Contents
Preface vii
Affirmations and Admonitions: Lutheran and Reformed 1
Gabriel Fackre
The Significance of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and the Next Steps in Ecumenical Dialogue 27
Margaret O'Gara
Continuing the Conversation: Deeper Agreement on Justification as Criterion and on the Christian
as simul iustus et peccator 42
Michael Root
The Divinity of God: A Curse for Us 62
Michael E. Tassler
Fides Christo Formata: Luther, Barth, and the Joint Declaration 69 George Hunsinger
Social Gospels: Justification, Social Salvation,
and Modem Theology 85
Gary J. Dorrien
The Augustinian Imperfection: Faith, Christ, and Imputation
and Its Role in the Ecumenical Discussion of Justification 104
Steven D. Paulson
Justification and the Unity of the Church 125
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J.
Justification — Learning Its Meaning Amidst the Religions 141
Paul Varo Martinson
The Alchemy of Grace 160
Caroline ]. Simon
The Doctrine of Justification and the Cure of Souls 166
Katherine Sonderegger
Contributors 181

On 31 October 1999, exactly 482 years after Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenberg, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed a his­toric joint declaration on the doctrine of justification. Recent agreements between Lutheran, Reformed, and Episcopal churches have expressed similar commit­ments. But what do these agreements mean for churches today? Persuaded that the doctrine of justification is also gospel — the good news of life in Christ — the contributors to The Gospel of Justification in Christ, from both Catholic and Protestant traditions, explore this cru­cial doctrine, addressing such topics as the unity of the church, justification’s relation to social justice, and its significance for interfaith dialogue.