Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis — Luke 1–24 (Destination Language: Persian)
Purpose and Scope
This document is the full doctrine matrix for the Luke curriculum, extending the baseline Romans Language Package to the entire Gospel of Luke, chapter 1 through chapter 24. It is produced in lockstep with doctrine_risk_registry.json (Luke): the same 26 doctrines, the same risk tiers, the same review routing. No doctrine, risk tier, or routing decision in this document contradicts that registry; this file adds the supporting narrative analysis, per-chapter mapping, and translation-risk rationale that the registry records only in summary form.
The core passage, Luke 4:16-21 (Jesus’ inaugural sermon at Nazareth, reading Isaiah 61 and declaring “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”), is the theological anchor of the curriculum — the moment Jesus publicly claims the anointed, Spirit-empowered, poor-liberating, Jubilee-announcing mission that the rest of the Gospel narrates. It is not, however, the scope boundary: every chapter of Luke has been reviewed below, and chapters contributing no new doctrine-risk content are explicitly noted as reviewed rather than silently omitted, per the full-book coverage mandate.
Risk tier definitions, review routing categories, and the Critical/High/Medium/Low framework are inherited unchanged from the baseline Romans Language Package (doctrine_risk_registry.json, risk_definitions).
Part 1 — Full Doctrine Matrix (26 Doctrines)
Critical Risk Doctrines (10) — Human Theologian Review Required for Every Occurrence
| # | Doctrine | Persian Name | Key Supporting Passages (Luke) | Translation Risk Summary | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | عیسی، نجاتدهندهٔ همهٔ قومها | 2:11; 2:30-32; 3:6; 4:18-27; 7:1-10; 19:9-10; 24:47 | نجاتدهنده must not be absorbed into the popular Shia Mahdi-centered expectation of a still-awaited universal deliverer with Isa in a secondary role. Luke names Jesus Savior of Jew, Gentile, rich, and poor at birth (2:11) and demonstrates it narratively (centurion 7:9; Zacchaeus and the poor, ch.19); his primacy and sufficiency for every category of person must be actively asserted, never merely his honored status. | Human theologian |
| 2 | The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | کار روحالقدس در تاریخ نجات | 1:15; 1:35; 1:41; 1:67; 3:16; 3:22; 4:1; 4:14; 4:18; 10:21; 11:13; 24:49 | Luke has the densest Holy Spirit vocabulary of the Synoptics. The Quranic identification of روحالقدس with the angel Jibril is intensified here because created angels (Gabriel, etc.) appear extensively in the same infancy chapters — the created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction must be explicit at every occurrence, especially where angelic and Spirit activity sit in close narrative proximity (ch.1). | Human theologian |
| 3 | Incarnation and the Virgin Birth | تجسد و تولد از باکره | 1:26-38; 1:35; 2:1-20 | The Quran affirms Mary’s virginal conception (19:20) — genuine shared ground, not collision. The risk is audiences assuming shared agreement on the virgin birth implies shared agreement on Christ’s deity, which the Quran explicitly denies. Build on the shared premise toward the conclusion the Quran stops short of; guard against absorption into the Zoroastrian Amesha Spentas intermediary-emanation pattern already flagged in the baseline. | Human theologian |
| 4 | Deity of Christ | الوهیت مسیح | 1:32; 1:35; 4:41; 5:20-24; 8:24-25; 20:41-44; 22:70 | Jesus’ authority to forgive sins (5:20-24, an act only God can perform), to calm the storm (8:24-25), and to be addressed as خداوند from the narrator’s own voice throughout Luke together constitute the paradigm case of shirk from a tawhid standpoint fully shared by Persian Shia Islam. Never soften to “a great and honored man.” | Human theologian |
| 5 | Sonship of Christ | پسر خدا بودن مسیح | 1:32; 1:35; 3:22; 3:38; 9:35; 22:70 | Luke 3:38 uniquely calls Adam “son of God” in a creaturely, non-unique sense within the genealogy; every teaching context must explicitly flag that Adam’s sonship is categorically different from Christ’s unique, eternal sonship confirmed at the Transfiguration (9:35). Never render with the softened برگزیده خدا per the documented Hezare No controversy already in the baseline. | Human theologian |
| 6 | Resurrection of Christ | قیامت مسیح | 9:22; 18:33; 20:27-38; 24:1-49 | Shares the Quran’s crucifixion-denial (4:157) with the baseline’s caution. Luke adds apologetic weight — the explicit “flesh and bones” demonstration (24:39) and the shared meal (24:41-43) — which must be preserved in full physical concreteness so the resurrection is not read as vision, ghost-appearance, or the Mahdi-centered eschatological substitute already flagged in the baseline. | Human theologian |
| 7 | Messianic Promise | وعدهٔ مسیحایی | 2:11; 2:26; 3:15; 4:18-21; 9:20; 24:26-27; 24:46 | Beyond shared Quranic Masih content, popular Shia messianic expectation centers primarily on the Hidden Twelfth Imam (Mahdi). The core passage (4:18-21) has Jesus himself claim the anointed-deliverer role by directly citing his own anointing; every occurrence must actively assert Christ’s own primary, sufficient redemptive role, not merely an honored or preparatory status. | Human theologian |
