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칼빈과 가난의 문제 -칼빈의 기독교 사회복지정책 KCI 등재
Calvin and His Theological Perspective on Poverty -Theoretical Basics of His Social Welfare Policy
This paper explores the function and the role of poverty in the theology of John Calvin. In recent years, Calvin scholarship has been concerned to the ministry of the Genevan Church to social welfare policy, especially the poor. The writer tries to reveal peculiarity of Calvin’s system with respect to social welfare, examining numerous studies on his social and economic ethics. This study demonstrates that Calvin’s theology of poverty undercuts merit piety of medieval Roman Catholic Church, and that he relates the issue of poverty to his Christology, the nature of the Christian life, and the Church.
This study proceeds as follows. The introduction discusses the concept of the Church Fathers and understanding of medieval church on poverty. The second chapter describes Genevan context of the sixteenth century in regard to civil relief system. This chapter shows that before Calvin comes to Geneva, there has been social care system developed by Genevan citizens. The chapter sketches an historical context for Calvin’s theological view on poverty. This fact plays an important role in reconstruction of social welfare institutions by Calvin. He endeavors to reform relief system of the poor in coordination of the ecclesiastical system and civil magistrates. Chapter three will be divided into three parts. First part examines Calvin’s theology of the poverty in his writings and sermons. Calvin interprets multifariously the poverty of Christ and its significance for the Christian life and the church, investigating theological meanings of physical and spiritual poverty. Second part examines the right use of wealth, showing that Calvin is essentially primer among the Reformation theologians to wrestle with the interrelation of secular economic development and the material and moral welfare of the individual. Third part argues the relationship between the ecclesiastical system and civil system in Calvin’s social welfare. This part demonstrates that for Calvin, coterminous interaction between the church and civil government on charitable work was unique. Conclusion part says several remarks of Calvin’s theology of poverty.
