# Theological framework / historical scope

*The sacred/historical equivalent of BRIEF.md. Establishes the project's theological or historical posture, its intended audience, its relationship to tradition, and the boundaries of what it will and won't do.*

## Vision

{{VISION}}

## Purpose of this work

{{PURPOSE}}
*(Devotional edification, scholarly exegesis, pastoral teaching, critical edition, translation, new commentary, liturgical resource, historical reconstruction.)*

## Intended audience

{{AUDIENCE}}
*(Scholarly, lay faithful, seekers, interfaith, academic, students, specific community.)*

## Tradition and stance

### Primary tradition
{{TRADITION}}

### Denominational/school alignment
{{ALIGNMENT}}

### Posture toward tradition
{{POSTURE}}
*(Confessional -- working from within the tradition as a believer; descriptive -- presenting the tradition without endorsement; comparative -- placing this tradition alongside others; critical -- examining the tradition with scholarly distance.)*

### Relationship to canonical sources
{{CANONICAL_RELATIONSHIP}}
*(Commentary on existing canon, original scripture, historical account of a tradition, new devotional material using canonical references.)*

## Theological framework

### Core doctrines to affirm
{{CORE_DOCTRINES}}

### Doctrines that are contested or open
{{OPEN_DOCTRINES}}

### Doctrines to engage critically
{{CRITICAL_DOCTRINES}}

### Doctrines explicitly outside scope
{{OUT_OF_SCOPE}}

## Interpretive framework

### Hermeneutical approach
{{HERMENEUTICS}}
*(Literal, allegorical, typological, historical-critical, reader-response, canonical, narrative, devotional.)*

### Methodology
{{METHODOLOGY}}
*(How the writer will work with sources, handle disputed passages, present multiple interpretations.)*

### Language posture
{{LANGUAGE_POSTURE}}
*(Formal equivalence, dynamic equivalence, paraphrase, original language preservation, transliteration preferences.)*

## Historical scope

### Time period covered
{{PERIOD}}

### Geographic scope
{{GEOGRAPHY}}

### Sources used
{{SOURCES}}
*(Canonical texts, non-canonical texts, oral traditions, archaeological evidence, secondary scholarship.)*

### Source hierarchy
{{SOURCE_HIERARCHY}}
*(When sources conflict, which takes priority.)*

## Boundaries

### What this work will do
{{WILL_DO}}

### What this work will NOT do
{{WILL_NOT_DO}}

### Sensitivity considerations
{{SENSITIVITY}}
*(How disputes, heresies, interfaith topics, and traditionally sensitive subjects will be handled.)*

## Success criteria

{{SUCCESS}}
*(What does a successful version of this work look like? Both craft-wise and in terms of impact on the intended audience.)*

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*This file replaces BRIEF.md for sacred and historical work types. It establishes the posture from which every drafted unit proceeds.*