Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis: Acts 1–28 (English → Telugu)
This document is the full doctrine matrix for the Acts curriculum, extending the baseline Romans Language Package for Telugu. It is generated to be fully consistent with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json: the same 35 doctrines, in the same risk tiers, with the same review routing. This file adds the chapter-by-chapter and section-by-section supporting-passage mapping required by PRD Phase 1 Step 4, spanning the entire book of Acts (chapters 1–28) with the core passage (Acts 2:1-41) treated as the theological anchor, not the analytical boundary.
Risk tiers and review routing follow the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions exactly:
- Critical — human theologian review required, every occurrence
- High — human theologian review required
- Medium — native speaker review recommended
- Low — automated review sufficient
Part A — Full Doctrine Matrix
| # | Doctrine | Supporting Passages (Acts) | Risk | Translation Risk | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 1:4-5,8; 2:1-4,17-18,33,38; 4:8,31; 8:15-19; 9:17; 10:44-47; 13:2,9; 15:8,28; 19:6 | Critical | పరిశుద్ధాత్మ locked, never పరమాత్మ; wind/fire theophany (2:2-3) risks impersonal nature-spirit misreading in folk-religious frames; “filled with” must denote saturation, not partial endowment. | Human theologian |
| 2 | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10:1-11:18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:1-21; 28:28 | High | Must retain full doctrinal force per Telugu Dalit-community mass-movement history; ceremonial purity vocabulary must stay lexically separate from పరిశుద్ధ. | Human theologian |
| 3 | Repentance and Baptism | 2:38; 3:19; 8:36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:33; 19:1-5; 22:16; 26:20 | High | మారుమనస్సు must convey decisive turning, not పరితాపం (remorse) or renunciation categories; the repent→baptize→forgiveness order in 2:38 must not be interpretively re-sequenced. | Human theologian |
| 4 | The Church as Community | 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 6:1-6; 11:19-26; 14:23; 15:1-29; 20:17-28 | High | Office vocabulary (పెద్దలు/అధ్యక్షులు/పరిచారకులు) locked against denominational fragmentation across Baptist, Lutheran, Anglican-descended, Catholic, and independent Telugu traditions. | Human theologian |
| 5 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 2:22,43; 3:1-10; 4:30; 5:12-16; 8:6-13; 9:32-42; 14:3; 15:12; 19:11-12; 20:9-12 | High | Must be rendered as authenticating acts of the true God through his messenger, distinguished from counterfeit మాంత్రికవిద్య and from guru/godman miracle-claim culture; requires the పునరుత్థానం/బ్రతికించెను disambiguation discipline. | Human theologian |
| 6 | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 7:54-8:3; 12:1-19; 14:19; 16:19-40; 21:27-36 | High | సాక్షి must retain testimony-to-martyrdom weight from Stephen onward; ధైర్యము must convey Spirit-given courage, not ఆత్మవిశ్వాసం (self-confidence). | Human theologian |
| 7 | Conversion of Paul | 9:1-31; 22:3-21; 26:9-23 | High | Decisive, sovereign-grace reorientation, not gradual self-improvement; ఏర్పరచబడిన పాత్ర (9:15) ties to locked దేవుని ఏర్పాటు and must retain divine sovereign choice. | Human theologian |
| 8 | Justification apart from the Law | 13:38-39; 15:1-11 | Critical | Direct anchor for locked baseline term నీతిమంతులుగా తీర్చడం; 15:11’s grace-not-law force must parallel the baseline’s Romans 3-4 rule exactly; సున్నతి kept as the literal Mosaic rite, not abstracted. | Human theologian |
| 9 | The Great Commission Fulfilled | 1:8; 8:4-40; 13:1-3; 28:23,31 | Medium | Low colonial-baggage risk given Telugu Christianity’s indigenous mass-movement roots; residual risk is tonal — preserving 28:31’s open-ended, unresolved-yet-triumphant close. | Native speaker review |
| 10 | Deity of Christ | 2:36; 3:14; 7:55-56; 9:20 | Critical | Must retain co-equal divine standing at Peter’s proclamation (2:36) and Stephen’s vision (7:55-56), not a merely-honored subordinate figure. | Human theologian |
| 11 | Sonship of Christ | 9:20; 13:33 | Critical | Eternal, unique Sonship affirmed immediately at Saul’s conversion; must not read as an honorific title for a devoted human figure. | Human theologian |
| 12 | Resurrection of Christ | 1:22; 2:24-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,31-32; 23:6-8; 24:15,21; 26:23 | Critical | పునరుత్థానం locked, never పునర్జన్మ; must be kept distinct from బ్రతికించెను (individual revivifications, Tabitha/Eutychus) so the doctrinal term is never diluted. | Human theologian |