| 8 | The Lord’s Supper: Body and Blood as the New Covenant | شام خداوند: بدن و خون مسیح | 22:14-20 | Twelver Shia devotional culture centers an entire annual ritual calendar (Muharram/Ashura) on the shed blood and suffering of the martyred Imam Hussein at Karbala, including practices framed as drawing benefit/intercession from that blood. Christ’s body-and-blood language must be taught as once-for-all, categorically unique, personally efficacious atonement — genuinely distinct from, not a Christian parallel devotional practice alongside, the Karbala framework. | Human theologian |
| 9 | The Historical Reality of Christ’s Crucifixion | واقعیت تاریخی مصلوب شدن مسیح | 23:26-46 | The most direct point of confrontation with Quran 4:157’s explicit denial (“they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them”). Every occurrence in ch.23 must affirm a real, historical, physical death — the indispensable precondition for both the resurrection (ch.24) and the atonement (ch.22). | Human theologian |
| 10 | The Ascension of Christ | صعود مسیح | 24:50-53 | The Quran (4:158) teaches God “raised” Jesus to Himself instead of his being killed — i.e., in the majority Islamic reading Jesus never died. Luke’s sequence (real death, ch.23 → real bodily resurrection, 24:1-43 → ascension of that same glorified body, 24:51) must be taught explicitly in that order to prevent conflation with the Islamic substitution narrative, which would erase both resurrection and atonement. | Human theologian |
High Risk Doctrines (13) — Human Theologian Review Required
| # | Doctrine | Persian Name | Key Supporting Passages (Luke) | Translation Risk Summary | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | بشارت به فقیران و بهحاشیهراندهشدگان | 4:18; 6:20-25; 7:22; 14:13-21; 16:19-31; 18:22-23; 19:8 | فقیر collides with the Sufi faqir/darvish voluntary-poverty ideal, risking a reading of Jesus’ mission as endorsing spiritual renunciation rather than concrete economic and social concern. Recurring guest-lists (poor, crippled, lame, blind) and the rich man/Lazarus reversal must retain concrete socioeconomic reference, not be spiritualized away. | Human theologian |
| 12 | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | توبه و بخشش گناهان | 3:3-8; 5:20-32; 7:47-49; 15:1-32; 17:3-4; 18:13-14; 24:47 | توبه is core, load-bearing Islamic vocabulary (a whole surah is named for it), typically the sinner’s own act of turning, often reinforced by restorative works. Luke’s repentance must be taught as Spirit-enabled reorientation that receives, not earns, forgiveness secured through Christ; the lost sheep/coin/son parables (ch.15) are the key texts for God’s own prior, seeking initiative. | Human theologian |
| 13 | Prayer and Dependence on God | دعا و توکل بر خدا | 11:1-13; 12:22-31; 18:1-8; 22:39-46 | دعا is genuine everyday Islamic bridge vocabulary for informal supplication distinct from obligatory نماز/salat, but the Lord’s Prayer’s filial پدر-address (11:2) must retain the full intimacy flagged Critical under father in the baseline. The persistent-widow teaching (18:1-8) must be taught against folk qadar-fatalism, not as pointless repetition of a fixed divine decree. | Human theologian |
| 14 | The Kingdom of God Present and Future | ملکوت خدا؛ حال و آینده | 4:43; 10:9-11; 11:20; 13:18-29; 17:20-21; 21:31; 22:16-18 | The already/not-yet tension must be distinguished from Iran’s own religious-political governing structure (Velayat-e Faqih) on one side, and from Sufi mystical-inwardness readings of 17:21’s ἐντὸς ὑμῶν on the other; render 17:21 as “in your midst” (corporate, christocentric), not an individualistic “within you.” | Human theologian |
| 15 | The Cost and Joy of Discipleship | هزینه و شادی شاگردی | 9:23; 9:57-62; 14:25-33; 18:28-30 | شاگرد must be kept distinct from the Sufi مرید (morid) master-disciple framework centered on submission to a living pir’s mystical authority. “Take up his cross” (9:23) must retain its real, costly, potentially fatal historical force, not generic everyday hardship — especially given the real legal and social cost of discipleship for Muslim-background believers in Iran today. | Human theologian |
| 16 | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | شفقت مسیح و مشارکت سر سفره با گناهکاران | 5:29-32; 7:36-50; 15:1-2; 19:1-10 | Persian hospitality culture’s deep positive value on welcoming guests (نان و نمک, “bread and salt,” trust-bond tradition) is a genuine bridge asset, but the scandal (a holy man deliberately eating with the despised and unclean) must not be lost in translation to a culture where hospitality itself is already an assumed virtue. | Human theologian |
| 17 | Humanity of Christ | بشریت مسیح | 2:7; 2:52; 22:44; 23:46; 24:39 | Real, physical human nature, not an illusion. Luke’s “sweat like blood” (22:44) and the crucifixion narrative (ch.23) directly counter any docetic (only-appeared-to-suffer) reading relevant to the Quran’s crucifixion-denial, which must be actively named and corrected, not merely avoided. | Human theologian |
