Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis: Acts of the Apostles (English–Tamil)
Curriculum: Acts 1–28
Core passage: Acts 2:1–41 (Pentecost)
Consistency statement: This matrix is generated to be fully consistent with doctrine_risk_registry.json (Acts, v1) — same doctrine names, same risk tiers, same review routing. Where the registry gives a tamil_doctrine_name, it is reproduced here. This document adds full passage-level chapter coverage across all 28 chapters (PRD Phase 1 full-book mandate), organized under the nine assigned curriculum doctrines, and states explicit translation-risk reasoning for every Critical and High entry.
0. How to Read This Document
- Doctrine — matches the registry key/name exactly.
- Supporting passages — every Acts reference tied to the doctrine, spanning the full book, not only the core passage.
- Risk — Critical / High / Medium / Low, identical to the registry.
- Translation risk — the specific Tamil-culture collision or doctrinal-precision failure mode a mistranslation would create.
- Review routing — Human theologian / Native speaker review / Automated review, identical to the registry.
The nine assigned curriculum doctrines are used as organizing headers. Several registry entries belong to more than one header (e.g., “the Way” touches both Church as Community and Persecution); each is placed under its primary header and cross-referenced.
1. The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவரும் பெந்தெகொஸ்தேயும்) | Acts 1:4-5; 1:8; 2:1-4; 2:17-18 (Joel citation); 2:33 | Critical | Pentecost must read as a decisive, historical, once-inaugurated act of a personal Trinitarian God — not a repeatable ecstatic phenomenon comparable to Tamil temple-festival trance events (தீமிதி, காவடி) where a deity is believed to descend on a devotee. The wind and fire (2:2-3) are theophanic signs of a unique inauguration, never a template for induced religious ecstasy that a reader might seek to reproduce. | Human theologian |
| Spirit-Filling and Empowerment for Witness (ஆவியானவரால் நிரப்பப்பட்டு பெலனடைதல்) | 2:4; 4:8; 4:31; 6:3; 6:5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9; 13:52 | Critical | The sharpest single collision in the book. Tamil village religion has a widespread, living practice of deity-possession trance (ஆவேசம்/சாமி ஆடுதல்) marked by loss of personal agency and incoherent or altered speech. Every Acts instance of Spirit-filling shows the filled person MORE coherent, purposeful, and Scripturally articulate (reasoning before hostile councils) — the functional opposite of ஆவேசம். A rendering that borrows possession-trance vocabulary would validate exactly what the text refutes. | Human theologian |
| Speaking in Tongues as a Sign of the Spirit’s Coming (பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவர் வந்ததற்கு அடையாளமான வேறு பாஷைகள்) | 2:4-11; 10:44-46; 19:6 | High | At Pentecost the miracle is explicitly REAL, KNOWN human languages, confirmed by hearers recognizing their native tongue (2:6, 8, 11). Tamil village-shrine oracle speech is typically unintelligible utterance requiring an interpreter-priest; conflating the two would recast a cross-cultural proclamation miracle as generic ecstatic trance-speech. | Human theologian |
| Personhood of the Holy Spirit (பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவரின் ஆளத்துவம்) | 5:3; 5:9; 7:51; 8:29; 10:19-20; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6-7 | Critical | One can only lie to, test, resist, or receive personal direction from a PERSON. Acts supplies an unusually dense concentration of personal-agent grammar for the Spirit; any rendering that flattens these verbs toward impersonal-force language (“losing spiritual energy,” “violating a cosmic rule”) destroys the doctrine and collides with the Critical-forbidden பிரம்மம்/பரமாத்மா substitutions already fixed in the baseline. | Human theologian |
| The Gift of the Holy Spirit Given to Every Believer (ஒவ்வொரு விசுவாசிக்கும் அளிக்கப்படும் பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவரின் ஈவு) | 2:38-39; 8:18-20; 10:45; 11:17 | Critical | ஈவு (never வரம், a merited devotional boon secured by vow) must be preserved throughout. Simon Magus’s attempted purchase (8:18-20) is the text’s own narrative rebuke of transactional, merit-purchased-favor religion (புண்ணியம்-style); mistranslating ஈவு as வரம் here would erase the passage’s own corrective point. | Human theologian |
| Prophecy poured out on all flesh (Joel citation) | 2:17-18 | High (subsumed under Pentecost, above) | “Sons and daughters,” “young and old,” “even on my servants” must retain unqualified breadth — a status-leveling outpouring, not a hierarchy of spiritual attainment reserved for an ascetic or adept elite (a live Tamil Siddhar-adjacent temptation). | Human theologian |
2. The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (யூதருக்கும் புறஜாதியாருக்கும் சுவிசேஷம்) | 2:39; 10:1-48; 11:1-18; 13:46-48; 15:6-19; 26:17-18; 28:28 | Critical | Planted at Pentecost itself (“all who are far off,” 2:39) and fully enacted at Cornelius’s household — a deliberate second “Pentecost” on uncircumcised Gentiles (10:44-46), proving inclusion is God’s initiative, not a negotiated human concession. புறஜாதியார் sits near ஜாதி (caste) in form; the doctrinal point — ending distinction — must never be misread as a caste classification. | Human theologian |
| The Vision of Clean and Unclean (தீட்டும் அசுத்தமுமான காரியங்களைப் பற்றிய தரிசனம்) | 10:9-16; 10:28; 11:5-10 | Critical | Direct collision with the living Tamil தீட்டு purity-code framework (already flagged for Colossians 2:21). God declares clean what was called unclean; no one may call it profane. A direct scriptural warrant against caste-based purity/exclusion — but the translated text itself must never name a specific caste category; that belongs to teaching material, not Scripture text. | Human theologian |
| God’s Impartiality toward All Peoples (கடவுளுடைய பட்சபாதமின்மை) | 10:34-35 | High | Peter’s explicit doctrinal conclusion parallels the Romans package’s universal-accountability and Jew-Gentile-unity entries. In Tamil Nadu’s caste-conscious context this functions as a direct claim against any hierarchy of spiritual worth by birth or ritual status; retain unqualified universality. | Human theologian |
| God-fearer as a transitional category | 10:2; 10:22 | Medium | Cornelius’s status (தேவனை பயந்த மனுஷன்) is reverent awe and sympathizer-status prior to full inclusion, not yet full covenant membership — must not be conflated with a caste-like “outer court” tier of permanent second-class status. | Native speaker review |
| Paul’s programmatic turn to the Gentiles | 13:46-48; 18:6; 28:28 | High (subsumed under Gospel to Jews/Gentiles) | The turning is a fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 49:6 cited at 13:47), not a rejection born of ethnic frustration; must not read as anti-Jewish polemic. | Human theologian |
3. Repentance and Baptism
