doctrines, where the concern is cultural fit and sensitivity (e.g. the historic 洋教 “foreign religion” framing of mission) rather than doctrinal contradiction.
Critical Risk Doctrines
Deity of Christ
Mandarin name: 基督的神性
Key terms: son of God, declared son, God over all
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: co-equal, eternal divine nature — not a human ruler elevated to semi-divine status, as in the historic Chinese emperor’s Mandate-of-Heaven-derived legitimacy. Must not be softened to ‘an especially exalted man’.
Grace
Mandarin name: 恩典
Key terms: grace, unmerited, gift, given freely
Review routing: Human theologian
Unmerited favor directly contradicts the Buddhist merit-accounting worldview (功德, 阴德) present in Chinese folk religion, where good outcomes are earned through accumulated good deeds. Must always reinforce grace as apart from merit.
Incarnation
Mandarin name: 道成肉身
Key terms: flesh, seed of David, son born, came in flesh
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the established phrase 道成肉身 borrows 道 (Dao), which also names the impersonal cosmic principle of Daoist metaphysics — every use must clarify this is the personal, eternal divine Word, not an impersonal Way. NEVER 化身/下凡 (a bodhisattva’s temporary, repeatable manifestation).
Lordship of Christ
Mandarin name: 基督的主权
Key terms: lord, lord jesus, jesus is lord
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Romans 10:9 — ‘耶稣是主’ is the salvation confession. Exclusive, supreme Lordship, not a feudal honorific (老爷) or ordinary master-servant relation (主人).
Messianic Promise
Mandarin name: 弥赛亚的应许
Key terms: messiah, christ, anointed, promised
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: must not be conflated with Maitreya (弥勒), the future Buddha expected in Chinese Buddhist eschatology to appear and save the world in a coming age — a figure historically invoked by Chinese millenarian folk-religious movements. Christ is the Messiah who has already come and fulfilled specific Jewish covenant promises, not one of several anticipated future world-saviors.
Resurrection of Christ
Mandarin name: 基督的复活
Key terms: raised, resurrection, from the dead, raised from death
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: 复活, not 轮回 (reincarnation cycle) or 投胎 (rebirth into a new womb) or 还魂 (folk ghost-story reanimation). Bodily, historical, once-for-all.
Salvation
Mandarin name: 救恩
Key terms: salvation, saved, save, deliverance
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: NEVER 解脱 (Buddhist liberation from samsara) or 超度 (a posthumous rite performed on behalf of the dead). Salvation is reconciliation with a personal God through Christ, received in this life by faith, not an escape from suffering achieved through practice or ritual after death.
Sanctification
Mandarin name: 成圣
Key terms: sanctification, holiness, set apart, holy living
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: 成圣 is a direct borrowing of the Neo-Confucian technical term for self-cultivation into sagehood through personal moral effort (Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming). Biblical sanctification is the Spirit’s work in an already-justified believer, not self-achieved moral perfection.
Sonship of Christ
Mandarin name: 基督的儿子名分
Key terms: son of God, his son, God’s son
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: NEVER equate with 天子 (‘Son of Heaven’), the historic imperial title held by any legitimate emperor under the Mandate of Heaven. Christ’s Sonship is eternal and unique, not an office that could in principle pass to another holder.
High Risk Doctrines
Adoption into God’s Family
Mandarin name: 在神家中得儿子的名分
Key terms: adoption, spirit of adoption, sons, children of God, abba
Review routing: Human theologian
Full relational son-status with complete inheritance rights; distinguish from the traditional Chinese practice of 过继 (transferring an heir within the clan primarily to continue ancestor-worship obligations), which is instrumental rather than relational.
Assurance of Salvation
Mandarin name: 得救的确据
Key terms: nothing can separate, who shall separate, no condemnation, more than conquerors
Review routing: Human theologian
Assurance rests on God’s unchanging character, not on an ongoing, uncertain merit-ledger (功德) that could always still tip unfavorably.
Christian Identity in Christ
Mandarin name: 在基督里的基督徒身份
Key terms: in Christ, in Christ Jesus, united with Christ, dead to sin alive to God
Review routing: Human theologian
Identity located in union with Christ, not in clan/lineage standing or accumulated merit (功德).