| 18 | Universal Scope of the Gospel and Unity of Jew and Gentile | شمول جهانی انجیل و اتحاد یهود و غیریهود | 2:32; 3:6; 4:25-27; 7:1-10; 10:25-37; 17:11-19 | Must avoid two risks: (1) being heard as religious pluralism claiming all paths equally valid, and (2) unintended alignment with Iran’s officially propagandized anti-Israel political stance when Israel/covenant-people language appears. The Samaritan texts additionally carry the documented Quranic al-Sāmirī name-collision requiring explicit footnoting. | Human theologian |
| 19 | Inspiration and Fulfillment of Scripture | الهام و تحقق کتاب مقدس | 4:17-21; 16:29-31; 24:25-27; 24:44-45 | The core passage’s γέγραπται/πεπλήρωται vocabulary (4:17, 21) and its bookend at 24:25-27, 44-45 (“he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”) must be taught as fulfillment-as-culmination of one continuous, trustworthy prophetic word — distinguished both from Islamic wahy (verbatim dictation) and from the naskh (abrogation) framework in which later revelation supersedes rather than climactically fulfills what came before. | Human theologian |
| 20 | Baptism and the Rite of Repentance | تعمید و توبه | 3:3-22; 7:29; 12:50; 20:4 | Documented collision: the Sabian-Mandaean community, present in Iran and Iraq, reveres John the Baptist as central prophet and practices frequent ritual baptism (masbuta) as an ongoing sacrament while explicitly rejecting Jesus’ divinity. John’s baptism of repentance must be taught as a one-time, decisive marker pointing forward to Christ, distinguished from both this Mandaean system and Islamic ritual ablution vocabulary. | Human theologian |
| 21 | Spiritual Conflict and Deliverance from Evil Spirits | نبرد روحانی و رهایی از ارواح پلید | 4:33-41; 8:26-39; 10:17-19; 11:14-22; 13:32 | دیو carries Zoroastrianism’s own dualistic cosmology in which daevas are independent, near-equal adversarial forces, risking an evenly-matched cosmic-struggle reading. A further collision applies to jinn-related folk-Islamic exorcism practice embedded in Iranian folk religion. Luke’s demons must be taught as defeated, subordinate, created beings under Christ’s unqualified authority (ἐξουσία). | Human theologian |
| 22 | The Samaritan and the Redefinition of Neighbor-Love | سامری و محبت به همسایه | 10:25-37; 17:11-19 | Documented, curriculum-critical collision: the Quran (20:85-97) names an unrelated figure “al-Sāmirī,” the golden-calf maker, using the same Persian transliteration سامری as the NT ethnic-religious Samaritans. Every occurrence requires an explicit footnote distinguishing the two so the Good Samaritan’s compassion-across-boundary lesson is not derailed by the unrelated Quranic calf-narrative association. | Human theologian |
| 23 | Kingdom Reversal: Rich and Poor | وارونگی ملکوت: ثروتمند و فقیر | 1:52-53; 6:20-26; 12:13-21; 16:19-31; 18:18-25 | Must avoid both romanticizing poverty and demonizing wealth as such; the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31) and the rich fool (12:16-21) target idolatrous self-sufficiency and neglect of the poor, not wealth itself. Teach the mammon material (16:9-13) as a stark, exclusive-allegiance either/or, not general financial stewardship advice. | Human theologian |
Medium Risk Doctrines (2) — Native Speaker Review Recommended
| # | Doctrine | Persian Name | Key Supporting Passages (Luke) | Translation Risk Summary | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Providence and Freedom from Anxiety | تدبیر الهی و رهایی از نگرانی | 12:6-7; 12:22-31 | God’s personal, purposive, fatherly care for his people’s needs; keep distinct from folk qadar-style fatalism, in which anxiety-freedom would follow from resignation to an impersonal fixed decree rather than trust in a personal, attentive Father. | Native speaker review |
| 25 | Angelic Mediation Distinguished from the Holy Spirit’s Personal Work | فرشتگان در برابر روحالقدس | 1:11-38; 2:9-15; 22:43; 24:23 | Luke’s infancy narrative places created angelic messengers (Gabriel) and the Holy Spirit’s activity in close narrative proximity; review should confirm فرشته and روحالقدس remain visibly, terminologically distinct throughout so popular tafsir’s Jibril-identification of the Holy Spirit is not inadvertently reinforced. | Native speaker review |
Low Risk Doctrine (1) — Automated Review Sufficient
| # | Doctrine | Persian Name | Key Supporting Passages (Luke) | Translation Risk Summary | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Joy in Repentance and Salvation | شادی در توبه و نجات | 15:7; 15:10; 19:37; 24:52 | شادی is broadly compatible everyday vocabulary. Retain the point that this is heaven’s/God’s own joy over repentance, not merely human relief, for pastoral richness, but mistranslation here does not threaten essential doctrine. | Automated review |
Part 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Doctrine Coverage (Full Book, Luke 1–24)
Every chapter of Luke has been reviewed against the doctrine matrix above. Chapters are listed in order; each entry names the doctrines actively load-bearing in that chapter’s translation work. No chapter is silently skipped.