| 13 | Lordship of Christ | 2:21,34-36; 10:36; 16:31 | Critical | ప్రభువు consistent across denominations; 2:36 and 16:31 are headline salvation-confession verses requiring unqualified, exclusive force; 16:31’s household scope must not be over- or under-read. | Human theologian |
| 14 | Messianic Promise | 2:31,36; 3:18,20; 9:22; 17:3; 18:5,28 | Critical | మెస్సీయ/క్రీస్తు must never suggest an avatar-descent parallel to Tirupati’s Venkateswara tradition. | Human theologian |
| 15 | Salvation | 2:21,40; 4:9,12; 11:14; 13:26,47; 16:17,30-31; 27:20 | Critical | రక్షణ locked, never మోక్షం/ముక్తి; nautical rescue sense (27:20-44) must use ప్రాణరక్షణ instead, reserving రక్షణ exclusively for the soteriological sense. | Human theologian |
| 16 | Davidic Covenant | 2:25-31,34; 13:22-23,34,36; 15:16 | High | Requires OT background explanation; Peter’s/Paul’s “David died and remained buried” hermeneutical argument must be preserved precisely. | Human theologian |
| 17 | Grace | 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32 | High | 15:11 is the Jerusalem Council’s doctrinal peak and must retain unqualified grace-not-merit force; 2:47’s ordinary-favor sense must be disambiguated from the doctrinal sense. | Human theologian |
| 18 | Faith | 3:16; 10:43; 14:27; 16:31; 20:21; 26:18 | Medium | విశ్వాసం well established; residual risk distinguishing it from generic devotional భక్తి for first-generation believers. | Native speaker review |
| 19 | Universal Scope of the Gospel | 2:17,21,39; 10:34-35,44-48; 15:7-9 | High | Joel citation’s “all flesh / sons and daughters / young and old / servants” must not be softened or narrowed; direct resonance with Dalit mass-movement history. | Human theologian |
| 20 | Sanctification | 20:32; 26:18 | High | పరిశుద్ధపరచడం locked; touches the పరిశుద్ధ/పవిత్ర denominational-consistency choice held throughout this curriculum. | Human theologian |
| 21 | Sainthood (Called to be Holy) | 9:13,32,41 | Medium | పరిశుద్ధులు as corporate status of all believers, not an ascetic elite (సాధువులు). | Native speaker review |
| 22 | Effectual Calling and Election | 9:15; 13:48; 22:14 | High | దేవుని ఏర్పాటు denotes sovereign personal choice, not విధి (fatalism) or కర్మ (karma), both live in surrounding regional culture. | Human theologian |
| 23 | Providence | 5:38-39; 17:24-28 | High | Paul’s Areopagus quotation (17:28) risks an Advaita-monist misreading (God as impersonal substance in which all things merely exist) rather than a personal Creator distinct from creation; never విధి/కర్మసిద్ధాంతం. | Human theologian |
| 24 | Spiritual Gifts | 2:17-18; 19:6 | Medium | ఆత్మీయ వరములు kept distinct from పరిశుద్ధాత్మ వరము (the gift of the Spirit himself, Critical); not merit-earned or a generic deity’s boon. | Native speaker review |
| 25 | Christian Fellowship | 2:42,44-46; 4:32-37 | Low | సహవాసం as shared participation in Christ; “all things in common” is historically specific, not a normative communism — avoid over-systematizing gloss. | Automated review |
| 26 | Thanksgiving | 27:35; 28:15 | Low | Standard term; minor risk of over-ritualization. | Automated review |
| 27 | Mutual Edification | 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:2 | Low | Building one another up in faith; no significant doctrinal risk. | Automated review |
| 28 | Divine Calling | 1:8,25-26; 13:2 | Medium | Sovereign, initiating call well understood; residual risk is holding the పిలుపు/పిలువబడిన noun/participle distinction consistently. | Native speaker review |
| 29 | Apostleship | 1:2,21-26; 14:4,14 | Medium | Low syncretism risk; residual risk is collapsing apostleship into a generic గురువు role. | Native speaker review |
| 30 | Confrontation with Paganism | 14:8-18; 17:16-34; 19:23-41; 28:1-6 | High | Zeus/Hermes mistaken identity, the Areopagus “unknown god,” and the Artemis riot each require sharp, named confrontation, paralleling the baseline’s own Tirupati/Kanaka-Durgamma concerns; θεός applied to Paul (14:11; 28:6) requires a translator note clarifying pagan misidentification, not narrative endorsement. | Human theologian |
| 31 | Ceremonial Purity and Gospel Inclusion | 10:9-16,28; 11:1-9 | High | అపవిత్రమైనది/శుద్ధమైనది (κοινός/ἀκάθαρτος) must be kept lexically distinct from the locked holiness term పరిశుద్ధ, preserving the text’s own exegetical distinction. | Human theologian |
| 32 | Spiritual Authority and Conflict | 8:9-24; 13:6-11; 16:16-18; 19:13-20; 26:18 | High | మాంత్రికవిద్య/సాతాను carry live cultural resonance with regional folk-magic/astrology; Satan’s usurped అధికారము must stay distinct from దేవుని సామర్థ్యం (never శక్తి). | Human theologian |
