12. 칼빈주의 신학-칼빈의 경제 윤리(Calvin's economic ethics)

Title : Calvin's economic ethics 1. Introduction John Calvin, the person who completed the Reformation, was a great theologian who not only consistently taught the lordship of Christ in all areas of human life, but also testified throughout his life. His influence was significant not only within Christianity in terms of church history, but also throughout the politics, economy, and culture of Western European society, so it has great significance in human cultural history. He not only fought for the restoration of true gospel faith, but also taught this gospel faith by applying it practically to all areas of human life and tried to embody it through his life. His efforts to achieve social and political reform as well as reform of the Geneva church can be said to be a concrete realization of his theology. Calvin's theology has theistic characteristics, and these theistic characteristics are also evident in his economic thoughts. First, Calvin's economic ethics can be properly understood within the background of his theological theology, and in particular, it is based on soteriology as a part of the life principles of saved Christians. Second, his economic ethics are based on the ideology of the organic solidarity of the human community and the law of love of the Christian community. Third, Max Weber's argument about Calvin's influence on the development of capitalism is unreasonable, but its relationship cannot be denied. Today, we will first look at the teachings that serve as the theological background for Calvin's economic ethics, then present Calvin's views on various topics related to economic life, and finally, Calvin's influence on capitalism in relation to Max Weber's thesis. 2. The theological background of Calvin’s economic ethics Calvin's theology is theocentrical, and theocentrism is a perspective and attitude that acknowledges that God is the root and center of everything. Calvin's theocentrism shows that his economic view has a fundamentally different starting point and purpose from secular economics. If secular economics is simply a study aimed at profit, Calvin's view of economics is a study aimed at service, and at its center is the fundamental and noble commandment of love for God and love for neighbors. In addition, Calvin's economic ethics have their true meaning within the large theological framework of creation, fall, and redemption. In other words, human economic activities are based on a stewardship mission before God, which is to carry out God's creation command related to the material world. However, the fall of humans, the performers of that mission, led to economic imbalance and injustice that obscured the glory of God and exploited neighbors for their own greed. Therefore, Calvin deals with his economic ethics in the background of his soteriology. In short, he presents biblical principles that Christians should follow in economic life. ⑴ Economic activities as fulfillment of cultural commandment As the Creator, God has absolute sovereignty in all areas of human life. Humans were commanded by God, the Lord of all, to rule over His creatures (Genesis 1:28). We take this command to develop all potential in the created world and call it the cultural imperative. And the meaning of all activities in human history is the fulfillment of this command, and the purpose of carrying out the cultural command is solely for the glory of God. In this context, human economic activity can be said to be an act of governing material-related areas according to the order of creation. In other words, economic activity means carrying out the mission of taking charge of God's belongings and managing them, and carrying out responsibility and duty before God. However, people who, according to their corrupt nature, are greedy and monopolize and accumulate all good things and exploit others only for their own benefit, need to first be saved from their corrupt nature and greed. Since people's relationship with God is restored in Christ, the restoration of God's image (Imago Dei) in humans must take precedence over anything else in this world. ⑵ Soteriological foundation Calvin treats his economic ethics in relation to soteriology. In Chapter 10 of Volume 3 of Institutes of the Christian Religion, he deals with how we should properly use all the good things in this world, such as wealth. However, it is noteworthy that this part is dealt with in the context of the life of a regenerated Christian. In Chapter 6, he said that the characteristics of the Christian life are self-denial and carrying the cross, as well as the life of a pilgrim heading home. And in Chapter 10, he deals with how we should use the things of this world and how we should use them to benefit the afterlife. In his Institutes of Christian religion, Calvin says that everything, including worldly wealth, has meaning when it helps Christians on their way to heaven. Therefore, the life of a Christian gains meaning in the process of achieving salvation. In 『Institutes of the Christian Religion』 Volume 3, Chapter 6, Verse 1, Calvin said, “The purpose of regeneration is to achieve harmony and unity between God’s righteousness and obedience in the lives of believers. And it is to make it clear that believers have become adopted children of God the Father.