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repentance as the Response to the Gospel (சுவிசேஷத்திற்கான பதிலான மனந்திரும்புதல்) | 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20 | Critical | The single most consequential NEW term-decision in this Language Package. Dangerous near-neighbors: பரிகாரம் (paid transactional ritual remedy for sin/dosha), தவம் (merit-generating austerity), பாவநிவாரணம் (ritual sin-removal mechanism). மனந்திரும்புதல் must be a Spirit-enabled turning of the whole person toward a personal God, never earned or ritually performed. 17:30’s universal demand (even of sophisticated Gentile philosophers) completes the book’s Jew-to-Gentile doctrinal arc. | Human theologian |
| Baptism in the Name of Jesus (இயேசுவின் நாமத்தில் ஞானஸ்நானம்) | 2:38; 2:41; 8:12; 8:36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15; 16:33; 19:5 | High | ஞானஸ்நானம் must remain covenant initiation into Christ, never a repeatable purificatory tirtha-bath. “In the name of Jesus” invokes personal authority/identity, never a mantra with automatic ritual power — Acts 19:13-16 (sons of Sceva) is the text’s own warning against exactly that misreading. | Human theologian |
| Forgiveness of Sins through Christ Alone (கிறிஸ்துவின் மூலமாகவே பாவமன்னிப்பு) | 2:38; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18 | High | மன்னிப்பு must never stand alone as a substitute for fuller redemption/justification vocabulary (inherited rule); here it names the specific benefit received through faith and repentance, not ritual expiation payable through vow or penance. | Human theologian |
| Household Salvation through Confession of the Lord Jesus (கர்த்தராகிய இயேசுவை அறிக்கை செய்வதன் மூலம் குடும்ப இரட்சிப்பு) | 16:30-31; 16:33-34 | Critical | Directly parallel to Romans 10:9-13; must render with verbatim cross-document consistency (விசுவாசம், கர்த்தர், இரட்சிப்பு). This narrative is heavily used pastorally/evangelistically in Tamil churches, making exact consistency especially consequential. | Human theologian |
| Conviction of Sin under Spirit-Empowered Preaching (ஆவியானவரின் பிரசங்கத்தால் இருதயத்தில் ஏற்படும் உணர்வு) | 2:37 | Medium | Genuine Spirit-produced conviction resolved only by repentance and faith; must not be taught alongside, or conflated with, Tamil ascetic self-mortification (தவம்) as though acute sin-distress requires bodily penance. | Native speaker review |
4. The Church as Community
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Church as a Spirit-Formed Community (ஆவியானவரால் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட சமுதாயமாகிய சபை) | 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 6:1-6 | High | Conversion is immediately, visibly corporate (“were added,” 2:41, 47), not merely private. Must be organic and Spirit-produced, never a caste-segregated assembly or ritual institution; the choosing of the Seven (6:1-6) models ordered, Spirit-qualified structure resolving an internal Hellenist/Hebrew ethnic-tension dispute without division — directly relevant to documented caste-segregation history inside Tamil churches. | Human theologian |
| Voluntary Generosity and Shared Possessions (தன்னார்வமான கொடையும் பொது உடைமையும்) | 2:44-45; 4:32-37; 5:1-11 | Medium | Voluntary, Spirit-produced generosity, not compulsory collectivization; must not be read through a twentieth-century Dravidian-movement socialist/communal-land political lens. Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11) proves giving was never mandatory — their sin was deceit, not the withheld amount. | Native speaker review |
| Church Leadership: Elders, Overseers, and Deacons (சபைத் தலைமை — மூப்பர்களும் கண்காணிகளும்) | 6:1-6; 14:23; 20:17; 20:28 | Medium | Servant-shaped offices established through prayer and Spirit-guided discernment; never குரு (guru-śiṣya authority) or temple-functionary vocabulary (பூசாரி, அர்ச்சகர்). Acts 20 uses elder/overseer/shepherd interchangeably — one servant function, not a rank hierarchy. | Native speaker review |
| ”The Way” as the Christian Movement’s Self-Designation (‘இந்த வழி’ எனும் கிறிஸ்தவ இயக்கத்தின் அடையாளம்) | 9:2; 19:9; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14; 24:22 | Critical | MUST NOT be rendered மார்க்கம் — this would explicitly cast Christianity as “one மார்க்கம் among many” within Tamil religious pluralism (Saiva மார்க்கம், Vaishnava மார்க்கம், etc.). Because this term names the movement itself (not merely conduct, as with “walk” in Ephesians), this is the single most dangerous pluralism-collision point in the book. Use plain, contextually anchored வழி (இயேசுவின் வழி) at every occurrence. | Human theologian |
| ”The Way” Called a Sect by Outsiders (‘இந்த வழியை’ பிரிவு என அழைத்தது) | 24:5; 24:14; 28:22 | High | αἵρεσις must never become மதம் (“a religion”), which would concede “one religion among equally valid religions” — precisely what the book’s exclusivity claims (4:12) refuse. Render as a neutral outsider-perception term (faction/party); Paul’s own reframing (24:14-15) affirms fulfillment of, not competition with, the Hebrew Scriptures. | Human theologian |
| Breaking of Bread and Table Fellowship (அப்பம் பிட்குதலும் பந்தி ஐக்கியமும்) | 2:42; 2:46; 20:7; 20:11 | Low | Regular, joyful shared meals; low ambiguity, established vocabulary; precursor to later Eucharistic practice. | Automated review |
| Thanksgiving and Gladness in the Early Church (ஆரம்பகால சபையின் ஸ்தோத்திரமும் மகிழ்ச்சியும்) | 2:46-47 | Low | Reuses the low-ambiguity baseline ஸ்தோத்திரம் register. | Automated review |
5. Apostolic Authority and Miracles
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles (அப்போஸ்தலரின் அதிகாரமும் அற்புதங்களும்) | 2:22; 2:43; 3:1-10; 4:7; 4:33; 5:12; 6:8; 8:6-13; 14:3; 15:12; 19:11 | High | அற்புதம் (wonder) is the ordinary Tamil word for a temple/pilgrimage-site miracle granted by a deity in response to a vow (live at shrines such as Palani and Tiruchendur). Apostolic miracles must be Christ-authenticating signs — always paired with அடையாளம் (sign), never standing alone as generic wonder-working comparable to the votive shrine-miracle economy. | Human theologian |
| Laying On of Hands as Commissioning, Not Magic (மந்திரமல்லாத அர்ப்பணிப்பு அடையாளமான கை வைத்தல்) | 6:6; 8:17-19; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6 | High | A symbolic commissioning/blessing act accompanying the Spirit’s sovereign work, never a magically transferable power obtainable by correct gesture — Simon Magus’s attempted purchase (8:18-20) is the text’s own explicit warning. | Human theologian |
| Rejection of Sorcery and Occult Power (சூனியத்தையும் மாந்திரீக வல்லமையையும் நிராகரித்தல்) | 8:9-24; 13:6-11; 19:19 | High | Direct collision with active Tamil folk-magic practice (பில்லி சூனியம், மாந்திரீகம்); render literally as rejected occult practice, never euphemized, and kept sharply distinct from legitimate Spirit-given miracle-working (the text’s own contrast: Simon’s magic vs. Philip’s ministry, 8:9-13). | Human theologian |
| Deliverance from a Spirit of Divination (குறி சொல்லும் ஆவியிலிருந்து விடுவிக்கப்படுதல்) | 16:16-18 | Critical | Live collision with active Tamil oracle/possession-divination practice (ஆவேசம் மூலம் குறி சொல்லுதல், ஜோசியம்). Must read unambiguously as a defeated, deceptive, subordinate spirit expelled by Christ’s authority — never a rival “spiritual gift” to be weighed against genuine prophecy, and never blurred with தீர்க்கதரிசனம். | Human theologian |
