Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "关于称义教义的联合声明" in Chinese language version.
To put it mildly, confusion and not clarity reigns. The biblical Lutheran teaching of “forensic” justification maintains that the only effective cause of our forgiveness is a verdict of God that takes place outside of ourselves. We are declared “not guilty” entirely on the basis of what Christ has done for us. Catholic teaching on justification makes a change within man part of the cause of our forgiveness. The Joint Declaration does not represent a change in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It does nothing to repudiate Rome’s historic position on the doctrine. The Joint Declaration is nothing more than an ambiguous statement, carefully worded to make it possible for the Pope’s representatives to sign it without changing, retracting, or correcting anything that has been taught by the Roman Catholic Church since the time of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. The Joint Declaration is a compromise. It masquerades as a significant change which brings Roman Catholicism in line with confessional Lutheranism on the teaching of justification. In fact, it is a deception that presents the appearance of agreement without any real substance that would make agreement possible. It is a thinly veiled attempt on the part of ecumenicism to embrace Catholicism. In the final analysis it appears that Rome has moved closer to reattaching what was lost in the sixteenth century without any substantive change in its doctrinal position.
To put it mildly, confusion and not clarity reigns. The biblical Lutheran teaching of “forensic” justification maintains that the only effective cause of our forgiveness is a verdict of God that takes place outside of ourselves. We are declared “not guilty” entirely on the basis of what Christ has done for us. Catholic teaching on justification makes a change within man part of the cause of our forgiveness. The Joint Declaration does not represent a change in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It does nothing to repudiate Rome’s historic position on the doctrine. The Joint Declaration is nothing more than an ambiguous statement, carefully worded to make it possible for the Pope’s representatives to sign it without changing, retracting, or correcting anything that has been taught by the Roman Catholic Church since the time of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. The Joint Declaration is a compromise. It masquerades as a significant change which brings Roman Catholicism in line with confessional Lutheranism on the teaching of justification. In fact, it is a deception that presents the appearance of agreement without any real substance that would make agreement possible. It is a thinly veiled attempt on the part of ecumenicism to embrace Catholicism. In the final analysis it appears that Rome has moved closer to reattaching what was lost in the sixteenth century without any substantive change in its doctrinal position.