“ In other words, a born again Christian who has become God's adopted son must obey God's righteousness in all areas of his life and ensure his adoption through his life. In that sense, the life of a born-again Christian must be lived in the economic realm, and it also has meaning as preparation for the afterlife. Christians with this attitude of faith must live a life of responsibility that faithfully follows the principles of the Bible without making economics itself their goal. ⑶ Organic unity of the Christian community Economic views are always closely related to social views. The same goes for Calvin. Due to human sin, inequality and evil have infiltrated the world, and human greed has corrupted the order of creation originally created by God. However, God did not leave the corrupted world in its current state, but restored the original universe and nature in Jesus Christ and opened up new possibilities for unity in the church of Christ. The fellowship of saints is a word that well expresses what the church is. The church is a society of Christ where believers gather to share God's blessings. In other words, human society, broken by the fall of man, was partially restored within the church. Therefore, in the society of Christ, relationships that treat each other equally and fairly must be established based on brotherly love. For Calvin, in principle, an ideal society can be said to be a society where everyone is equal and just. For Calvin, equality does not mean ignoring the abilities, roles, and differences of individuals. First, he says that differences in individual abilities and qualities are not for ignoring or comparing each other, but for service to society. In other words, Calvin says, those with more ability are meant to serve those with less ability, those with greater responsibilities are meant to handle greater duties, and those in higher positions are meant to love more. Second, Calvin's idea of equality is not a laissez-faire idea of equality that ignores social order. He acknowledged the hierarchical power structure of current society and simply urged Christians to be merciful and respect one another. He said that the church should not use Christian freedom to suppress or overthrow the power order of the current society. The church simply taught that mercy and mutual love should always be encouraged in such hierarchical human relationships. Calvin said that no legal social structure in this world is absolute. Everything was seen as a temporary system that would ultimately be replaced by a new community established by Christ. This means that the church, which confesses Christ as Lord, must always secure the authority and freedom to proclaim the Word of God to this sinful society. The church is an organic community united as one body with Christ as the head. Therefore, we cannot think of Christians existing alone, but as members of a community, we must respect each other, love each other, and grow together. The church is a community that reflects, however imperfectly, the inherent brotherhood of humanity. The basic core of Calvin's social and economic thought is that, in the context of this communal unity of society, sharing and distribution of materials should be carried out on the principles of love and justice. 3. Calvin’s economic ethics ⑴ Regarding ownership and consumption of property Calvin's attitude toward wealth is fundamentally theistic. He says that not only everything in heaven but also everything in this world belongs to the Lord, so fundamentally, all wealth has been entrusted to us by God. Therefore, our efforts for material prosperity are also our due duty for the glory of God. And it must be done according to the commandment of love. He presented three conditions that must be observed when pursuing wealth. First, you must not pursue wealth with all your heart, but you must be able to be satisfied with little, and you must be able to dedicate all the wealth you have already acquired to God. Second, one must work honestly for one's daily bread and abandon all evil. Third, those who have little must be thankful to God and be satisfied with the food and little they have been given. These three conditions are an attitude that can transcend wealth without being tied to it. Wealth itself can never be the purpose of life, and whether it is a lot or a little, it must be enjoyed with gratitude to God. Calvin said that one of the misunderstandings that has always existed from the past to the present is the idea that prosperity is God's blessing and poverty and misfortune are God's punishment. However, contrary to these worldly ideas, he taught that both wealth and poverty should be opportunities to testify our faith. To him, the true purpose of financial prosperity is to use that wealth for the community. Poverty is also an opportunity to practice our faith. The central theme of Calvin's economic ethics is that the blessings given by God are to be shared for the entire community. It is the practice of the commandment of love, which becomes the norm for all economic life, and is based on the social relationship of the organic unity of the community of Christ. He emphasized charity and thought