| Ch. | Doctrines Present (by # above) | Coverage Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 (Holy Spirit’s Work), 3 (Incarnation/Virgin Birth), 4 (Deity of Christ), 5 (Sonship of Christ), 7 (Messianic Promise — Benedictus), 23 (Kingdom Reversal — Magnificat), 25 (Angelic Mediation vs. Holy Spirit) | Densest single-chapter doctrine load in the book: annunciations, Magnificat, Benedictus. Angel/Spirit proximity (v.11-38, 41) requires explicit disambiguation. |
| 2 | 1 (Jesus Savior All Nations), 3 (Incarnation/Virgin Birth), 7 (Messianic Promise — “Christ the Lord,” v.11), 18 (Universal Scope/Jew-Gentile Unity — “light for revelation to the Gentiles,” v.32) | Nativity and presentation at the temple; Simeon’s prophecy is a key universal-scope text. |
| 3 | 5 (Sonship of Christ — Adam genealogy, v.38), 12 (Repentance and Forgiveness), 20 (Baptism and Repentance Rite), 2 (Holy Spirit’s Work — Jesus’ baptism, v.22) | John’s ministry and Jesus’ baptism; v.38’s “Adam, son of God” requires the creaturely-vs-unique-sonship distinction taught explicitly here, not deferred. |
| 4 | CORE PASSAGE (4:16-21): 7 (Messianic Promise), 11 (Good News to the Poor), 14 (Kingdom of God Present/Future), 19 (Inspiration and Fulfillment of Scripture); also 21 (Spiritual Conflict — temptation, demon exorcism), 4 (Deity of Christ — authority over unclean spirits) | The theological anchor of the curriculum. The anointing/proclamation/fulfillment vocabulary of vv.16-21 sits alongside the wilderness temptation and first exorcism narratives later in the chapter. |
| 5 | 12 (Repentance and Forgiveness — paralytic, v.20-24), 4 (Deity of Christ — authority to forgive sins), 16 (Compassion and Table Fellowship — calling of Levi) | First direct narrative occurrence of Jesus forgiving sins as a divine prerogative; foundational for doctrine #4. |
| 6 | 11 (Good News to the Poor — Beatitudes/Woes), 15 (Cost and Joy of Discipleship — naming of the Twelve), 16 (Compassion — love of enemies) | Sermon material establishing the kingdom-reversal ethic that recurs through the book. |
| 7 | 1 (Jesus Savior All Nations — centurion, v.1-10), 16 (Compassion and Table Fellowship — sinful woman, v.36-50), 12 (Repentance and Forgiveness) | Centurion narrative is a key Gentile-inclusion text feeding doctrine #18 as well. |
| 8 | 14 (Kingdom of God Present/Future — parable of the sower), 21 (Spiritual Conflict — Gerasene demoniac), 1 (Jesus Savior — faith/healing wordplay) | Parable and exorcism material; sōzō (save/heal) wordplay reinforces doctrine #1. |
| 9 | 5 (Sonship of Christ — Transfiguration, v.35), 15 (Cost and Joy of Discipleship — “take up his cross,” v.23), 7 (Messianic Promise — Peter’s confession, v.20), 14 (Kingdom of God) | Transfiguration is the primary confirmatory text for doctrine #5, paired explicitly against 3:38’s Adam usage. |
| 10 | 14 (Kingdom of God — “kingdom has come near”), 18 (Universal Scope/Jew-Gentile Unity), 22 (Samaritan and Neighbor-Love — Good Samaritan, v.25-37), 2 (Holy Spirit’s Work, v.21), 13 (Prayer and Dependence) | First occurrence of the documented al-Sāmirī collision term; footnote required at v.33. |
| 11 | 13 (Prayer and Dependence on God — Lord’s Prayer, v.1-13), 21 (Spiritual Conflict — Beelzebul controversy), 19 (Inspiration/Fulfillment — word of God, v.28) | Lord’s Prayer is the primary text for doctrine #13’s filial-intimacy requirement. |
| 12 | 24 (Providence and Freedom from Anxiety, v.6-7, 22-31), 23 (Kingdom Reversal — rich fool, v.13-21), 13 (Prayer and Dependence) | Providence-teaching block; anxiety material must be distinguished from folk qadar-fatalism. |
| 13 | 12 (Repentance and Forgiveness — reused), 14 (Kingdom of God — growth parables, v.18-21) | Reinforces earlier repentance and kingdom-growth doctrine; no new doctrine-risk category introduced. Reviewed and confirmed consistent with ch.3/ch.10 usage. |