| 33 | The Way as Fulfilled Faith | 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22 | High | మార్గము must retain definite-article exclusivity, resisting a generic dharmic-path reading; వర్గము (sect) must never become మతము (a separate religion). | Human theologian |
| 34 | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 2:16-21; 3:18,24; 7:37; 8:32-35; 13:27,29,33-35,40-41; 15:15-18; 28:23 | Medium | Linear, one-time historical fulfillment; comparatively low syncretism risk in Telugu Bible teaching tradition. | Native speaker review |
| 35 | Inspiration of Scripture | 1:16; 4:25; 28:25 | High | God-breathed Scripture spoken through the Spirit via David/prophets, distinguished from treasured but non-canonical devotional Telugu religious literature. | Human theologian |
Risk Summary (must match doctrine_risk_registry.json exactly):
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 8 | Human theologian review, every occurrence |
| High | 17 | Human theologian review |
| Medium | 7 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 3 | Automated review |
| Total | 35 | 25 theologian / 7 native-speaker / 3 automated |
Part B — Core Passage Deep Dive: Acts 2:1-41 (The Theological Anchor)
Acts 2:1-41 is this curriculum’s theological anchor, not its analytical scope, but it concentrates an unusually dense cluster of the matrix’s highest-risk doctrines and deserves explicit treatment:
| Verses | Doctrines in Play | Key Terms | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:1-4 | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | పెంతెకొస్తు, పరిశుద్ధాత్మతో పూర్ణులై, వేరు భాషలు | Critical / High |
| 2:5-13 | Universal Scope of the Gospel (foreshadowed); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (foreshadowed) | వేరు భాషలు, అన్యజనులు (implicit diaspora-Jew universality) | High |
| 2:14-21 | Fulfillment of Prophecy; Universal Scope of the Gospel; Spiritual Gifts | ప్రవచనం, “all flesh,” ప్రవచించుట | Medium / High |
| 2:22-24 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Resurrection of Christ | సూచక క్రియలు మరియు ఆశ్చర్యకార్యములు, పునరుత్థానం | High / Critical |
| 2:25-31 | Davidic Covenant; Resurrection of Christ | దావీదు, పునరుత్థానం | High / Critical |
| 2:32-33 | Resurrection of Christ; The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | పునరుత్థానం, పరిశుద్ధాత్మ వరము | Critical |
| 2:34-36 | Lordship of Christ; Deity of Christ; Messianic Promise | ప్రభువు, క్రీస్తు, మెస్సీయ | Critical |
| 2:37-38 | Repentance and Baptism; Salvation | మారుమనస్సు, బాప్తిస్మము, పాపక్షమాపణ, పరిశుద్ధాత్మ వరము | High / Critical |
| 2:39 | Universal Scope of the Gospel; Divine Calling; Election | పిలువబడిన, “as many as,” “far off” | High / Medium |
| 2:40 | Mutual Edification | ప్రోత్సహించడం | Low |
| 2:41 | Repentance and Baptism; Church as Community | బాప్తిస్మము, సంఘము | High |
Every Critical-tier doctrine in the full matrix except Justification apart from the Law, Sonship of Christ, and Salvation’s nautical-disambiguation concern makes a direct appearance within these 41 verses — confirming this passage’s anchor status while underscoring that full-book coverage below is not optional scaffolding but the load-bearing structure the anchor sits within.
Part C — Chapter-by-Chapter Doctrinal Coverage (Acts 1–28)
Per the full-book coverage mandate, every chapter is addressed explicitly below. Chapters contributing no doctrine beyond what is already tabulated in Part A are noted as reviewed, no new doctrinal weight.
Acts 1 — Ascension; promise of the Spirit (1:4-5,8, anchors The Holy Spirit and Pentecost); the Great Commission’s programmatic statement (1:8, “ends of the earth”); choosing of Matthias (1:21-26, Apostleship, Divine Calling). Kingdom of God appears at 1:3,6 (baseline-reused term, not a new doctrine entry).
Acts 2 — Core passage; see Part B above. Introduces or activates: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost, Fulfillment of Prophecy, Universal Scope of the Gospel, Apostolic Authority and Miracles, Resurrection of Christ, Davidic Covenant, Lordship of Christ, Deity of Christ, Messianic Promise, Repentance and Baptism, Salvation, Divine Calling, Mutual Edification, Church as Community, Christian Fellowship (2:42-47).
Acts 3 — Healing of the lame man (Apostolic Authority and Miracles); Peter’s temple sermon: “the Holy and Righteous One” (Deity of Christ, 3:14), “author of life” (Apostolic Authority and Miracles), repentance call (3:19, Repentance and Baptism), fulfillment of Mosaic/prophetic promise (3:18,20-25, Fulfillment of Prophecy, Messianic Promise).
Acts 4 — Peter and John before the council: Boldness under threat (Persecution and Bold Witness, 4:13,29,31); Deity/Lordship implicit in “salvation in no other name” (4:12); believers’ shared possessions and grace (4:32-37, Church as Community, Grace 4:33).