| Evil Spirits as Defeated, Subordinate Powers (கிறிஸ்துவின் கீழ் தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்ட பொல்லாத ஆவிகள்) | 19:12-16 | High | Tamil folk taxonomy (பேய், முனி, மோகினி) is managed ritually by exorcists (மந்திரவாதி); Acts’ point is that such spirits are already defeated under Christ and mock formulaic invocation of his name without genuine faith. The sons of Sceva’s failure is evidence against formulaic-invocation religion, not evidence for the spirits’ independent power. | Human theologian |
| Rejection of the Deification of Miracle-Workers (அற்புதம் செய்வோரை தேவனாக்குவதை நிராகரித்தல்) | 14:8-18; 28:1-6 | High | At Lystra and Malta, the text records and immediately corrects the pagan impulse to deify Paul and Barnabas. A built-in narrative safeguard against the Tamil bhakti impulse to venerate wonder-working holy men as divine; ties directly to the baseline “apostle never குரு” rule. | Human theologian |
| Exclusivity of Salvation in the Name of Christ (கிறிஸ்துவின் நாமத்திலேயே இரட்சிப்பு) | 4:8-12 | Critical | The book’s sharpest exclusivity claim, delivered before the Sanhedrin. Must retain unqualified exclusivity against Tamil religious pluralism, echoing the same caution the Galatians package applies to the popularly pluralistic reading of Thirumular’s line “ஒன்றே குலம் ஒருவனே தேவன்.” | Human theologian |
| ”Great grace” upon the whole community | 4:33 | High (subsumed under Church as Community/Apostolic Authority) | மிகுந்த கிருபை describes shared communal favor flowing from the resurrection witness, not accumulated collective merit (புண்ணியம்-adjacent misreading). | Human theologian |
6. Persecution and Bold Witness
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persecution and Bold Witness (துன்பத்திலும் தைரியமான சாட்சி) | 4:13-31; 5:17-42; 7:54-8:3; 12:1-19; 14:19-20; 16:19-24; 21:27-23:35 | High | Boldness (தைரியம்/பரேசியா) must be Spirit-produced courage rooted in the risen Christ’s authority, never mere human bravado, social defiance, or honor-culture bravado-for-its-own-sake. The Spirit’s filling specifically for bold speech under interrogation (4:8, 31) textually links Pentecost’s filling to persecution-courage across the whole book. | Human theologian |
| The Martyrdom of Stephen (ஸ்தேவானுடைய மரணசாட்சித்துவம்) | 6:8-15; 7:51-60 | High | The μάρτυς (witness) word-family reaches its fullest sense here; Stephen’s dying words deliberately echo Jesus’ own words from the cross (Luke 23:46), patterning martyr-death on Christ’s death. Stephen’s historically specific “stiff-necked” charge (7:51) must not be generalized into a permanent indictment of any people group. | Human theologian |
| Witness as a Book-Length Thread toward Martyrdom (சாட்சி என்பது நூல் நெடுக நீளும் ஒரு இழை) | 1:8; 22:15; 22:20; 26:16 | High | சாட்சி is established, low-ambiguity legal-testimony vocabulary, but its drift toward “one who testifies even unto death” (fully realized at Stephen’s death, echoed in Paul’s own anticipated martyrdom) must be tracked as a single unfolding thread, not treated as unrelated occurrences, so students see 1:8’s programmatic statement fulfilled narratively. | Human theologian |
| Resisting/lying to the Holy Spirit under persecution pressure | 5:3; 5:9; 7:51 | Critical (cross-listed with §1 Personhood of the Spirit) | Persecution narrative and Spirit-personhood doctrine intersect at Stephen’s charge (7:51) and Ananias/Sapphira (5:3, 9); personal-agent grammar must be preserved. | Human theologian |
7. Conversion of Paul
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Conversion of Paul (பவுலின் மனந்திரும்புதல்) | 9:1-19; 22:6-21; 26:12-18 | Critical | The Damascus-road Christophany, narrated three times, must be a real, historical encounter with the risen, exalted Christ, grounding Paul’s apostolic authority — never a generic mystical vision or dream (avoid the கனவு register), and the light itself (வானத்திலிருந்து ஒரு ஒளி) must not be softened into ordinary revelatory imagery. | Human theologian |
| Election and Divine Calling of Paul as Apostle to the Gentiles (புறஜாதியாருக்கு அப்போஸ்தலனாகிய பவுலின் தெரிந்துகொள்ளுதலும் அழைப்பும்) | 9:15; 22:14-15; 26:16-18 | High | Reuses the baseline election doctrine’s fatalism-avoidance rule — Paul’s calling is personal and purposive, never தலைவிதி (fate) or ஊழ்வினை (karmic destiny); தெரிந்துகொள்ளப்பட்ட கருவி must keep the personal, sovereign chooser explicit. | Human theologian |
| Name change Saul → Paul | 13:9 | Medium (narrative detail, not separately risk-tiered in registry) | Should be preserved narratively (சவுல் → பவுல்) without doctrinal over-interpretation as a name-based spiritual transformation ritual (a live Tamil devotional-naming pattern, e.g. renaming upon initiation); the change is simply Paul’s Roman/Gentile-mission name coming into narrative use. | Native speaker review |
8. Justification apart from the Law
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justification apart from the Law (நியாயப்பிரமாணமில்லாமல் நீதிமானாக்கப்படுதல்) | 13:38-39; 15:10-11 | Critical | Acts 13:38-39 is a direct cross-document citation with the Romans package’s justification doctrine and must render நீதிமானாக்கப்படுதல் identically to Romans 3–4. The Jerusalem Council’s parallel statement (15:10-11, salvation “through the grace of the Lord Jesus,” not law-keeping) enacts the same doctrine institutionally and must not drift toward a தர்மம்-style dutiful-conduct reading. | Human theologian |
| The Jerusalem Council’s Decision on Freedom from the Law (எருசலேம் ஆலோசனைச் சங்கத்தின் நியாயப்பிரமாண விடுதலை தீர்மானம்) | 15:1-29 | Critical | Shares doctrinal vocabulary with the Galatians package’s law_and_grace / yoke_of_slavery entries and must not diverge in register. The council’s refusal to impose “burden” (பாரம்) beyond minimal provisions institutionally enacts justification apart from the law; the explicit Spirit-co-agency clause (“seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,” 15:28) must preserve personal Spirit agency, avoiding both bare-majority-vote and single-guru-ruling misreadings. | Human theologian |
| Circumcision as a test case | 15:1-5; 16:3 | Medium | விருத்தசேதனம் (established Bible term), never colloquial சுன்னத்து (a primarily Muslim community marker in Tamil society, which would misframe the referent). | Native speaker review |
| Righteousness before Felix (Paul’s defense discourse) | 24:25 | Critical (subsumed under baseline நீதி rule) | நீதி must never drift toward தர்மம் (dutiful cosmic order); Paul reasons about righteousness, self-control, and coming judgment to a Roman official — a forensic/ethical standard grounded in the true God, not a generic moral-philosophical virtue. | Human theologian |
9. The Great Commission Fulfilled
(This category also carries the book’s core Christological doctrines — resurrection, lordship, exaltation, ascension — because the Commission’s fulfillment is the direct, narrated consequence of who the risen and exalted Christ is.)