| 14 | 11 (Good News to the Poor — great banquet, v.13-21), 15 (Cost and Joy of Discipleship — count the cost, v.25-33) | Banquet guest-list (poor, crippled, lame, blind) is a key concrete-poverty text for doctrine #11. |
| 15 | 12 (Repentance and Forgiveness — lost sheep/coin/son), 26 (Joy in Repentance and Salvation), 16 (Compassion and Table Fellowship, v.1-2) | The chapter’s three parables are the primary teaching texts for both doctrine #12 and #26. |
| 16 | 23 (Kingdom Reversal — rich man and Lazarus, Mammon), 19 (Inspiration/Fulfillment — “Moses and the Prophets,” v.29-31) | Rich/poor reversal doctrine’s fullest single-chapter treatment. |
| 17 | 22 (Samaritan and Neighbor-Love — ten lepers, v.11-19, second collision-teaching opportunity), 14 (Kingdom of God — “in your midst,” v.20-21), 12 (Repentance, v.3-4) | Second occurrence requiring the al-Sāmirī footnote; v.21’s ἐντὸς ὑμῶν rendering decision is load-bearing for doctrine #14. |
| 18 | 13 (Prayer and Dependence — persistent widow, v.1-8), 16 (Compassion/Table Fellowship — Pharisee and tax collector, direct “justified” occurrence, v.9-14), 23 (Kingdom Reversal — rich ruler, v.18-25) | Direct lexical justification occurrence anchors this chapter to the baseline Romans justification doctrine as well. |
| 19 | 1 (Jesus Savior All Nations — Zacchaeus, “today salvation has come,” v.1-10), 23 (Kingdom Reversal), 14 (Kingdom of God — triumphal entry) | “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (v.10) is a thesis-level statement for doctrine #1. |
| 20 | 4 (Deity of Christ — David’s Son and Lord, resurrection debate with the Sadducees, v.27-44), 6 (Resurrection of Christ — debate context) | Vineyard/tenants and cornerstone material also reinforce Sonship (doctrine #5) typologically; no new doctrine category beyond those already tracked. |
| 21 | 14 (Kingdom of God — Son of Man coming in a cloud), 24 (Providence) | Eschatological discourse; redemption language (ἀπολύτρωσις) ties to doctrine #14’s future dimension. Reviewed; no new Critical/High doctrine beyond those already tracked. |
| 22 | 8 (Eucharist: Body and Blood/New Covenant, v.14-20), 17 (Humanity of Christ — Gethsemane, v.44), 13 (Prayer and Dependence, v.39-46), 21 (Spiritual Conflict — Satan and Judas, v.3, 31) | Passover/Last Supper chapter; doctrine #8 receives its sole but decisive textual anchor here. |
| 23 | 9 (Crucifixion Historicity, v.26-46), 17 (Humanity of Christ), 1 (Jesus Savior — repentant thief and Paradise, v.39-43) | The book’s most direct confrontation with Quran 4:157; requires the highest concentration of theologian-review flags of any chapter. |
| 24 | 6 (Resurrection of Christ), 10 (Ascension of Christ), 19 (Inspiration/Fulfillment — “opened their minds,” v.25-27, 44-45), 2 (Holy Spirit’s Work — “power from on high,” v.49) | Closing chapter carries the death→resurrection→ascension sequence in its indispensable narrative order; must never be re-sequenced or compressed in translation. |
Coverage confirmation: All 24 chapters of Luke have been reviewed. No chapter was found to be doctrinally inert; chapters 13 and 21, the two lightest-load chapters, reuse and reinforce doctrines already established elsewhere rather than introducing new risk categories, and are recorded as such rather than omitted.
Part 3 — Risk Summary (Consistent with doctrine_risk_registry.json)
| Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 10 | Human theologian (every occurrence) |
| High | 13 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 2 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 1 | Automated review |
| Total doctrines | 26 | — |
| Total requiring theologian review | 23 | Critical + High |
| Total requiring native speaker review | 2 | Medium |
| Total automated-only | 1 | Low |
These totals are identical to doctrine_risk_registry.json’s risk_summary block and must remain synchronized with it; any future update to one file requires a corresponding update to the other.