Acts 5 — Ananias and Sapphira (Church as Community, integrity of the shared-life pattern); apostles’ signs and wonders (5:12-16, Apostolic Authority and Miracles); arrest, flogging, continued boldness (Persecution and Bold Witness); Gamaliel’s caution (5:38-39, Providence).
Acts 6 — Selection of the Seven (Church as Community — deacon office, Section 2 term పరిచారకులు); Hellenist/Hebraist tension requiring the Hellenists gloss; Stephen’s accusation sets up ch. 7 (Inspiration of Scripture background, Persecution and Bold Witness building).
Acts 7 — Stephen’s speech: extended Fulfillment of Prophecy and salvation-history survey; his martyrdom (Persecution and Bold Witness, definitive σάκσι-to-death instance); vision of Jesus at God’s right hand (7:55-56, Deity of Christ, Critical); “into your hands I commit my spirit” (7:59, disambiguation flag: unprefixed ఆత్మ, not పరిశుద్ధాత్మ).
Acts 8 — Saul’s persecution scatters the church (Persecution and Bold Witness); Philip in Samaria (Gospel to Jews and Gentiles — Samaritan inclusion as first expansion beyond Judea, Great Commission Fulfilled); Simon Magus (Spiritual Authority and Conflict — sorcery vs. Spirit-given power); Ethiopian eunuch (Fulfillment of Prophecy via Isaiah citation, Repentance and Baptism, Great Commission Fulfilled).
Acts 9 — Saul’s conversion (Conversion of Paul, Sonship of Christ at 9:20, The Way at 9:2); healing of Aeneas and raising of Tabitha (Apostolic Authority and Miracles, with the Critical resurrection/revivification disambiguation at 9:36-41 requiring బ్రతికించెను, never పునరుత్థానం); Sainthood language at 9:13,32,41.
Acts 10 — Cornelius and Peter’s rooftop vision: Ceremonial Purity and Gospel Inclusion (Critical lexical-separation risk between అపవిత్రమైనది/శుద్ధమైనది and పరిశుద్ధ); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Universal Scope of the Gospel (10:34-35, “God shows no partiality”); Holy Spirit and Pentecost repeated outpouring (10:44-47); Lordship of Christ (10:36).
Acts 11 — Peter’s report to the Jerusalem church defending the Cornelius episode (Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, 11:1-18); founding of the Antioch church and the “Christians” designation (11:26, Church as Community, Great Commission Fulfilled); Barnabas’s exhortation (11:23, Mutual Edification, Grace).
Acts 12 — Herod’s persecution, James’s death, Peter’s imprisonment and angelic deliverance (Persecution and Bold Witness); the church’s intercessory prayer (12:5, adjacent Prayer and Intercession background); Herod’s judgment and death (Providence).
Acts 13 — Barnabas and Saul commissioned (Divine Calling, Great Commission Fulfilled); confrontation with Elymas the sorcerer on Cyprus (Spiritual Authority and Conflict); Paul’s Antioch synagogue sermon: Davidic Covenant (13:22-23,34,36), Messianic Promise, Fulfillment of Prophecy, and the doctrinal center Justification apart from the Law (13:38-39, Critical); election language at 13:48 (Effectual Calling and Election).
Acts 14 — Iconium and Lystra: healing of the lame man, the crowd’s mistaken identification of Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes (Confrontation with Paganism, Critical structural parallel to baseline Tirupati/Kanaka-Durgamma concerns); Paul stoned and left for dead (Persecution and Bold Witness); return report to the sending church (14:27, Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, Great Commission Fulfilled).
Acts 15 — The Jerusalem Council: Justification apart from the Law reaches its climax (15:1-11, especially 15:11’s grace-not-law statement, Critical); Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Church as Community (the council’s deliberative and letter-writing process); Fulfillment of Prophecy (15:15-18, Amos citation).
Acts 16 — Lydia’s conversion; the Philippian jailer’s exorcism of the divining spirit (Spiritual Authority and Conflict); imprisonment and boldness (Persecution and Bold Witness); the jailer’s question and Paul’s answer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (16:31, Lordship of Christ, Salvation — both Critical, household-scope caution applies); baptism of the household (Repentance and Baptism).
Acts 17 — Thessalonica and Berea (Fulfillment of Prophecy, Bereans’ scriptural testing); the Areopagus address: Confrontation with Paganism (“unknown god,” 17:23) and Providence (17:24-28, live Advaita-monism disambiguation risk); Resurrection of Christ as the scandal provoking mixed response (17:18,31-32).
Acts 18 — Corinth ministry, Aquila and Priscilla, Gallio’s tribunal (The Way as Fulfilled Faith — Roman authorities treat it as an internal Jewish dispute, not a separate religion, 18:12-16 background); Apollos instructed more fully in the Way (18:25-26, Faith, The Way); Paul’s vow (18:18, background term).
Acts 19 — Ephesus: disciples receive the Holy Spirit (19:1-6, Holy Spirit and Pentecost, Spiritual Gifts — prophesying and tongues); sons of Sceva and the failed exorcism attempt (Spiritual Authority and Conflict); burning of magic scrolls (19:19, same doctrine); the Artemis cult riot (19:23-41, Confrontation with Paganism).
