마르틴 루터의 신학과 사회복지

Abstract

The korean protestant church has a growing interest in social welfare nowadays. Meanwhile she has concentrated on the salvation of soul and the church-growth. As a result, she experienced a unprecedented development in church history. But at the same time it has caused a problem with the lose of the responsibility of the church for the society. In theological perspective, the loss or the weakening of the consciousness of the responsibility of the protestant church has been ascribed to a strong association with the teachings of Martin Luther, especially his theory of Justification (Rechtfertigungslehre). He is assumed to totally stress ‘the salvation by the faith alone' and neglect the ethical practice of the protestant christians. But I think this is a one-sided interpretation of M. Luther's real intention of the theory of Justification without taking the historical context of Reformation and the whole theological thinking of M. Luther into consideration.In chapter II, I will explore the ethical connotation contained in M. Luther's key theological conceptions such as 'Justification, 'Freedom of Christian', 'Law and Gospel', and 'Theory of Two Kingdoms'. In chapter III, it will be revealed how M. Luther tried to put his theological thinking into practice in terms of social welfare. In conclusion, I will call attention to the importance of the protestant church's participation in social welfare.