Part 4 — Relationship to the Baseline Romans Doctrine Set
Several Luke doctrines directly extend Critical/High baseline doctrines rather than introducing unrelated categories. These continuities must be preserved in Phase 2 term enforcement:
| Luke Doctrine | Extends Baseline (Romans) Doctrine | Continuity Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Deity of Christ; Sonship of Christ | deity_of_christ, sonship_of_christ | Same پسر خدا (never برگزیده خدا) rule applies across both curricula without exception. |
| Resurrection of Christ; Ascension of Christ | resurrection_of_christ | Same قیامت term and Mahdi-displacement caution; Luke adds the death→resurrection→ascension sequencing requirement absent from Romans. |
| Messianic Promise | messianic_promise | Same مسیح term and Mahdi-centered-expectation caution; Luke’s core passage (4:18-21) makes the self-claim explicit where Romans treats it propositionally. |
| Jesus as Savior for All Nations | salvation, universal_scope_of_gospel | Same نجات term and Karbala/Hussein intercession-framework distinction; Luke narrates what Romans argues doctrinally. |
| The Lord’s Supper: Body and Blood | salvation, intercession (Karbala caution) | Same Critical-tier Karbala/Ashura distinction now applied to a concrete liturgical text (22:14-20) rather than a general doctrinal statement. |
| Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | sin | Same گناه term; Luke adds the dedicated توبه (repentance) vocabulary cluster not lexically prominent in Romans. |
| Prayer and Dependence on God | intercession, father | Same پدر/ابا intimacy requirement from the baseline now grounded in the Lord’s Prayer’s direct address. |
| Kingdom of God Present and Future | kingdom_of_god | Same ملکوت خدا term; Luke’s dense already/not-yet material (esp. 17:20-21) requires the additional Sufi-inwardness caution not present in the Romans risk notes. |
| Cost and Joy of Discipleship | christian_identity_in_christ | Same identity-cost-in-Iran caution as the baseline’s identity doctrine, now applied to explicit cross-bearing language. |
| Universal Scope and Jew-Gentile Unity | unity_of_jews_and_gentiles, israel | Same Iranian state anti-Israel political-sensitivity caution; Luke adds the Samaritan al-Sāmirī name-collision, a risk absent from Romans. |
This document must be loaded alongside 08_core_glossary.md and doctrine_risk_registry.json before Phase 1 Step 5 (translation memory extension) begins.
Any new doctrine or risk-tier change discovered during Phase 2 translation must be back-propagated into this file and into doctrine_risk_registry.json in the same update cycle.
Critical Risk Doctrines
Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People (Jew and Gentile, Rich and Poor)
Persian name: عیسی، نجاتدهندهٔ همهٔ قومها
Key terms: savior, salvation, gentiles, poor, messiah, christ_the_lord
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: نجاتدهنده must not be absorbed into the popular Shia Mahdi-centered expectation of a still-awaited universal deliverer, in which Isa plays a secondary, supporting role; Luke names Jesus Savior of Jew, Gentile, rich, and poor alike at his very birth (2:11) and demonstrates it narratively (the Gentile centurion 7:9, the rich Zacchaeus and poor alike in ch.19) - his primacy and sufficiency for every category of person must be actively asserted, not merely his honored status.
The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Persian name: کار روحالقدس در تاریخ نجات
Key terms: holy_spirit, power_of_god, angel
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Luke has the densest Holy Spirit vocabulary among the Synoptics; the identical Quranic phrase and mainstream tafsir identification of روحالقدس with the angel Jibril (already flagged Critical in the baseline) is intensified in Luke because created angels (Gabriel, etc.) also appear extensively in the same infancy narrative chapters - the created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction must be made explicit at every occurrence, especially where angelic and Spirit-activity appear in close proximity (ch.1).
Incarnation and the Virgin Birth
Persian name: تجسد و تولد از باکره
Key terms: incarnation, virgin, son_of_god, power_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the Quran itself affirms Mary’s virginal conception (19:20), an unusual point of agreement rather than collision; the risk is that audiences assume shared agreement on the virgin birth implies shared agreement on Christ’s deity and unique incarnation, which the Quran explicitly denies - teach as building on genuinely shared ground toward a conclusion the Quran stops short of, and guard against the Incarnation being absorbed into the Zoroastrian Amesha Spentas intermediary-emanation pattern already flagged in the baseline.
Deity of Christ
Persian name: الوهیت مسیح
Key terms: son_of_god, lord, holy
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Jesus’ authority to forgive sins (5:20-24, an act only God can perform), calm the storm (8:24-25), and be addressed as خداوند from the narrator’s own voice throughout Luke together constitute the paradigm case of shirk from a tawhid standpoint shared fully by Persian Shia Islam; must never be softened to “a great and honored man.”
Sonship of Christ
Persian name: پسر خدا بودن مسیح
Key terms: son_of_god, election
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Luke 3:38 uniquely calls Adam “son of God” in a creaturely, non-unique sense within the genealogy - every teaching context must explicitly flag that Adam’s sonship is categorically different from Christ’s unique, eternal sonship confirmed at the Transfiguration (9:35); never render with the softened برگزیده خدا per the documented Hezare No controversy already in the baseline.
Resurrection of Christ
Persian name: قیامت مسیح
Key terms: resurrection, flesh_and_bones, ascension
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: shares the Quran’s crucifixion-denial (4:157) with the baseline’s caution; Luke’s own added apologetic weight - the explicit “flesh and bones” demonstration (24:39) and the shared meal (24:41-43) - must be preserved in full physical concreteness so the resurrection is not read as a vision, ghost-appearance, or the Mahdi-centered eschatological substitute already flagged in the baseline.
Messianic Promise
Persian name: وعدهٔ مسیحایی
Key terms: messiah, christ_the_lord, savior, son_of_david
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: beyond the shared Quranic Masih content, popular Shia messianic expectation centers primarily on the Hidden Twelfth Imam (Mahdi); Luke’s core passage (4:18-21) has Jesus himself claim the anointed-deliverer role by directly citing his own anointing - every occurrence across the book must actively assert Christ’s own primary, sufficient redemptive role, not merely his honored or preparatory status.