| Doctrine | Supporting Passages | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Resurrection of Christ and of the Dead (கிறிஸ்துவின் உயிர்த்தெழுதலும் மரித்தோர் உயிர்த்தெழுதலும்) | 2:24-32; 4:2; 4:33; 17:18; 17:31-32; 23:6-8; 24:15; 24:21; 26:8; 26:23 | Critical | உயிர்த்தெழுதல், never மறுபிறவி (rebirth/reincarnation, shared by Tamil Hindu and Jain tradition). Acts uniquely shows the doctrine preached with authority (ch. 2), ridiculed (17:32), and disputed within Judaism itself (23:6-8, Pharisees vs. Sadducees) — use this range to show faithful proclamation persisting despite mixed and mocking response. | Human theologian |
| The Lordship and Messiahship of Christ (கிறிஸ்துவின் கர்த்தத்துவமும் மேசியாத்துவமும்) | 2:36; 4:26; 10:36; 16:31 | Critical | Peter’s Pentecost climax (2:36) declares the crucified Jesus, by God’s own exalting act, both கர்த்தர் and கிறிஸ்து; must never be read adoptionistically (as though Jesus became divine only then) — this is enthronement to messianic office, per the exaltation pattern already fixed in Ephesians/Philippians, not an ontological change. | Human theologian |
| The Exaltation of Christ to God’s Right Hand (கடவுளின் வலது பாரிசத்தில் கிறிஸ்துவின் உயர்த்தப்படுதல்) | 2:33-35; 5:31; 7:55-56 | Critical | Acts 2:34-35 quotes the same Psalm 110 passage rendered for Ephesians 1:20-22; the two must be cross-checked for identical phrasing. Stephen’s vision of Christ standing at God’s right hand (7:55-56) at the moment of martyrdom directly ties this doctrine to the persecution-and-witness thread. | Human theologian |
| The Ascension of Christ (கிறிஸ்துவின் பரமேறுதல்) | 1:9-11 | High | NEW risk for Acts: Tamil Siddhar hagiography includes legends of adepts who bodily vanish or attain supernatural bodily transcendence (jeeva samadhi/videha-mukti-adjacent legends). The ascension must be a unique, publicly witnessed, historical event marking Christ’s permanent exaltation, never an esoteric adept’s disappearance or a step in a liberation cycle. | Human theologian |
| God’s Sovereign Plan and Providence over History (வரலாற்றின் மேலான கடவுளுடைய திட்டமும் பராமரிப்பும்) | 1:7; 2:23; 4:28; 5:38-39; 17:26; 27:22-25 | High | Must stay tethered to a personal God’s knowing love and purposive plan (திட்டம்/முன்னறிவு), never adjacent to தலைவிதி (fate) or ஊழ்/ஊழ்வினை (karmic destiny). Gamaliel’s counsel (5:38-39) and the storm/shipwreck narrative (ch. 27) display this narratively, requiring careful phrasing to keep the personal-God frame visible. | Human theologian |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled (நிறைவேறிய மகா பணி) | 1:8; 8:4-40; 13:1-14:28; 28:16-31 | High | The book’s geographic/narrative structure IS the doctrine — Jerusalem to “the ends of the earth” (1:8), fulfilled by the gospel’s unhindered (தடையின்றி) arrival in Rome (28:31). Retain unqualified universal geographic reach; the recurring refrain “the word of God grew” (6:7; 12:24; 19:20) should render as a single tracked thread. | Human theologian |
| Hades and the State of the Dead prior to Resurrection (உயிர்த்தெழுதலுக்கு முன்னான பாதாளமும் மரித்தோரின் நிலையும்) | 2:27; 2:31 | High | NEW risk not present in prior curricula. பாதாளம் is also the Puranic Hindu Pātāla, a serpent-inhabited netherworld — a vivid, populated mythological geography. Peter’s Psalm 16 citation names simply the realm/state of the dead awaiting resurrection, not a populated cosmological region or a stage in a multi-life journey. | Human theologian |
| The Restoration of All Things and Eschatological Hope (எல்லாவற்றின் மீளமைவும் நிறைவுக்கால நம்பிக்கையும்) | 3:19-21 | High | A single, linear, Christ-centered consummation fulfilling prophetic promise, never cyclical yuga-renewal (Hindu/Jain cosmology); avoid யுகம் vocabulary entirely, consistent with the Ephesians package’s caution against yuga-framing for αἰών-type terms. | Human theologian |
| Paul’s Proclamation to the Unknown God at Athens (அறியப்படாத தெய்வத்தை முன்னிட்டு பவுல் ஆதேனேயில் செய்த பிரசங்கம்) | 17:16-34 | High | A rare, deliberately narrow dual-register requirement: தெய்வம் (a deity among many) is briefly correct for the Athenians’ own polytheistic altar inscription (17:23), then the text must switch immediately to கடவுள் once Paul names the true referent (17:24ff). 17:28’s “in him we live and move and have our being” must express creaturely dependence on a personal Creator, never ontological merger (avoid Advaita non-dual-identity phrasing), paralleling the baseline caution on Vedantic pūrṇam-merger readings of “fullness.” | Human theologian |
| The Word of God Advancing and Multiplying (தேவனுடைய வசனம் வளர்ந்து பெருகுதல்) | 6:7; 12:24; 19:20 | Medium | A recurring narrative refrain marking gospel expansion despite opposition; reuse the established கடவுள்-compound convention; track alongside the 1:8/28:31 inclusio. | Native speaker review |
10. Chapter-by-Chapter Full-Book Coverage Confirmation
Every chapter of Acts is represented below with its primary doctrinal load and risk tier(s), confirming full-book coverage per the PRD Phase 1 mandate. Chapters contributing no NEW terms beyond doctrines already tabulated above are marked “reviewed — doctrinal continuity” with a pointer to the governing doctrine(s).