Acts 20 — Eutychus raised at Troas (20:9-12, individual-revivification disambiguation, బ్రతికించెను not పునరుత్థానం); Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian elders: Church as Community (elders/overseers office vocabulary, 20:17,28), Grace (20:24,32), Sanctification (20:32), “whole counsel of God” (20:27, Inspiration of Scripture background).
Acts 21 — Paul warned by the prophet Agabus (Fulfillment of Prophecy background); Paul’s Nazirite-style vow and temple visit (background term, church accommodation to Jewish practice — Gospel to Jews and Gentiles tension); arrest in the temple, riot (Persecution and Bold Witness).
Acts 22 — Paul’s defense before the Jerusalem crowd: full retelling of his conversion (Conversion of Paul), election language (22:14-15, Effectual Calling and Election), The Way (22:4) — reviewed; reinforces doctrines already tabulated, no new doctrine entries.
Acts 23 — Paul before the Sanhedrin; the Pharisee/Sadducee dispute over the resurrection (23:6-8, Resurrection of Christ — the general-resurrection sense, disambiguation-relevant); the plot against Paul’s life and his rescue (Providence).
Acts 24 — Paul before Felix: The Way as Fulfilled Faith (24:14,22, “the sect” charge); Felix’s fear when Paul reasons about righteousness, self-control, and coming judgment (24:25, background Righteousness/Faith term) — reviewed; reinforces doctrines already tabulated, no new doctrine entries.
Acts 25 — Paul before Festus; the appeal to Caesar. This chapter is primarily legal/narrative procedure (Roman judicial process, Agrippa’s arrival) — reviewed, no new doctrinal weight; it advances Persecution and Bold Witness and Providence narratively but introduces no new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond what Parts A and the Section-2 glossary already tabulate.
Acts 26 — Paul’s testimony before Agrippa: full retelling of the Damascus road (Conversion of Paul); Satan’s usurped authority and the light/darkness commission (26:18, Spiritual Authority and Conflict, Salvation, Sanctification); Resurrection of Christ and Messianic Promise reaffirmed (26:22-23); “almost persuaded” exchange (Faith, background).
Acts 27 — The shipwreck voyage: repeated nautical rescue language requiring the Salvation-doctrine disambiguation (27:20,31,34,44, ప్రాణరక్షణ not రక్షణ); Paul’s thanksgiving before the meal (27:35, Thanksgiving); Providence undergirding the entire narrative (God’s assurance to Paul, 27:22-25).
Acts 28 — Malta: the viper bite and the islanders’ mistaken identification of Paul as a god (28:6, Confrontation with Paganism, same θεός-disambiguation flag as 14:11); healing ministry continues (Apostolic Authority and Miracles); arrival in Rome; Paul’s citation of Isaiah to the Jewish leaders (28:25-27, Inspiration of Scripture, Fulfillment of Prophecy); the book’s closing statement of unhindered kingdom preaching (28:23,31, Great Commission Fulfilled, Kingdom of God) — the deliberately open-ended, triumphant-yet-unresolved close requiring careful tonal handling per Part A’s notes.
Part D — Coverage Attestation
All 28 chapters of Acts have been explicitly reviewed above. No chapter was silently omitted. Chapters 22, 24, and 25 are explicitly marked as reinforcing already-tabulated doctrines rather than introducing new ones, per the full-book coverage mandate’s requirement that such chapters be noted rather than skipped. This doctrine matrix is fully consistent with — and introduces no doctrine, risk tier, or review-routing decision that contradicts — assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json. Any future revision to either file must update both in lockstep.
This document should be loaded alongside 12_ai_translation_requirements.md, translation_memory.json, and bible_term_registry.json before Phase 2 segment translation begins.
Critical Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Telugu name: పరిశుద్ధాత్మ మరియు పెంతెకొస్తు
Key terms: holy spirit, pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, other tongues, gift of the Holy Spirit, pour out
Review routing: Human theologian
This curriculum’s namesake doctrine. పరిశుద్ధాత్మ is locked and must never be rendered పరమాత్మ (the monistic Universal Self of Vedantic usage). The wind (2:2) and fire (2:3) theophany imagery carries a live secondary risk in Telugu folk-religious contexts where wind/breath phenomena are sometimes associated with impersonal nature-spirits; the surrounding clause must keep the personal Holy Spirit’s coming unambiguous.
Justification apart from the Law
Telugu name: ధర్మశాస్త్రము లేకుండా నీతిమంతులుగా తీర్చడం
Key terms: justification, law, grace, circumcision
Review routing: Human theologian
Direct anchor for the locked baseline Critical term నీతిమంతులుగా తీర్చడం. The Jerusalem Council’s climactic statement (15:11, ‘through grace we are saved’) is the theological center of the whole narrative and must retain full grace-not-law force, directly paralleling the baseline’s Romans 3-4 grace/works contrast rule. సున్నతి (circumcision) must be kept as the literal Mosaic rite under dispute, not abstracted.