The Lord’s Supper: Body and Blood as the New Covenant
Persian name: شام خداوند: بدن و خون مسیح
Key terms: body_and_blood, new_covenant, passover
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Twelver Shia devotional culture centers an entire annual ritual calendar (Muharram/Ashura) on the shed blood and suffering of the martyred Imam Hussein at Karbala, including practices explicitly framed as drawing benefit/intercession from that sacrificial blood; Christ’s body-and-blood language instituting the new covenant must be taught as the once-for-all, categorically unique, personally efficacious atonement it is, genuinely distinct from - not a Christian parallel devotional practice alongside - the Karbala martyrdom-commemoration framework.
The Historical Reality of Christ’s Crucifixion
Persian name: واقعیت تاریخی مصلوب شدن مسیح
Key terms: cross_crucify, humanity_of_christ
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: this is the most direct point of confrontation with Quran 4:157’s explicit denial (“they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them”); every occurrence in Luke 23 must be taught as affirming a real, historical, physical death, the indispensable precondition for both the resurrection (ch.24) and the atonement (ch.22).
The Ascension of Christ
Persian name: صعود مسیح
Key terms: ascension, resurrection
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the Quran (4:158) teaches God “raised” Jesus to Himself instead of his being killed - i.e., in the majority Islamic reading Jesus never died; Luke’s sequence (real death, ch.23 → real bodily resurrection, 24:1-43 → ascension of that same glorified body, 24:51) must be taught explicitly in that order to prevent the Ascension being conflated with the Islamic substitution narrative, which would erase both the resurrection and the atonement.
High Risk Doctrines
Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Persian name: بشارت به فقیران و بهحاشیهراندهشدگان
Key terms: poor, release_captivity, blessed, rich, tax_collector, hades
Review routing: Human theologian
فقیر collides with the Sufi faqir/darvish voluntary-poverty ideal, risking a reading of Jesus’ mission as endorsing spiritual renunciation rather than his concrete concern for real economic and social destitution; the recurring guest-lists (poor, crippled, lame, blind) and the rich man/Lazarus reversal must be taught with concrete socioeconomic reference intact, not spiritualized away.
Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Persian name: توبه و بخشش گناهان
Key terms: repentance, forgiveness_of_sins, sin, lost, joy
Review routing: Human theologian
توبه is core, load-bearing Islamic vocabulary (an entire Quranic surah is named for it) typically framed as the sinner’s own act of turning, often reinforced by restorative ritual works; Luke’s repentance must be taught as a Spirit-enabled reorientation that receives, rather than earns, forgiveness secured through Christ - the lost sheep/coin/son parables (ch.15) are the key teaching texts for God’s own prior, seeking initiative.
Prayer and Dependence on God
Persian name: دعا و توکل بر خدا
Key terms: prayer, father, providence
Review routing: Human theologian
دعا is genuine everyday Islamic bridge vocabulary for personal, informal supplication distinct from the obligatory ritual نماز/salāt, but the Lord’s Prayer’s filial پدر-address (11:2) must retain the full intimacy already flagged Critical under father in the baseline, not merely formal petition; the persistent-widow teaching (18:1-8) must be taught against folk qadar-fatalism, not as pointless repetition of a fixed divine decree.
The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Persian name: ملکوت خدا؛ حال و آینده
Key terms: kingdom_of_god, kingdom_among_you, parable
Review routing: Human theologian
The already/not-yet tension must be consistently distinguished from Iran’s own explicitly religious-political governing structure (Velayat-e Faqih) on one side, and from Sufi mystical-inwardness readings of 17:21’s ἐντὸς ὑμῶν on the other; render 17:21 as “in your midst” (corporate, christocentric) rather than an individualistic “within you” to avoid the latter risk.
The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Persian name: هزینه و شادی شاگردی
Key terms: disciple, follow, count_the_cost, cross_crucify
Review routing: Human theologian
شاگرد must be kept distinct from the Sufi مرید (morid) master-disciple framework, which centers on submission to a living pir’s mystical authority; “take up his cross” (9:23) must retain its real, costly, potentially fatal historical force rather than being softened into generic everyday hardship, especially given the real legal and social cost of discipleship for Muslim-background believers in Iran today.
Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Persian name: شفقت مسیح و مشارکت سر سفره با گناهکاران
Key terms: compassion, sinner, tax_collector, pharisee, mercy
Review routing: Human theologian
Persian hospitality culture’s deep positive value on welcoming guests to one’s table (the نان و نمک, “bread and salt,” bond-of-trust tradition) is a genuine bridge asset for teaching Jesus’ scandalous table fellowship, but teachers must ensure the scandal (a holy man deliberately eating with the despised and unclean) is not lost in translation to a culture where hospitality itself is already a assumed virtue.