| Ch. | Primary Content | Governing Doctrine(s) | Highest Risk in Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ascension; commissioning; “ends of the earth”; lot for Judas’s successor | Ascension of Christ; Great Commission Fulfilled; Providence | High |
| 2 | Pentecost; tongues; Peter’s sermon; repentance/baptism call; resurrection/exaltation; church community | Holy Spirit & Pentecost; Repentance & Baptism; Resurrection; Lordship/Exaltation; Hades; Church as Community | Critical (core passage) |
| 3 | Healing of the lame man; apostolic miracle; call to repentance; restoration of all things | Apostolic Authority & Miracles; Repentance; Restoration/Eschatological Hope | Critical |
| 4 | Peter and John before the Sanhedrin; exclusivity of salvation; boldness; great grace; common possessions | Exclusivity of Salvation; Persecution & Bold Witness; Church as Community; Providence (4:28) | Critical |
| 5 | Ananias and Sapphira; lying to the Spirit; apostolic signs; Gamaliel’s counsel; renewed persecution | Personhood of the Spirit; Common Generosity; Providence; Persecution | Critical |
| 6 | Choosing the Seven; word of God grows; Stephen introduced | Church Leadership; Word of God Advancing; (sets up Martyrdom of Stephen) | Medium-High |
| 7 | Stephen’s speech; stiff-necked charge; martyrdom; resisting the Spirit | Martyrdom of Stephen; Persecution; Personhood of the Spirit | High |
| 8 | Philip in Samaria; Simon Magus; gift of the Spirit purchase attempt; laying on of hands; Ethiopian eunuch’s baptism | Gift of the Spirit; Rejection of Sorcery; Laying On of Hands; Baptism | Critical |
| 9 | Conversion of Paul (Damascus road); “the Way” (first occurrence); healing of Tabitha | Conversion of Paul; The Way as Christian Identity; Apostolic Authority | Critical |
| 10 | Cornelius; clean/unclean vision; God’s impartiality; Gentile Pentecost; tongues | Clean and Unclean Vision; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; God’s Impartiality; Tongues as Sign | Critical |
| 11 | Jerusalem church’s response; “repentance unto life” extended to Gentiles | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Repentance | Critical |
| 12 | Herod’s persecution; Peter’s escape; angelic deliverance | Persecution; Providence | High |
| 13 | Paul and Barnabas commissioned; Elymas the sorcerer; justification apart from the law; turn to the Gentiles | Justification apart from the Law; Rejection of Sorcery; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Critical |
| 14 | Lystra healing; mistaken deification of Paul and Barnabas; persecution | Rejection of Deification of Miracle-Workers; Apostolic Authority; Persecution | High |
| 15 | Jerusalem Council; circumcision dispute; the “burden”; Spirit-and-council co-agency | Jerusalem Council / Freedom from the Law; Justification apart from the Law | Critical |
| 16 | Lydia’s conversion; Philippian jailer; spirit of divination cast out; household salvation | Household Salvation and Confession; Spirit of Divination and Deliverance; Baptism | Critical |
| 17 | Athens; the Unknown God; resurrection preached and mocked | Paul at Athens / Unknown God; Resurrection of Christ and the Dead | High |
| 18 | Corinth ministry; Priscilla and Aquila; Gallio’s ruling | Reviewed — doctrinal continuity (Church as Community; Persecution, low intensity); no new Critical/High terms | Medium |
| 19 | Ephesus; tongues; sorcery books burned; sons of Sceva; riot over Artemis; word of God grew | Tongues as Sign; Rejection of Sorcery; Evil Spirits Defeated; Word of God Advancing | High |
| 20 | Miletus farewell; elders/overseers charged; church “purchased with his own blood” | Church Leadership and Offices | Medium-High |
| 21 | Return to Jerusalem; temple controversy; arrest begins | Persecution and Bold Witness (continuity) | High |
| 22 | Paul’s defense speech; conversion retold; chosen instrument; “the Way” | Conversion of Paul; Election and Divine Calling of Paul; The Way | Critical |
| 23 | Sanhedrin hearing; Pharisee/Sadducee resurrection dispute; Paul’s protection | Resurrection of Christ and the Dead; Providence | Critical |
| 24 | Before Felix; “the Way” called a sect; righteousness, self-control, judgment to come | Sect Label and Exclusivity; Justification apart from the Law (நீதி) | Critical |
| 25 | Before Festus; appeal to Caesar | Reviewed — doctrinal continuity (Persecution and Bold Witness; Providence); no new Critical/High terms | Medium |
| 26 | Before Agrippa; conversion retold a third time; light from heaven; repentance to Gentiles | Conversion of Paul; Election and Divine Calling; Repentance | Critical |
| 27 | Shipwreck; God’s providential preservation | God’s Sovereign Plan and Providence | High |
| 28 | Malta; mistaken deification (viper survival); arrival in Rome; unhindered preaching | Rejection of Deification of Miracle-Workers; Great Commission Fulfilled | High |
11. Cross-Document Consistency Requirements (carried forward into Phase 2)
- Acts 2:21, 38 and Romans 10:9-13: identical “call on the name of the Lord … saved” formula.
- Acts 2:33-35 and Ephesians 1:20-22: identical Psalm 110 “seated at the right hand” phrasing.
- Acts 13:38-39 and Romans 3–4: identical நீதிமானாக்கப்படுதல் rendering.
- Acts 15’s decree and the Galatians package’s law_and_grace / yoke_of_slavery entries: shared register, no divergence.
- Acts 16:31 and Romans 10:9-13: identical household/individual salvation-confession formula.
- Acts 17:23 vs. 17:24ff: the only sanctioned dual-register use of தெய்வம் (pagan referent) before switching to கடவுள் (true God) — flagged for mandatory theologian sign-off at every occurrence.
12. Summary Counts (consistent with doctrine_risk_registry.json)
- Critical: 17 doctrines — all routed to Human theologian review, every occurrence.
- High: ~21–22 doctrines — all routed to Human theologian review.
- Medium: 5 doctrines — routed to Native speaker review.
- Low: 2 doctrines — Automated review sufficient.
- Full-book coverage: confirmed across all 28 chapters (§10 above); no chapter is silently omitted.
Critical Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Tamil name: பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவரும் பெந்தெகொஸ்தேயும்
Key terms: Holy Spirit, Pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, poured out, promise of the Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Pentecost’s outpouring must be taught as a decisive, historical, once-inaugurated event by a personal Trinitarian God, not a repeatable ecstatic phenomenon comparable to Tamil temple-festival trance events (தீமிதி, காவடி) where deities are believed to descend on devotees. The audible wind and visible fire (2:2-3) are theophanic signs marking a unique historical inauguration, not a template for induced religious ecstasy.
Spirit-Filling and Empowerment for Witness
Tamil name: ஆவியானவரால் நிரப்பப்பட்டு பெலனடைதல்
Key terms: filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered, bold speech
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the single sharpest collision in the entire Acts curriculum. Tamil village religion has a widespread, living practice of deity-possession trance (ஆவேசம்/சாமி ஆடுதல்) involving loss of personal agency, shaking, and altered or unintelligible speech. Every occurrence of Spirit-filling in Acts depicts the filled person as MORE coherent and purposeful (reasoning from Scripture, addressing hostile councils clearly), the functional opposite of ஆவேசம். Mistranslating this recurring formula risks validating possession-trance as the model for genuine Spirit-fullness.
Personhood of the Holy Spirit
Tamil name: பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவரின் ஆளத்துவம்
Key terms: lied to the Holy Spirit, tested the Spirit, resisted the Holy Spirit, the Spirit said, seemed good to the Holy Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL, inherited and intensified: one can only lie to, test, resist, or receive direction from a PERSON, never an impersonal force or life-principle (பிரம்மம்/பரமாத்மா, both already Critical-forbidden). Acts supplies an unusually dense concentration of personal-agent grammar for the Spirit across many chapters; any rendering that flattens these verbs into impersonal-force language (e.g., ‘losing spiritual energy’ or ‘violating a cosmic rule’) destroys the doctrine.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit Given to Every Believer
Tamil name: ஒவ்வொரு விசுவாசிக்கும் அளிக்கப்படும் பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவரின் ஈவு
Key terms: gift of the Holy Spirit, receive the Spirit, purchase the gift of God
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: ஈவு (never வரம், a merited devotional boon granted for a vow or petition) must be preserved throughout. Simon Magus’s attempted purchase of the Spirit’s gift (8:18-20) is the book’s own built-in narrative rebuke of exactly the transactional, merit-purchased-favor logic (புண்ணியம்-style) this Language Package guards against everywhere else; mistranslating ஈவு as வரம் here would erase the text’s own point.
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Tamil name: யூதருக்கும் புறஜாதியாருக்கும் சுவிசேஷம்
Key terms: Gentiles, no distinction, far off, all flesh, God shows no partiality
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: this doctrine is planted at Pentecost itself (‘to all who are far off,’ 2:39) and fully enacted at Cornelius’s household — a second, deliberate ‘Pentecost’ on Gentiles WITHOUT circumcision or law-observance (10:44-46), proving inclusion is God’s initiative, not a human negotiation. புறஜாதியார் sits near ஜாதி (caste) in form, an unusually prominent and politically charged category in Tamil Nadu given the twentieth-century Dravidian and Self-Respect movements; the doctrinal point (ending distinction) must never be misread as a caste classification itself.