of the poor as God's ambassadors to test our faith and faith. Ultimately, the community of Christ is united by love for one another and bound together as one body, so the distribution of material should be done equally within such a community. However, teachings like this do not mean communism. As a Christian, he simply taught and practiced the consideration for the poor, orphans, widows, and strangers shown in the Bible. ① Ownership of propertyCalvin also recognizes private property in the ownership of property. In Chapter 2 of Acts, he says of the common ownership of wealth in the early church that “it was only a temporary measure to relieve the poor of Jerusalem at the time and was not presented as a model for Christian economic theory.” And he opposed, in principle, the extreme claims of the Anabaptists, who argued that the wealth of the Christian community should be shared. “Maintaining peace among people is essential if ownership of private property is to be clear and personal,” he said. In other words, Calvin clearly acknowledged that private property was private property, but taught that it should be used for the public good of society. And he cited 1 Corinthians 7:30-31, emphasizing that all human possessions are given by God's grace and that they are temporary and relative. ② Consumption of wealthCalvin says that people's attitude toward wealth determines how they should spend it. He has a theistic attitude that the purpose of consumption is to turn our hearts toward God and acknowledge Him when using all things. The starting point of consumption is God, and the purpose is also God. So, in Chapter 10 of Volume 3 of Institutes of Christian religion, he said to think of the good things in this life as gifts from God and to enjoy them. He kept both asceticism and self-indulgence in check and taught believers to consume without any hesitation in conscience  before God. He also forbids excessive indulgence in the things of this world. The purpose of the things of this world was to help us enjoy God, but we need self-control because it is easy for us to become absorbed in the things of this world according to the desires of our flesh and become obstacles to God's will. Because God has placed limits on our hearts, excessive greed, waste, vanity, luxury, etc. offend our conscience. Therefore, consumption is an area of freedom that each person must do with a clear conscience before God. However, we must know that the freedom taught in the Bible is not self-indulgence. Calvin presented three biblical guidelines for proper consumption. First, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 “What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;  those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.  ” Second, endure poverty quietly and self-control wealth. This means, like Apostle Paul, that we should refrain from excessive material desires and learn to be satisfied at any time, whether we are rich or poor. Those who live before God must abandon excessive obsession with wealth and live by controlling their obsession (Philippians 4:12). Third, we must use the materials God has given us responsibly. God will account for everything he has given us, so God's people must live with a stewardship mission. One day we will have to settle accounts with God and then He will hold us accountable. ⑵ About labor and occupation Calvin teaches that no matter how humble the work that God has entrusted to us may seem, if we treat it as a calling and perform it diligently, we will shine before God and be recognized as very precious. Moreover, the medieval Roman Church's separation of the sacred and secular taught labor as a secular duty unrelated to religious life. But Calvin went against that and gave dignity and value to labor and occupation by recognizing all work as participation in God's work. Calvin sees labor as a divine gift from God along with all other good things. He condemned beggars and idlers, saying that not working was against the word of God, and harshly criticized the tyranny of monasteries. Because he believed that all occupations were noble, he valued any job that contributed to the public good of society. He believed that the nobility of a job depends on how much benefit it brings to human society. Calvin's most innovative contribution is that he opposed the Roman Church's dichotomous ethical view of separation of sanctity and secularity and taught the social sphere of human life as service to God. Venter summarizes Calvin's views on his profession in five points. First, the Christian life is not characterized by external rituals. Against Roman Catholic sacred and secular dualism Second, the separation of sacred and secular goes against the word of God. Third, everything must be done with the heart of serving God. Fourth, a Christian's perfection is achieved within his vocation, not outside of it. Fifth, the uniqueness of a Christian is the divine origin of the calling (vocation) given to him according to God's plan and his awareness of the Word of God. If all jobs are truly for society, then it can be said that viewing the job as God's calling is a theistic view of work. The impact of ideas like this on secular society is significant. First, the nobility of work leads to