Davidic Covenant
Mandarin name: 大卫之约
Key terms: seed of David, David, covenant
Review routing: Human theologian
Requires OT background explanation; no directly analogous concept of a perpetual royal covenant promise exists in Chinese dynastic tradition, where legitimacy is understood as a revocable Mandate of Heaven rather than an unconditional promise to one line.
Divine Calling
Mandarin name: 神的呼召
Key terms: called, calling
Review routing: Human theologian
Must be kept distinct from 天命 (Mandate of Heaven), the classical Chinese concept of an impersonal cosmic mandate legitimizing a ruler. God’s call is personal and relational, not a cosmic entitlement bestowed on the worthy.
Effectual Calling
Mandarin name: 有效的呼召
Key terms: called, calling, election, chosen
Review routing: Human theologian
God’s sovereign call that secures the salvation of the called; not impersonal fate (命运) or a predestined-connection folk concept (缘分).
Faith
Mandarin name: 信心
Key terms: faith, believe, belief, trust
Review routing: Human theologian
Personal trust in Christ specifically; not generic religious devoutness (虔诚) that could be directed at any deity or practice.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Mandarin name: 预言的应验
Key terms: prophecy, promised, foretold, scriptures say
Review routing: Human theologian
Linear, one-time historical fulfillment (OT to NT), not the cyclical dynastic-rise-and-fall pattern (治乱循环, the recurring order-chaos-order cycle of Chinese historiography) that shapes how many Chinese readers intuitively read long historical narratives.
Humanity of Christ
Mandarin name: 基督的人性
Key terms: born of the seed of David, flesh, human
Review routing: Human theologian
Real, physical human nature, not a temporary manifestation-body (化身) that a deity could shed or exchange for another form.
Inspiration of Scripture
Mandarin name: 圣经的默示
Key terms: scriptures, holy scriptures, prophets
Review routing: Human theologian
Distinguish God-breathed Scripture from the Chinese classical canon (经, jīng, as in the Confucian Five Classics or Daoist Daodejing), which is authoritative as sage-wisdom rather than as the direct, verbal communication of a personal God through human authors.
Obedience of Faith
Mandarin name: 因信而生的顺服
Key terms: obedience of faith, obedience, faith-produced obedience
Review routing: Human theologian
Obedience that flows from faith already given, not filial-duty obedience (孝顺) discharged as a debt owed to a superior. Distinct from Confucian obligation-based compliance.
Power of God for Salvation
Mandarin name: 神拯救人的大能
Key terms: power of God, God’s power
Review routing: Human theologian
大能 required; never 气 (vital life-energy of Chinese medicine/qigong/martial-arts cosmology) or 法力 (a folk practitioner’s ritual power).
Providence
Mandarin name: 神的护理
Key terms: all things work together, God works, foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified
Review routing: Human theologian
God’s personal, purposive care; not the impersonal 天意 (‘heaven’s intention’) of everyday fatalistic speech. Romans 8:28 is specifically vulnerable to a fatalism-flavored reading.
Sainthood (Called to be Holy)
Mandarin name: 蒙召作圣徒
Key terms: saints, holy ones, called to be holy
Review routing: Human theologian
All believers are 圣徒 corporately; 圣人 (sage) is a specific, elevated Confucian category reserved for a tiny number of morally perfected figures like Confucius (至圣) and must not be implied.
Separation unto God’s Service
Mandarin name: 为神的工作被分别出来
Key terms: set apart, separated, holy
Review routing: Human theologian
Must not be confused with the Daoist/Buddhist ideal of withdrawing from worldly life to pursue ritual purity or immortality through seclusion. Biblical separation is devotion to God while remaining fully engaged in ordinary life.
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Mandarin name: 犹太人与外邦人的合一
Key terms: Jew and Gentile, no distinction, one body, olive tree
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly challenges any lingering insider/outsider ethnic hierarchy; must translate with theological clarity rather than softened diplomatic language.
Universal Human Accountability
Mandarin name: 全人类都当向神负责
Key terms: all have sinned, no one is righteous, no distinction, all are accountable
Review routing: Human theologian
All humanity equally guilty before God, regardless of social or civilizational standing; retain universal language without softening toward a graded moral-hierarchy reading.