The Vision of Clean and Unclean
Tamil name: தீட்டும் அசுத்தமுமான காரியங்களைப் பற்றிய தரிசனம்
Key terms: clean, unclean, common, what God has made clean
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: direct collision with the living Tamil purity-code framework (தீட்டு), already flagged in the Colossians package for Colossians 2:21. The doctrinal move here is explicitly liberating: God declares clean what was previously called unclean, and no one may call it profane. This is a direct scriptural warrant for challenging caste-based purity/exclusion categories still operative in some Tamil church contexts, though the translated text itself must never name a specific caste category — that application belongs to teaching material.
Repentance as the Response to the Gospel
Tamil name: சுவிசேஷத்திற்கான பதிலான மனந்திரும்புதல்
Key terms: repent, repentance unto life, turn to God
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL, NEW decision for this package: Tamil offers several dangerous near-neighbors — பரிகாரம் (a paid, transactional ritual remedy for sin or astrological dosha), தவம் (merit-generating austerity), and பாவநிவாரணம் (implying a ritual sin-removal mechanism). மனந்திரும்புதல் must be taught as a Spirit-enabled turning of the whole person toward a personal God, never an earned or ritually performed removal of guilt — the doctrine that repentance is universally required, even of sophisticated Gentile philosophers (17:30), completes the book’s Jew-to-Gentile arc.
Household Salvation through Confession of the Lord Jesus
Tamil name: கர்த்தராகிய இயேசுவை அறிக்கை செய்வதன் மூலம் குடும்ப இரட்சிப்பு
Key terms: believe on the Lord Jesus, you will be saved, he and all his household
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: this formula is directly parallel to Romans 10:9-13 and must render with verbatim consistency against the Romans package’s established convention (விசுவாசம், கர்த்தர், இரட்சிப்பு). The jailer narrative is often used pastorally in Tamil evangelistic contexts, making exact cross-document consistency especially consequential.
‘The Way’ as the Christian Movement’s Self-Designation
Tamil name: ‘இந்த வழி’ எனும் கிறிஸ்தவ இயக்கத்தின் அடையாளம்
Key terms: the Way, followers of the Way, persecuted the Way
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: MUST NOT be rendered with மார்க்கம், which would explicitly cast Christianity as ‘one மார்க்கம் among many’ within Tamil religious pluralism (Saiva மார்க்கம், Vaishnava மார்க்கம், and others). Because this term names the movement ITSELF (not merely conduct, as with the Ephesians package’s ‘walk’), this is the single most dangerous point of collision with pluralism in the entire book. Use the plain, non-technical வழி, contextually anchored (இயேசுவின் வழி), at every occurrence.
Deliverance from a Spirit of Divination
Tamil name: குறி சொல்லும் ஆவியிலிருந்து விடுவிக்கப்படுதல்
Key terms: spirit of divination, python spirit, cast out
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: live collision with active Tamil oracle/possession-divination practice (ஆவேசம் மூலம் குறி சொல்லுதல், village oracle traditions, ஜோசியம்). Must be taught unambiguously as a defeated, deceptive, subordinate spirit expelled by Christ’s authority — never as a rival ‘spiritual gift’ to be weighed against genuine prophecy, and never rendered so as to blur with தீர்க்கதரிசனம்.
Exclusivity of Salvation in the Name of Christ
Tamil name: கிறிஸ்துவின் நாமத்திலேயே இரட்சிப்பு
Key terms: no other name, salvation in no one else
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the book’s sharpest exclusivity claim, delivered before the Sanhedrin itself. Must retain unqualified exclusivity against Tamil religious pluralism, echoing the same caution the Galatians package applies to Thirumular’s popularly-cited line ‘ஒன்றே குலம் ஒருவனே தேவன்’ being read as endorsing religious pluralism. Every occurrence requires theologian review.
The Conversion of Paul
Tamil name: பவுலின் மனந்திரும்புதல்
Key terms: light from heaven, Lord, who are you?, chosen instrument, scales fell from his eyes
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the Damascus-road Christophany, told three times in the book, must be presented as a real, historical encounter with the risen, exalted Christ — grounding Paul’s apostolic authority — never as a generic mystical vision or dream (கனவு register), and the light itself must not be softened into ordinary revelatory imagery.
Justification apart from the Law
Tamil name: நியாயப்பிரமாணமில்லாமல் நீதிமானாக்கப்படுதல்
Key terms: justified, everyone who believes, could not be freed by the law of Moses
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 13:38-39 is a direct cross-document citation point with the Romans package’s justification doctrine and must render நீதிமானாக்கப்படுதல் identically to the Romans 3-4 renderings; the Jerusalem Council’s parallel statement (15:10-11, salvation ‘through the grace of the Lord Jesus,’ not law-keeping) enacts the same doctrine institutionally and must not drift toward a தர்மம்-style dutiful-conduct reading.
The Jerusalem Council’s Decision on Freedom from the Law
Tamil name: எருசலேம் ஆலோசனைச் சங்கத்தின் நியாயப்பிரமாண விடுதலை தீர்மானம்
Key terms: circumcision, burden, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: shares doctrinal vocabulary with the Galatians package’s ‘law_and_grace’ and ‘yoke_of_slavery’ entries and must not diverge in register from them. The council’s refusal to impose ‘burden’ (பாரம்) beyond minimal provisions is the institutional enactment of justification apart from the law; the decision’s explicit Spirit-co-agency (‘seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us’) must preserve personal Spirit agency, avoiding both bare-majority-vote and single-guru-ruling misreadings.
The Resurrection of Christ and of the Dead
Tamil name: கிறிஸ்துவின் உயிர்த்தெழுதலும் மரித்தோர் உயிர்த்தெழுதலும்
Key terms: raised him up, resurrection of the dead, loosed the pains of death
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL, inherited: உயிர்த்தெழுதல், never மறுபிறவி (rebirth/reincarnation, shared by Tamil Hindu and Jain tradition). Acts uniquely records the doctrine both preached with authority (ch. 2) and explicitly ridiculed (17:32) and disputed internally within Judaism (23:6-8, Pharisees vs. Sadducees) — teaching material should use this range to show faithful proclamation persisting despite mixed and even mocking response.
The Lordship and Messiahship of Christ
Tamil name: கிறிஸ்துவின் கர்த்தத்துவமும் மேசியாத்துவமும்
Key terms: Lord and Christ, Jesus is Lord, believe on the Lord Jesus
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the climax of Peter’s Pentecost sermon (2:36) declares the crucified Jesus, by God’s own exalting act, both கர்த்தர் and கிறிஸ்து — this must never be misread adoptionistically (as though Jesus became divine only at that point); teaching notes must clarify this is enthronement to messianic office, following the same exaltation pattern already fixed in the Ephesians/Philippians packages, not an ontological change.
The Exaltation of Christ to God’s Right Hand
Tamil name: கடவுளின் வலது பாரிசத்தில் கிறிஸ்துவின் உயர்த்தப்படுதல்
Key terms: exalted at the right hand of God, sit at my right hand, standing at the right hand of God
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 2:34-35 quotes the same Psalm 110 passage the Ephesians package renders for Christ’s supreme exaltation (Eph. 1:20-22); the two must be cross-checked for identical phrasing. Stephen’s vision of Christ standing at God’s right hand (7:55-56) at the moment of martyrdom directly ties this doctrine to the persecution-and-witness thread.