deeper dedication of workers and improves the productive capacity of labor. Second, life in the world can unfold more abundantly. Third, because labor is not simply for receiving wages but is loyalty to God, one develops an attitude of service toward one's job. From this perspective, it can be seen that Calvin's neo-fundamental labor ethics could have been a factor in the development of Western capitalism, even if it was not interpreted in the way Weber interpreted. ⑶ Regarding commerce and interest Calvin, contrary to the general trend of his time, respected commerce and allowed the legal collection of interest. Perhaps this is the part that had the most direct influence on the development of capitalism among the many aspects of his economic ethics. He also approached the economic activities of consumption and production as well as the process of distribution from a capitalist perspective, presenting a harmonious and progressive ethical view in all aspects of economic activity. Theologians of the Middle Ages considered commerce and industry to be lowly and agriculture to be noble as a natural occupation. Other major religious reformers, such as Luther during the Reformation, also had little respect for merchants and criticized them for promoting luxury, raising the cost of living, and deepening the gap between the rich and the poor. However, Calvin believed that commerce, like agriculture, was inherently beneficial to society. He believed that commerce was intended to convey the abundance of God and to communicate with one another. He and he recognized the merchants' profits as a legitimate reward for their efforts. However, when the merchants abandoned the purpose given to them by God and took advantage of selling goods, Calvin condemned them as murderers because their actions blocked the distribution of goods necessary for people's lives. Calvin said that the most important virtues in commerce are honesty and trust. These are virtues that are emphasized in modern economics today, and they can only be firmly established on the foundation of Christian soteriology. Calvin was the first theologian to clearly identify the providential role that trade and commerce play in the preservation of humanity. Calvin's teachings lifted the medieval oppression that despised commerce and opened the door for the development of commerce. And he made it possible to achieve economic development by raising the function of distribution to a level equivalent to production. Also Calvin's revolutionary economic teaching was his tolerance of interest. Calvin first discovered in the Bible that the pursuit of profit is a realistic aspect of humanity. For this reason, it was believed that although the Bible prohibits usury, it does not prohibit reasonable forms of interest lending, such as industrial loans. However, because Calvin was always aware of humanity being polluted by sin, he realized the need to control the possibility of abuse of the interest system. So he suggests some rules. First, investing money that should be used to help people in poverty in pursuing profit is an act of greed. Second, even if the law allows it, it is biblically illegal to collect interest from the poor. In particular, it is added that if the borrower does not earn an amount equivalent to the interest through the loan, he or she should not receive interest. Third, charging interest in excess of the fair rate is subject to criticism. Calvin's rules show that his economic ethics are based on the biblical commandments of love and justice. At a time when no one was defending the practice of lending money at interest, it was Calvin who, as a theologian, overthrew medieval theological views through systematic study of the Bible and the morality of accepting interest at the time.  It can be said to be a great contribution. Calvin's interest loan principle not only became an economic turning point, but also deserves to be eval‎uated as a revolution in the history of theology. 4. Calvin’s economic ethics and capitalism ⑴ Weber’s argument Max Weber's “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of capitalism, 1904-1905” gave rise to lively debates about the impact of the Reformation on the development of modern society, especially Weber's thesis and Puritan Calvinism. 's claim that 'Worldly Asceticism ethics' became a factor in shaping the spirit of modern Western capitalism gave rise to pros and cons from many scholars. Weber said that strict Protestant ethics were the main reason for forming the spirit of capitalism. He believed that Protestants believed that economic acquisition itself was a purpose and duty, and that they strictly avoided all worldly pleasures and only saved frugally, returning all their wealth back to business and using it to acquire more wealth. This unnatural and irrational characteristic. It is said that this comes from religious motivation. And Weber argued that the new religious teachings on vocation introduced by Luther and later developed by other Protestants advanced asceticism within this world. He said that it was Calvinism that developed this asceticism into its strictest form, and that the reason was Calvinists' emphasis on predestination. He explains that predestination creates an unprecedented