Reply #72: I guess Martin Luther was a Fundie,

[TPaine7]

as was the apostle Paul and the translators of the Bible, King James as well as New King James. To Martin Luther, as well as many Protestants, the terms have very large overlap. Apparently it did to the translators of the KJV as well, long before modern American Fundamentalists came into existence. And the Bible was obviously in on the Fundamentalist plot, too. Good thing your church protected you.

Yes, theologically, "justification" means the act of declaring or making just or righteous, or the act of forgiving. I wouldn't expect precise harmonization with secular use. But you've already shown that the words are synonyms in normal language.

The people who use the term righteous shoot primarily mean legally justified, I agree, but to many of them it has serious religious connotations too. (Lots of folks think law is founded in religious principles, and not all of them are Fundamentalists. If you've ever seen our Supreme Court, you probably noticed the carved figures of ancient lawgivers, including religious ones like Moses. Who knew--the architects were fundies too.)

"Excuse"

Justification in law means to show a satisfactory reason or excuse for something done.

Self defense is a right. "It was self-defense, your honor" is a "reason" for one's actions. Naturally you prefer "excuse" as that carries strong implications of guilt and inadequacy. (From your source):

Excuse

–noun
8. an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation, promise, etc.: His excuse for being late was unacceptable.
9. a ground or reason for excusing or being excused: Ignorance is no excuse.
10. the act of excusing someone or something.
11. a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.
12. an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel.

Given a choice between reason and excuse, you chose according to your beliefs.