High Risk Doctrines
Speaking in Tongues as a Sign of the Spirit’s Coming
Tamil name: பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவர் வந்ததற்கு அடையாளமான வேறு பாஷைகள்
Key terms: other tongues, own language, dialect
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: at Pentecost the miracle is explicitly REAL, KNOWN human languages, confirmed by hearers recognizing their own native tongue (v. 6, 8, 11). Tamil possession-oracle speech at village shrines is typically unintelligible utterance requiring an intermediary interpreter; conflating the two categories would recast a cross-cultural proclamation miracle as generic ecstatic trance-speech.
God’s Impartiality toward All Peoples
Tamil name: கடவுளுடைய பட்சபாதமின்மை
Key terms: God shows no partiality, no respecter of persons
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: Peter’s explicit doctrinal conclusion from the Cornelius episode parallels the Romans package’s ‘universal_human_accountability’ and ‘unity_of_jews_and_gentiles’ entries. In Tamil Nadu’s caste-conscious context, this statement functions as a direct claim against any hierarchy of spiritual worth by birth or ritual status, and must retain unqualified universality.
Baptism in the Name of Jesus
Tamil name: இயேசுவின் நாமத்தில் ஞானஸ்நானம்
Key terms: baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, washed away your sins
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: ஞானஸ்நானம் must remain covenant initiation into Christ, never a repeatable purificatory tirtha-bath (a live Hindu ritual-bathing category). The recurring formula ‘in the name of Jesus’ invokes his personal authority and identity, never a mantra whose repetition carries automatic ritual power — Acts 19:13-16 (the sons of Sceva) is the text’s own warning against exactly that misunderstanding.
Forgiveness of Sins through Christ Alone
Tamil name: கிறிஸ்துவின் மூலமாகவே பாவமன்னிப்பு
Key terms: forgiveness of sins, everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: மன்னிப்பு must never stand alone as a substitute for the fuller redemption/justification vocabulary (per the inherited baseline rule); here it correctly names the specific benefit received through faith and repentance, not a ritual expiation payable through vow or penance.
The Church as a Spirit-Formed Community
Tamil name: ஆவியானவரால் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட சமுதாயமாகிய சபை
Key terms: fellowship, breaking of bread, added to their number, all who believed were together
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: conversion in Acts is immediately, visibly corporate, not merely private/individual — ‘were added’ (2:41, 47) launches the whole doctrine. Must be taught as an organic, Spirit-produced community of shared life, not a caste-segregated assembly or a ritual institution; the choosing of the Seven (6:1-6) models ordered, Spirit-qualified structure resolving an internal ethnic-tension dispute (Hellenist vs. Hebrew widows) without division.
‘The Way’ Called a Sect by Outsiders
Tamil name: ‘இந்த வழியை’ பிரிவு என அழைத்தது
Key terms: sect, party, everywhere spoken against
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: αἵρεσις must never be rendered மதம் (‘a religion’), which would concede exactly the ‘one religion among many equally valid religions’ framing the book’s exclusivity claims (4:12) refuse; render as a neutral outsider-perception term (a faction/party), while Paul’s own reframing (24:14-15) affirms continuity with, and fulfillment of, the Hebrew Scriptures rather than a new competing religion.
Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Tamil name: அப்போஸ்தலரின் அதிகாரமும் அற்புதங்களும்
Key terms: signs and wonders, power, healed, proven by God
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: அற்புதம் (wonder) is the ordinary Tamil word for a temple/pilgrimage-site miracle granted by a deity in answer to a vow (a live, pervasive category at shrines such as Palani and Tiruchendur). Apostolic miracles must be taught as Christ-authenticating signs (always yoked to அடையாளம், never standing alone) rather than generic wonder-working comparable to the votive shrine-miracle economy.
Laying On of Hands as Commissioning, Not Magic
Tamil name: மந்திரமல்லாத அர்ப்பணிப்பு அடையாளமான கை வைத்தல்
Key terms: laid hands on them, received the Holy Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: must be presented as a symbolic act of commissioning/blessing accompanying the Spirit’s own sovereign work, never a magically transferable power obtainable by anyone performing the correct gesture — Simon Magus’s attempted purchase of exactly this (8:18-20) is the text’s own explicit warning against the misunderstanding.
Rejection of Sorcery and Occult Power
Tamil name: சூனியத்தையும் மாந்திரீக வல்லமையையும் நிராகரித்தல்
Key terms: sorcery, magic arts, burned the books
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: direct collision with active Tamil folk-magic practice (பில்லி சூனியம், மாந்திரீகம்); render literally as a rejected occult practice, never euphemized, and always kept sharply distinct from legitimate Spirit-given apostolic miracle-working, which the text itself contrasts explicitly (e.g., Simon’s magic vs. Philip’s ministry, 8:9-13).
Evil Spirits as Defeated, Subordinate Powers
Tamil name: கிறிஸ்துவின் கீழ் தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்ட பொல்லாத ஆவிகள்
Key terms: evil spirits, invoke the name, sons of Sceva
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: Tamil folk taxonomy (பேய், முனி, மோகினி) manages afflicting spirits ritually through exorcists (மந்திரவாதி); Acts’ point is that such spirits are already defeated under Christ’s authority and mock any attempt to invoke his name as a magic formula without genuine faith. Teaching notes must present the sons of Sceva’s failure as evidence against formulaic-invocation religion, not evidence for the spirits’ independent power.
Rejection of the Deification of Miracle-Workers
Tamil name: அற்புதம் செய்வோரை தேவனாக்குவதை நிராகரித்தல்
Key terms: they supposed him to be a god, we also are men, the living God
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: at Lystra and Malta the text records, and immediately corrects, the mistaken pagan impulse to deify Paul and Barnabas after miracles. This is a direct, built-in narrative safeguard against exactly the Tamil bhakti impulse to venerate wonder-working holy men as divine; teaching material should draw a clear line to the baseline ‘apostle never குரு’ rule — apostolic miracle-workers point away from themselves to the living God.
Persecution and Bold Witness
Tamil name: துன்பத்திலும் தைரியமான சாட்சி
Key terms: boldness, threatened, imprisoned, rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: boldness (தைரியம்/பரேசியா) must be Spirit-produced courage rooted in the risen Christ’s authority, never mere human bravado, social defiance, or honor-culture bravado-for-its-own-sake. The Spirit’s filling specifically for bold speech under interrogation (4:8, 31) textually links Pentecost’s filling to persecution-courage across the whole book.
The Martyrdom of Stephen
Tamil name: ஸ்தேவானுடைய மரணசாட்சித்துவம்
Key terms: stoned, committed his spirit, witness
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: the μάρτυς (witness) word-family reaches its fullest sense here, and Stephen’s dying words deliberately echo Jesus’ own words from the cross (Luke 23:46), patterning martyr-death on Christ’s own death. The historical specificity of Stephen’s ‘stiff-necked’ charge against his immediate hearers (7:51) must not be generalized into a permanent indictment of any people group.
Witness as a Book-Length Thread toward Martyrdom
Tamil name: சாட்சி என்பது நூல் நெடுக நீளும் ஒரு இழை
Key terms: witnesses, you will be my witnesses, your witness
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: சாட்சி is established, low-ambiguity legal-testimony vocabulary, but its semantic drift toward ‘one who testifies even unto death’ (fully realized at Stephen’s death and echoed in Paul’s own anticipated martyrdom) must be tracked as a single unfolding doctrinal thread across the whole book, not treated as unrelated occurrences, so students see the programmatic statement of 1:8 fulfilled narratively.
