Passage

Romans 1

• Glossary Term

  Abba

  Aramaic term of filial intimacy, preserved untranslated in Romans 8:15, as in most Bible translation traditions.

  ROM.1.3-4

• Doctrine

  Christian Encouragement

  Standard, low-ambiguity encouragement and gratitude language.

  ROM.1.8-12

• Glossary Term

  Exhort

  To encourage or urge; standard term.

  ROM.1.8-12

• Glossary Term

  Father

  God as personal Father; Shona kinship structures give 'Baba' strong relational resonance, which is a genuine asset here, but must remain anchored to the specific Father-Son relationship within the Trinity, not a generic ancestral-elder figure.

  ROM.1.3-4

• Glossary Term

  Gentiles

  'Vahedheni' (heathen/gentile) is the established Shona Bible term; 'marudzi' (nations/tribes) was considered but is more neutral and less precise for this specific Pauline usage.

  ROM.1.5

• Doctrine

  God's Saving Power

  God's power specifically for salvation; keep distinct from the ritual/spiritual power traditionally associated with n'anga (traditional healers) and spirit mediums.

  ROM.1.16

• Doctrine

  Grace and Peace

  Relational peace with God through justification, not merely a settled household or the absence of ancestral displeasure.

  ROM.1.7

• Doctrine

  Humanity's Sinfulness

  Moral transgression before a personal God; distinguish from ritual impurity or an offense against ancestral spirits requiring appeasement.

  ROM.1.18-32

• Doctrine

  Incarnation

  God the Son becoming permanently human; must not be rendered with language suggesting temporary spirit-possession, a prominent live phenomenon in Shona religious practice (masvikiro, spirit mediums).

  ROM.1.3

• Glossary Term

  Incarnation

  Not a single fixed biblical term but the theological name for God the Son becoming permanently human; must not be rendered with a term suggesting temporary spirit-possession, a live and prominent phenomenon in Shona traditional religion (masvikiro, spirit mediums).

  ROM.1.3

• Doctrine

  Messianic Promise

  The specific Old Testament promise fulfilled exclusively in Jesus, not one religious figure among others.

  ROM.1.2-3

• Doctrine

  Mission to the Gentiles

  The gospel's extension beyond Israel to all nations; standard term with moderate ambiguity risk.

  ROM.1.5

• Doctrine

  Obedience of Faith

  Obedience flowing from faith, not works-based compliance or the deference traditionally owed to a chief or ancestral spirit to secure favor.

  ROM.1.5

• Glossary Term

  Obedience Of Faith

  Obedience flowing from faith, not works-based compliance or the deference owed to a chief or ancestral spirit to secure favor.

  ROM.1.5

• Glossary Term

  Peace

  Relational peace with God through justification, not merely a settled household or the absence of ancestral displeasure.

  ROM.1.7

• Glossary Term

  Power Of God

  God's power specifically for salvation (Romans 1:16); keep distinct from the specific ritual/spiritual power (simba) traditionally associated with mediums and healers (n'anga).

  ROM.1.16

• Glossary Term

  Resurrection

  Bodily, historical, once-for-all rising; must not be conflated with becoming an ancestral spirit (vadzimu) after death, a central concept in traditional Shona belief about the afterlife.

  ROM.1.4

• Doctrine

  Resurrection of Jesus Christ

  Bodily, historical, once-for-all rising; must not be conflated with a deceased person becoming an ancestral spirit (vadzimu), the culturally dominant Shona understanding of what happens after death.

  ROM.1.4

• Doctrine

  Salvation

  Reconciliation with Mwari through Christ, not physical protection or deliverance from misfortune sought through ancestral appeasement.

  ROM.1.16

• Glossary Term

  Salvation

  Must not be reduced to physical protection or deliverance from misfortune, which traditional religion seeks through ancestral mediation; this is reconciliation with Mwari through Christ.

  ROM.1.16

• Glossary Term

  Seed Of David

  Physical descent from David (Romans 1:3), fulfilling the Davidic covenant promise.

  ROM.1.2-3

• Glossary Term

  Sin

  Moral transgression before a personal God; distinguish from ritual impurity or an offense against ancestral spirits requiring appeasement rites.

  ROM.1.18-32

• Glossary Term

  Son Of God

  Christ's unique, eternal, co-equal divine sonship, not an honored ancestor or intermediary spirit-being.

  ROM.1.3-4

• Doctrine

  Sonship of Christ

  Christ's unique, eternal, co-equal divine sonship, not an honored ancestor or spirit-being.

  ROM.1.3-4

• Glossary Term

  Thanksgiving

  Standard, low-ambiguity term.

  ROM.1.8-12