Deity of Christ
Telugu name: క్రీస్తు దేవత్వం
Key terms: Lord and Christ, the Holy and Righteous One, right hand of God
Review routing: Human theologian
Doctrinally settled in Telugu church teaching; the residual task in this new curriculum context is precision, particularly at Peter’s climactic proclamation (2:36) and Stephen’s vision of Jesus standing at God’s right hand (7:55-56), which must retain co-equal divine standing, not a merely honored subordinate figure.
Sonship of Christ
Telugu name: క్రీస్తు కుమారత్వం
Key terms: son of God
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: eternal, unique Sonship affirmed immediately upon Saul’s conversion (9:20); must not read as a title of honor bestowed on an especially devoted human figure.
Resurrection of Christ
Telugu name: క్రీస్తు పునరుత్థానం
Key terms: raised, resurrection, from the dead
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: పునరుత్థానం locked; never పునర్జన్మ. Acts introduces a genuine internal disambiguation risk absent from Romans: the individual revivifications of Tabitha (9:36-41) and Eutychus (20:9-12) must use బ్రతికించెను instead, reserving పునరుత్థానం exclusively for Christ’s bodily resurrection and the future general resurrection, so the doctrine is not diluted through casual reuse of the same word for a different kind of event.
Lordship of Christ
Telugu name: క్రీస్తు ప్రభుత్వం
Key terms: lord, Lord Jesus, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved
Review routing: Human theologian
ప్రభువు is consistent across Telugu denominations. Acts 2:36 and 16:31 are headline salvation-confession verses that must be rendered with the same unqualified, exclusive force as the baseline’s Romans 10:9 rule; the household scope of 16:31 must be preserved without over- or under-reading an automatic-household-salvation doctrine into it.
Messianic Promise
Telugu name: మెస్సీయ వాగ్దానం
Key terms: messiah, christ, promised
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: మెస్సీయ/క్రీస్తు must never suggest one of several avatar-descents associated with Tirupati’s Venkateswara tradition, still a live cultural reference point in Telugu-speaking Andhra Pradesh despite the region’s long Christian history.
Salvation
Telugu name: రక్షణ
Key terms: salvation, saved, save
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: రక్షణ locked; never మోక్షం/ముక్తి. Acts introduces a genuine disambiguation risk absent from Romans: the shipwreck narrative (27:20-44) uses the same Greek root for ordinary physical rescue from drowning. This curriculum reserves రక్షణ exclusively for the soteriological sense and renders the nautical sense with ప్రాణరక్షణ, so overuse in a purely physical-rescue narrative does not dilute the doctrinal term’s precision.
High Risk Doctrines
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Telugu name: యూదులకును అన్యజనులకును సువార్త
Key terms: gentiles, no distinction, unclean/clean, God shows no partiality, light to the Gentiles
Review routing: Human theologian
Directly resonates with the historical experience of Telugu Christianity’s largest communities, descended from 19th-century mass movements among Dalit (Madiga and Mala) communities seeking exactly this equality; must not be softened. A distinct translation risk here is the ceremonial-purity vocabulary (అపవిత్రమైనది/శుద్ధమైనది) in Peter’s vision, which must be kept lexically separate from the locked holiness term పరిశుద్ధ (hagios) so the passage’s own overturning of ritual categories is not blurred with moral-relational holiness.
Repentance and Baptism
Telugu name: మారుమనస్సు మరియు బాప్తిస్మము
Key terms: repent, repentance, baptize, baptism, forgiveness of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
మారుమనస్సు must convey decisive turning, not mere పరితాపం (remorse), and must not be confused with Hindu ascetic renunciation categories. బాప్తిస్మము must not be presented as mechanically effecting forgiveness apart from repentance and faith — a live cross-denominational sensitivity between Telugu Baptist/Protestant sacramental minimalism and more sacramentally-oriented Catholic Telugu tradition; the ordering in 2:38 (repent -> baptize -> forgiveness) must be preserved exactly without interpretive glosses.
The Church as Community
Telugu name: సమాజముగా సంఘము
Key terms: church, fellowship, breaking of bread, all things in common, elders, overseers, deacon
Review routing: Human theologian
Upgraded to High per the same logic as the baseline Romans registry: Telugu Christianity’s multiple long-established denominations (Baptist, Lutheran, Anglican-descended, Catholic, independent) carry differing office-vocabulary for elders/overseers/deacons (పెద్దలు, కరుణాధికారులు, పాస్టర్లు, బిషప్పులు). This curriculum locks పెద్దలు, అధ్యక్షులు, and పరిచారకులు consistently; the risk is cross-lesson fragmentation, not syncretism.
Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Telugu name: అపొస్తలుల అధికారము మరియు అద్భుతములు
Key terms: signs and wonders, mighty works, laying on of hands, sorcery/magic, author of life
Review routing: Human theologian
Miracle vocabulary sits near a live cultural field of guru/godman miracle claims and temple-based miracle traditions common in Telugu-speaking Andhra Pradesh; must be rendered as authenticating acts of the one true God through his appointed messenger, clearly distinguished from counterfeit మాంత్రికవిద్య (Simon Magus, Acts 8; Elymas, Acts 13). Also requires the disambiguation discipline separating the doctrinal పునరుత్థానం from individual revivifications (బ్రతికించెను) of Tabitha and Eutychus.
Persecution and Bold Witness
Telugu name: హింస మరియు ధైర్యమైన సాక్ష్యము
Key terms: witness, boldness, persecution, stoning
Review routing: Human theologian
సాక్షి must retain its testimony-to-martyrdom weight established at Stephen’s death (ch.7) and reaffirmed at 22:20; ధైర్యము must convey Spirit-given courage under threat, not mere self-assurance (ఆత్మవిశ్వాసం). Relevant to some Telugu Christian communities’ own historical experience of social or familial pressure following conversion.
Conversion of Paul
Telugu name: పౌలు మార్పిడి
Key terms: chosen instrument, election, the Way, repentance
Review routing: Human theologian
The decisive, once-for-all reorientation from persecutor to apostle must be kept as a model of sovereign grace, not softened into gradual self-improvement. ఏర్పరచబడిన పాత్ర (chosen instrument, 9:15) ties directly to the locked baseline election term దేవుని ఏర్పాటు and must retain divine sovereign choice, not a self-selected role.
Davidic Covenant
Telugu name: దావీదు నిబంధన
Key terms: seed of David, David, covenant, throne
Review routing: Human theologian
Requires OT background explanation; no structural equivalent exists in regional devotional tradition, though నిబంధన itself is long-settled and uncontested across Telugu denominations. Peter’s and Paul’s argument that David died and remained buried, so his prophecy must point to another, is a key apostolic hermeneutical move that must be preserved precisely.
Grace
Telugu name: కృప
Key terms: grace, unmerited, saved through grace
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 15:11 (‘we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus’) is the doctrinal peak of the Jerusalem Council narrative and must retain unqualified grace-not-merit force. Telugu’s century-old hymnody carries strong grace vocabulary already, though care is still needed for readers whose extended families remain in Vaishnava/Shaiva devotional practice; also flag the disambiguation at 2:47, where కృప denotes ordinary relational favor with onlookers, not the doctrine itself.
Universal Scope of the Gospel
Telugu name: సువార్త యొక్క సార్వత్రికత
Key terms: all flesh, sons and daughters, everyone who calls, no distinction
Review routing: Human theologian
The Joel citation’s universal scope (‘all flesh,’ ‘sons and daughters,’ ‘young and old,’ ‘servants’) must not be softened or narrowed; this claim carries direct historical resonance for Telugu Christian communities descended from 19th-century mass movements among Dalit communities, mirroring the baseline’s own treatment of Romans 10:12-13.
Sanctification
Telugu name: పరిశుద్ధపరచడం
Key terms: sanctified, set apart
Review routing: Human theologian
పరిశుద్ధపరచడం locked; also the doctrine most directly touched by the పరిశుద్ధ/పవిత్ర denominational-vocabulary choice, which this curriculum holds consistently across every lesson.
Effectual Calling and Election
Telugu name: ఫలవంతమైన పిలుపు మరియు దేవుని ఏర్పాటు
Key terms: chosen instrument, appointed to eternal life, election
Review routing: Human theologian
దేవుని ఏర్పాటు denotes God’s sovereign, personal choice, not విధి (impersonal fatalism) or కర్మ (karma) — frameworks still active in surrounding regional culture even within long-Christian communities.
Providence
Telugu name: దేవుని పరిపాలన
Key terms: God’s plan, in him we live and move and have our being
Review routing: Human theologian
Paul’s Areopagus quotation of Greek poetry (17:28) is a genuine syncretism-adjacent risk in Telugu: readers steeped in Advaita-influenced popular religiosity could import a Vedantic-monist reading (God as the impersonal substance in which all things merely exist) rather than Paul’s own reframing toward a personal Creator distinct from creation. Must not be rendered with విధి or కర్మసిద్ధాంతం.
Confrontation with Paganism
Telugu name: అన్యమత దేవతలతో సువార్త ఎదురుదెబ్బ
Key terms: Zeus, Hermes, Artemis, unknown god, mistaken for a god
Review routing: Human theologian
Direct structural parallel to this Language Package’s own flagged Tirupati/Venkateswara and Kanaka-Durgamma-at-Vijayawada Shakta-tradition syncretism concerns: Lystra’s Zeus/Hermes mistaken identity, the Areopagus’s ‘unknown god,’ and Ephesus’s Artemis cult riot each require the gospel’s exclusive confrontation with a named local deity-tradition to be rendered sharply, not blended into a generic goddess-devotion critique. Also requires a translator note wherever θεός is applied to Paul himself (14:11; 28:6) clarifying this reflects the pagan crowd’s mistaken usage, not narrative endorsement.