Universal Scope of the Gospel
Mandarin name: 福音普及万民
Key terms: everyone who believes, all who call, no distinction, Jew and Gentile
Review routing: Human theologian
No ethnic or civilizational barrier to the gospel; must resist any framing that echoes the classical Hua-Yi (华夷) civilized-insider/outsider distinction. Retain unqualified universality.
Medium Risk Doctrines
Christ-Centered Ministry
Mandarin name: 以基督为中心的事奉
Key terms: what Christ has accomplished through me, in Christ Jesus, minister of Christ
Review routing: Native speaker review
Ministry done in Christ’s name and by his power, for his glory, not humanitarian service or moral cultivation practiced independently of the gospel.
Church as God’s People
Mandarin name: 作为神子民的教会
Key terms: body of Christ, one body, church, saints, assembly
Review routing: Native speaker review
New covenant community, not a temple-based ritual institution (庙/寺/道观) or a clan association.
Evangelism
Mandarin name: 传福音
Key terms: preach, proclaim, evangelize, send, how will they hear
Review routing: Native speaker review
Culturally sensitive given the historic 洋教 (‘foreign religion’) stigma; frame in terms of proclamation and witness within community, not confrontational or foreign-imposed messaging.
Gospel
Mandarin name: 福音
Key terms: gospel, good news
Review routing: Native speaker review
福音 is an established, unambiguous term, but its root character 福 (fortune/blessing) sits inside the same semantic field as folk fortune-seeking language; teaching must make clear the gospel is news of salvation through Christ, not an omen of coming luck.
Kingdom Mission
Mandarin name: 神国的使命
Key terms: kingdom of God, righteousness peace and joy, advance the kingdom
Review routing: Native speaker review
God’s reign advancing through the gospel, not a this-worldly political order framed as 天下 (‘all under heaven’) or dynastic succession.
Mission to the Nations
Mandarin name: 向万国宣教
Key terms: nations, gentiles, all peoples, to the ends of the earth
Review routing: Native speaker review
Cultural sensitivity: Christianity has historically been labeled 洋教 (‘foreign/Western religion’) in China, carrying 19th-20th century colonial-era connotations. Frame proclamation carefully to avoid reinforcing a ‘foreign import’ stigma.
Peace with God
Mandarin name: 与神和好的平安
Key terms: peace with God, peace, peace through justification
Review routing: Native speaker review
Relational, covenantal peace through justification, not the generic well-wishing sense of 平安 used on protective amulets and everyday greetings.
Prayer and Intercession
Mandarin name: 祷告与代求
Key terms: prayer, intercession, pray, groan, spirit intercedes
Review routing: Native speaker review
Direct access to God in Christ’s name; distinguish from consulting a fortune-stick (求签) or diviner (问卜) for guidance.
Spiritual Gifts
Mandarin name: 属灵恩赐
Key terms: spiritual gift, gift, grace gift, measure of faith
Review routing: Native speaker review
Spirit-given enablements for building up the church; not 神通 (supernatural powers attained through Buddhist/Daoist spiritual cultivation) or 法力 (a folk-religion practitioner’s ritual power).
Low Risk Doctrines
Apostleship
Mandarin name: 使徒的职分
Key terms: apostle
Review routing: Automated review
Low collision risk: 使徒 is an established, specific term. Minor risk of readers conflating it with a martial-arts or Daoist ‘grandmaster’ (宗师) lineage figure if paraphrased loosely.
Christian Fellowship
Mandarin name: 基督徒团契
Key terms: fellowship, share, participate, community
Review routing: Automated review
Shared participation in Christ; not a ritualized sworn-brotherhood pact (结拜) or mere social association.
Mutual Edification
Mandarin name: 彼此造就
Key terms: build up, edify, encourage one another, strengthen
Review routing: Automated review
Building one another up in faith; no significant doctrinal risk.
Thanksgiving
Mandarin name: 感恩
Key terms: thanksgiving, give thanks, grateful, thank God
Review routing: Automated review
Standard term; minor risk of generic secular gratitude without reference to God specifically.
Referenced passages