Election and Divine Calling of Paul as Apostle to the Gentiles
Tamil name: புறஜாதியாருக்கு அப்போஸ்தலனாகிய பவுலின் தெரிந்துகொள்ளுதலும் அழைப்பும்
Key terms: chosen instrument, to carry my name, appointed
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: reuses the baseline election doctrine’s fatalism-avoidance rule — Paul’s calling is personal and purposive, never தலைவிதி (fate) or ஊழ்வினை (karmic destiny); the compound term தெரிந்துகொள்ளப்பட்ட கருவி must keep the personal, sovereign chooser explicit.
The Ascension of Christ
Tamil name: கிறிஸ்துவின் பரமேறுதல்
Key terms: taken up, a cloud took him, will come in the same way
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: NEW risk for Acts — Tamil Siddhar hagiography includes legends of adept-mystics who bodily vanish or attain a form of supernatural bodily transcendence (jeeva samadhi/videha mukti-adjacent legends). The ascension must be taught as a unique, publicly witnessed, historical event marking Christ’s permanent exaltation, not an esoteric adept’s disappearance or a step in a liberation cycle.
God’s Sovereign Plan and Providence over History
Tamil name: வரலாற்றின் மேலான கடவுளுடைய திட்டமும் பராமரிப்பும்
Key terms: foreknowledge, definite plan, if it is of God, God granted us safety
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: must be kept tethered to a personal God’s knowing love and purposive plan (திட்டம்/முன்னறிவு), never rendered adjacent to தலைவிதி (fate) or ஊழ்/ஊழ்வினை (karmic destiny) vocabulary. Gamaliel’s cautious counsel (5:38-39) and the storm/shipwreck narrative (ch. 27) both display this doctrine narratively rather than propositionally, requiring careful phrasing to keep the personal-God frame visible.
The Great Commission Fulfilled
Tamil name: நிறைவேறிய மகா பணி
Key terms: witnesses, ends of the earth, the word of God grew, unhindered
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: the book’s entire geographic and narrative structure is the doctrine — from Jerusalem to ‘the ends of the earth’ (1:8), fulfilled by the gospel’s unhindered (தடையின்றி) arrival in Rome (28:31). Retain unqualified universal geographic reach throughout; the recurring refrain ‘the word of God grew’ (6:7; 12:24; 19:20) should be rendered consistently as a single tracked thread.
Hades and the State of the Dead prior to Resurrection
Tamil name: உயிர்த்தெழுதலுக்கு முன்னான பாதாளமும் மரித்தோரின் நிலையும்
Key terms: Hades, will not abandon his Holy One to see decay
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: NEW risk not present in the Romans/Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians curricula. பாதாளம் is also the Puranic Hindu Pātāla, the netherworld beneath the earth inhabited by Nagas (serpent-beings), a vivid, populated mythological geography in Tamil religious imagination. Teaching notes must clarify Peter’s citation of Psalm 16 names simply the realm/state of the dead awaiting resurrection, not a serpent-inhabited cosmological region or a stage in a multi-life journey.
The Restoration of All Things and Eschatological Hope
Tamil name: எல்லாவற்றின் மீளமைவும் நிறைவுக்கால நம்பிக்கையும்
Key terms: times of refreshing, restoration of all things
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: must read as a single, linear, Christ-centered consummation fulfilling prophetic promise, never a cyclical yuga-renewal (recurring cosmic ages) as in Hindu/Jain cosmology; avoid யுகம் vocabulary entirely, consistent with the Ephesians package’s caution against yuga-framing for αἰών-type terms.
Paul’s Proclamation to the Unknown God at Athens
Tamil name: அறியப்படாத தெய்வத்தை முன்னிட்டு பவுல் ஆதேனேயில் செய்த பிரசங்கம்
Key terms: unknown god, the God who made the world, in him we live and move and have our being, idols
Review routing: Human theologian
HIGH: contains a rare, deliberately narrow dual-register requirement — தெய்வம் (a deity among many) is briefly the accurate word for the Athenians’ own polytheistic altar inscription (17:23), before the text must switch immediately to கடவுள் once Paul proclaims the true referent (17:24ff). Additionally, 17:28’s ‘in him we live and move and have our being’ must express creaturely dependence on a personal Creator, never ontological merger (avoiding any phrasing suggestive of Advaita non-dual identity with the divine), paralleling the baseline’s caution against Vedantic pūrṇam-merger readings of ‘fullness.‘
Medium Risk Doctrines
Conviction of Sin under Spirit-Empowered Preaching
Tamil name: ஆவியானவரின் பிரசங்கத்தால் இருதயத்தில் ஏற்படும் உணர்வு
Key terms: cut to the heart, what shall we do
Review routing: Native speaker review
MEDIUM: genuine Spirit-produced conviction, resolved only by repentance and faith, must not be taught alongside or conflated with Tamil ascetic self-mortification practice (தவம்) as though acute distress over sin requires bodily penance to be resolved.
Voluntary Generosity and Shared Possessions
Tamil name: தன்னார்வமான கொடையும் பொது உடைமையும்
Key terms: all things in common, sold their possessions, great grace
Review routing: Native speaker review
MEDIUM: this is voluntary, Spirit-produced generosity, not compulsory collectivization; must not be read through a twentieth-century Dravidian-movement socialist/communal-land political lens. Ananias and Sapphira’s account (5:1-11) is the text’s own proof that giving was never mandatory — their sin was deceit, not the amount withheld.
Church Leadership: Elders, Overseers, and Deacons
Tamil name: சபைத் தலைமை — மூப்பர்களும் கண்காணிகளும்
Key terms: elders, overseers, shepherd the church, appointed with prayer and fasting
Review routing: Native speaker review
MEDIUM: servant-shaped offices established through prayer and Spirit-guided discernment, never குரு (guru-śiṣya authority framing) or temple-functionary vocabulary (பூசாரி, அர்ச்சகர்); Acts 20 uses elder/overseer/shepherd interchangeably, showing these describe one servant function, not a rank hierarchy.
The Word of God Advancing and Multiplying
Tamil name: தேவனுடைய வசனம் வளர்ந்து பெருகுதல்
Key terms: the word of God grew, multiplied, increased and prevailed
Review routing: Native speaker review
MEDIUM: a recurring narrative refrain marking the gospel’s expansion despite persecution and opposition; reuse the established கடவுள்-compound convention and track alongside the 1:8/28:31 inclusio as part of the Great Commission thread.
Low Risk Doctrines
Breaking of Bread and Table Fellowship
Tamil name: அப்பம் பிட்குதலும் பந்தி ஐக்கியமும்
Key terms: breaking of bread, ate together with glad hearts
Review routing: Automated review
LOW: regular, joyful shared meals among believers, precursor to later Eucharistic practice; low doctrinal ambiguity, established vocabulary.
Thanksgiving and Gladness in the Early Church
Tamil name: ஆரம்பகால சபையின் ஸ்தோத்திரமும் மகிழ்ச்சியும்
Key terms: gladness, praising God, favor with all the people
Review routing: Automated review
LOW: reuses the established, low-ambiguity ஸ்தோத்திரம் register from the baseline package; describes the community’s warm, public devotional life.
Referenced passages