sense of loneliness within the individual because it teaches that everyone is going to meet his fate alone and that no one can help him gain God's favor. Therefore, Calvinists believed that the only way to confirm‎ that one was under God's grace was to perform one's calling ascetically in one's daily life to the best of one's ability. The final part of Weber's book deals with how, over time, the religious support for capitalism became unnecessary and it became completely secular. According to him, after asceticism changed the world and achieved its ideals in this world, material wealth gradually increased and eventually came to dominate human life with an unprecedented and irresistible power throughout history. Today, it is said, the spirit of religious asceticism has escaped its cage without anyone knowing, and capitalism has established itself on its own mechanical foundation and no longer needs the help of religious ethics. Weber explains that now the religious meaning of the pursuit of wealth has disappeared and has been transformed into the ethics of the secular middle class and taken root in society. ⑵ Calvin’s criticism of Weber’s argument from the perspective of economic ethics Bieler assesses that Weber made a big mistake in confusing Calvin's teachings with the Calvinism of the later Puritans, and argues that Calvin's teachings do not fit Weber's thesis. First, it is true that predestination played an important role in 18th century Calvinism, but as Weber mentioned, it does not occupy a dominant position in Calvin's theology. Calvin developed the doctrine of predestination only in his later years, and he did so only as a rebuttal to attacks against him. And what is even more important is Calvin's attitude toward predestination. He never presented this doctrine as a dark and inhumane doctrine that causes our inner loneliness and anxiety as Weber interpreted it. Rather, Calvin thought that this doctrine was a doctrine of comfort and a useful doctrine that emphasized God's mercy and love. Weber said that through this doctrine, believers develop a sense of loneliness in their hearts, but when we look at Calvin's ecclesiology, we see that God gave the church as an external means to call saints to his grace, and that in this church, saints can be brought together through the fellowship of the Word and Sacraments. They are taught that they will be helped to remain in His grace. Besides this doctrine, Calvin's attitude toward labor does not completely fit Weber's argument. He praised the virtue of labor as much as possible and considered it a place for sanctification, so it was Puritan Calvinism that fueled asceticism, and Calvin himself never gave any meritorious value to this asceticism. Calvin respected both individual and social rights and strived to strike a balance between the two. This is what makes it different from capitalist ideology, which is entirely based on individualism. In conclusion, Calvin's economic ethics itself has some parts that fit Weber's spirit of capitalism and some parts that do not. On the one hand, he had economic ideas that were ahead of his time, and his views on interest and commerce may have provided an opportunity to spur the development of capitalism. He also, along with other reformers, opposed Roman Catholicism's dualistic ethics of between holiness and secularism and placed sacred value on all secular labor. However, on the other hand, his interest in social welfare and emphasis on the public interest of the entire society can be seen as closer to Christian socialism. In short, Calvin simply tried to present biblical teachings to better fulfill the cultural mission of economic life before God, and he himself simply tried to live a godly life before God. If he had any influence on the development of capitalism, given the content of his economic teachings, it is clear that this was never his intention, and it must be considered a historical irony. 5. Conclusion Calvin's economic ethics are not only thoroughly theistic in all areas of production, distribution, and consumption, but are also based on soteriology. Under the concept of the organic unity of the Christian community, he emphasized the concept of sharing material goods and serving vocations with the principles of love and equality. In this way, his economic ethics can be seen as having a positive impact on the development of capitalism. This fact becomes clearer when comparing the traditional theology of Luther and the economic ethics of the Anabaptists with communist tendencies. However, Weber's thesis that asceticism in this world formed the center of the spirit of capitalism through the connection between predestination and calling cannot be considered a correct explanation from the perspective of Calvin's theology. As a saved person, Calvin taught and practiced economic ethics based on the Word of God. Christians must remember that God will count our lives and show the world that they are diligent and diligent in their work. Following the actions of Calvin, a constructive revolutionary who had a great influence on the economic life of Genevan society during the Reformation with the gospel, Christians today must become living Christians who concretely realize the gospel faith in their lives.