Humanity of Christ
Persian name: بشریت مسیح
Key terms: cross_crucify, flesh_and_bones
Review routing: Human theologian
Real, physical human nature - not an illusion; Luke’s “sweat like blood” (22:44) and the crucifixion narrative (ch.23) directly counter any docetic (only-appeared-to-suffer) reading relevant to the Quran’s own crucifixion-denial framework, which must be actively named and corrected, not merely avoided.
Universal Scope of the Gospel and Unity of Jew and Gentile
Persian name: شمول جهانی انجیل و اتحاد یهود و غیریهود
Key terms: gentiles, israel, samaritan, neighbor
Review routing: Human theologian
Must be framed to avoid two distinct risks: (1) being heard as religious pluralism claiming all paths are equally valid, and (2) unintended alignment with Iran’s own officially propagandized anti-Israel political stance when Israel/covenant-people language appears; the Samaritan texts (10:25-37; 17:11-19) additionally carry the documented Quranic al-Sāmirī name-collision requiring explicit footnoting at every occurrence.
Inspiration and Fulfillment of Scripture
Persian name: الهام و تحقق کتاب مقدس
Key terms: prophet, prophecy, word_of_god
Review routing: Human theologian
The core passage’s γέγραπται/πεπλήρωται vocabulary (4:17,21) and its bookend at 24:25-27,44-45 (“he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”) must be taught as fulfillment-as-culmination of a single continuous, trustworthy prophetic word, distinguished both from Islamic wahy (verbatim dictation) and from the naskh (abrogation) framework in which later revelation supersedes rather than climactically fulfills what came before.
Baptism and the Rite of Repentance
Persian name: تعمید و توبه
Key terms: baptism, repentance
Review routing: Human theologian
Documented collision: the Sabian-Mandaean community, present in Iran and Iraq, reveres John the Baptist as their central prophet and practices frequent ritual baptism (masbuta) as an ongoing sacrament while explicitly rejecting Jesus’ divinity; John’s baptism of repentance must be taught as a one-time, decisive marker pointing forward to Christ, distinguished from both this Mandaean sacramental system and from Islamic ritual ablution vocabulary.
Spiritual Conflict and Deliverance from Evil Spirits
Persian name: نبرد روحانی و رهایی از ارواح پلید
Key terms: demon, devil_satan
Review routing: Human theologian
دیو carries Zoroastrianism’s own dualistic cosmology in which daevas are independent, near-equal adversarial forces, risking an evenly-matched cosmic-struggle reading; a fuller collision applies to jinn-related folk-Islamic exorcism practice deeply embedded in Iranian folk religion - Luke’s demons must be taught as defeated, subordinate, created beings under Christ’s unqualified authority (ἐξουσία), not participants in either cosmic dualism or folk-exorcism ritual systems.
The Samaritan and the Redefinition of Neighbor-Love
Persian name: سامری و محبت به همسایه
Key terms: samaritan, neighbor, love_agape
Review routing: Human theologian
Documented, curriculum-critical collision: the Quran (20:85-97) names an unrelated figure “al-Sāmirī,” the golden-calf maker, using the same Persian transliteration سامری as the NT ethnic-religious Samaritans; every occurrence requires an explicit footnote distinguishing the two so the Good Samaritan’s compassion-across-boundary lesson is not derailed by the unrelated Quranic calf-narrative association.
Kingdom Reversal: Rich and Poor
Persian name: وارونگی ملکوت: ثروتمند و فقیر
Key terms: rich, poor, mammon, hades, humility_exaltation
Review routing: Human theologian
Must avoid both romanticizing poverty and demonizing wealth as such; the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31) and the rich fool (12:16-21) target idolatrous self-sufficiency and neglect of the poor, not wealth itself - teach the mammon material (16:9-13) as a stark, exclusive-allegiance either/or, not general financial stewardship advice.
Medium Risk Doctrines
Providence and Freedom from Anxiety
Persian name: تدبیر الهی و رهایی از نگرانی
Key terms: providence, father
Review routing: Native speaker review
God’s personal, purposive, fatherly care for his people’s needs; keep distinct from folk qadar-style fatalism, in which anxiety-freedom would follow from resignation to an impersonal fixed decree rather than trust in a personal, attentive Father.
Angelic Mediation Distinguished from the Holy Spirit’s Personal Work
Persian name: فرشتگان در برابر روحالقدس
Key terms: angel, holy_spirit
Review routing: Native speaker review
Luke’s infancy narrative places created angelic messengers (Gabriel) and the Holy Spirit’s activity in close narrative proximity; native-speaker review should confirm that فرشته and روحالقدس remain visibly, terminologically distinct throughout so popular tafsir’s Jibril-identification of the Holy Spirit is not inadvertently reinforced by translation choices.
Low Risk Doctrines
Joy in Repentance and Salvation
Persian name: شادی در توبه و نجات
Key terms: joy, lost, salvation
Review routing: Automated review
Low independent risk; shādi (شادی) is broadly compatible everyday vocabulary. Retain the point that this is heaven’s/God’s own joy over repentance, not merely human relief, for pastoral richness, but mistranslation here does not threaten essential doctrine.
Referenced passages