* Global in perspective, Lutheran in focus * Accessible to a broad audience

This volume presents in English the official Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, confirmed by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church in Augsburg, Germany, in October 1999. The result of decades of Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue, this primary document represents an ecumenical event of historical significance. Included in the volume are the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and the Official Common Statement with its Annex. These texts are recommended for careful study in seminaries and parishes and for reading by individual Christians. It is hoped that the Joint Declaration will deepen understanding of the biblical message of justification and also serve to further reflection within the wider ecumenical movement.

Burnt-out believers and spiritual secularists have given up any hope that an engaging and meaningful spirituality can be found in a single Christian denomination. So rather than attending worship at a local church, they attend to their spiritual needs elsewhere. Instead of being fed by a single denomination, they feast upon a smorgasbord of spiritual beliefs. And while these disaffected believers have not rejected the existence of God or the need for meaningful spirituality, they have strongly rejected whatever it is they think the church today has to offer.

"Quick, usable, comprehensive, concise"--Cover.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America professes to be a public church constituted by God for its public vocation. Moe-Lobeda explores what it means for the ELCA to play a role in public life today. Sections focus on what it means to be a public church, obstacles to being a public church in public life, power for being public church, and providing public leadership. For the followers of Jesus, the ''way of living'' in public is a gift of God to the church. It is costly and dangerous, but yet gives life abundant, now and forever.

As societies live with diversity and yet struggle with both social fragmentation and increasing economic inequalities, populism is once again rising. Populist ethno-nationalist discourse seeks to ignite fear and hate, promote marginalization and exclusion of those who are regarded as not belonging to "the people". What is the role and responsibility of theology and the churches in the midst of these developments? Church leaders and teaching theologians from eighteen different countries offer analyses, trace emerging global trends and outline some country-specific developing situations. Examples are given of how churches take up the challenge to resist exclusion and advocate for strengthening participatory processes and people's agency. Widerstand gegen Ausgrenzung. Globale theologische Antworten auf den Populismus In Zeiten, in denen Gesellschaften mit der Vielfalt leben und dennoch mit sozialer Fragmentierung und zunehmenden wirtschaftlichen Ungleichheiten zu kämpfen haben, nimmt der Populismus wieder zu. Der populistische ethno-nationalistische Diskurs zielt darauf ab, Angst und Hass zu schüren und die Marginalisierung und Ausgrenzung derjenigen zu fördern, die als nicht zum "Volk" gehörend betrachtet werden. Welche Rolle und Verantwortung haben die Theologie und die Kirchen angesichts dieser Entwicklungen? Kirchenleitende und Theologen aus achtzehn verschiedenen Ländern erstellen Analysen, verfolgen neue globale Tendenzen und beschreiben einige länderspezifische Entwicklungssituationen. Anhand von Beispielen wird gezeigt, wie Kirchen die Herausforderung annehmen, der Ausgrenzung zu widerstehen und sich für die Stärkung von partizipativen Prozessen und der Handlungskompetenz der Menschen einzusetzen.