Christianity and Economics

Definition and Meaning

Christianity and economics is a field of Christian ethics that seeks to understand economic life, including wealth, labor, property, and distribution, through the lens of faith. It has three principal themes. The first is the idea that God is the owner of the world and that human beings are stewards who manage the wealth entrusted to them. The second is vocation, the view that work is a calling from God. The third is almsgiving, or helping neighbors in need.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Old Testament portrays labor as part of the created order (Genesis 2:15). It also institutionalized sharing through the Jubilee, in which land was returned to its original owners every fifty years (Leviticus 25:8–12), and through the tithe. In the New Testament, Jesus taught that one cannot serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). The early church in Jerusalem shared its possessions to meet one another's needs (Acts 2:44–45). First Timothy warns that "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10).

The medieval church long prohibited the taking of interest. During the Reformation, John Calvin is known to have moved toward permitting limited interest. John Wesley is famous for his sermon urging believers to "gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can." The Social Gospel movement, which arose in the United States in the late nineteenth century, called for the reform of economic structures. The Catholic Church developed its social teaching on labor and distribution following Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.

Practice in the Korean Church

During Korea's period of industrialization, the teaching that faith leads to material blessing spread widely in the Korean church. The Full Gospel movement led by David Yonggi Cho emphasized the "threefold blessing" of a prospering soul, prosperity in all things, and good health, based on 3 John 1:2. Supporters credit this message with offering hope in a time of poverty. Critics regard it as prosperity theology and argue that it turns faith into a means to success. In the 2000s, a debate arose between the cheongbu (淸富, "clean wealth") position, which affirms honestly earned wealth, and the cheongbin (淸貧, "honest poverty") position, which emphasizes voluntary poverty.

Emphases differ by denomination and theological tradition:

• Presbyterian churches in the Reformed tradition generally emphasize vocation and stewardship.
• Methodist churches, following the Wesleyan tradition, have emphasized sharing and social responsibility.
• Progressive churches belonging to the National Council of Churches in Korea have spoken out on structural issues such as labor rights and economic justice.

Other economic issues frequently discussed in the Korean church include the transparency of church finances, the taxation of clergy, bivocational ministry, and the tithing debate.