Ceremonial Purity and Gospel Inclusion
Telugu name: ఆచార పవిత్రత మరియు సువార్త సమ్మేళనం
Key terms: unclean, clean, common
Review routing: Human theologian
The κοινός/ἀκάθαρτος word family (అపవిత్రమైనది/శుద్ధమైనది) must be kept lexically distinct from the locked holiness term పరిశుద్ధ (hagios) — a separate Greek word family that the passage is deliberately overturning to open Gentile table-fellowship; conflating the two would blur an important exegetical distinction the text itself makes.
Spiritual Authority and Conflict
Telugu name: ఆత్మీయ అధికారము మరియు సంఘర్షణ
Key terms: sorcery, Satan, authority of Satan, exorcism
Review routing: Human theologian
మాంత్రికవిద్య (sorcery) and సాతాను (Satan) vocabulary carries live cultural resonance with regional folk-magic and astrology practices. Satan’s usurped అధికారము (authority) must be kept distinct from God’s own దేవుని సామర్థ్యం (never శక్తి, per the baseline’s Shakta-collision rule), so as not to imply comparable power categories between the two.
The Way as Fulfilled Faith
Telugu name: మార్గము - నెరవేరిన విశ్వాసం
Key terms: the Way, sect, faction
Review routing: Human theologian
మార్గము must retain the definite article’s exclusivity (‘the Way,’ not ‘a way’), resisting a generic dharmic-path reading that would be a live syncretism risk in Telugu religious culture. Separately, వర్గము (sect/faction, 24:5,14) must never be rendered మతము (a wholly separate religion), preserving Paul’s own claim of continuity with, rather than departure from, biblical faith.
Inspiration of Scripture
Telugu name: పరిశుద్ధ గ్రంథ ప్రేరణ
Key terms: the Holy Spirit spoke through, scriptures
Review routing: Human theologian
Distinguish God-breathed Scripture, spoken through the Holy Spirit via David and the prophets, from devotional Telugu religious literature that is treasured but does not claim the status of God’s own spoken word.
Medium Risk Doctrines
The Great Commission Fulfilled
Telugu name: మహా ఆజ్ఞ నెరవేర్పు
Key terms: kingdom of God, witnesses to the ends of the earth, unhindered
Review routing: Native speaker review
Mission vocabulary carries markedly less colonial baggage in Telugu Christianity given its 19th-century indigenous mass-movement roots than in newer mission contexts. Residual risk is mainly tonal: preserving the book’s own deliberately open-ended, unresolved-yet-triumphant closing tone (28:31, ‘unhindered’) without smoothing it into false triumph or false defeat.
Faith
Telugu name: విశ్వాసం
Key terms: faith, believe
Review routing: Native speaker review
విశ్వాసం well-established in Telugu church tradition; residual risk mainly in distinguishing it from generic devotional భక్తి in first-generation-convert contexts.
Sainthood (Called to be Holy)
Telugu name: పరిశుద్ధులుగా పిలువబడటం
Key terms: saints, holy ones
Review routing: Native speaker review
All believers are పరిశుద్ధులు; not an ascetic elite (సాధువులు). Well established in Telugu church usage.
Spiritual Gifts
Telugu name: ఆత్మీయ వరములు
Key terms: prophesy, spiritual gift
Review routing: Native speaker review
ఆత్మీయ వరములు must be kept distinct from పరిశుద్ధాత్మ వరము (the gift of the Spirit himself, Critical); not merit-earned powers or a generic deity’s boon.
Divine Calling
Telugu name: దేవుని పిలుపు
Key terms: called, calling, set apart
Review routing: Native speaker review
God’s initiating, sovereign call is well understood in Telugu church tradition; residual risk is mainly keeping the noun/participle distinction (పిలుపు/పిలువబడిన) consistent across lessons.
Apostleship
Telugu name: అపొస్తలత్వం
Key terms: apostle
Review routing: Native speaker review
Low syncretism risk given established usage; residual risk is collapsing apostleship into a generic గురువు (guru/teacher) role.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Telugu name: ప్రవచన నెరవేర్పు
Key terms: prophecy, foretold, scriptures say
Review routing: Native speaker review
Linear, one-time historical fulfillment; established in Telugu Bible teaching tradition with comparatively low syncretism risk.
Low Risk Doctrines
Christian Fellowship
Telugu name: క్రైస్తవ సహవాసం
Key terms: fellowship, breaking of bread, all things in common
Review routing: Automated review
సహవాసం, shared participation in Christ. ‘All things in common’ describes a historically-specific voluntary sharing, not a normative communism; avoid over-systematizing in translator notes.
Thanksgiving
Telugu name: కృతజ్ఞతాస్తుతి
Key terms: give thanks, thank God
Review routing: Automated review
Standard term; minor risk of over-ritualization.
Mutual Edification
Telugu name: పరస్పర క్షేమాభివృద్ధి
Key terms: exhort, encourage, strengthen
Review routing: Automated review
Building one another up in faith; no significant doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages