HDR Candidate: Kang, Ho-Saeng


Title of Project A Study of Calvin’s Christology from the Viewpoint of “Únĭo cum Christo” Thought for Establishing Korean Diaspora Theology in Australia: Focused on TrĭplexMunus Christiand Incarnátĭo
Course of Study Doctor of Philosophy
Language of Instruction Korean
Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore Calvin’s Christology in order to establish a theological principle for the Korean diaspora in Australia. It re-illumines and re-interprets the focal points of Calvin’s Christology in the systematic theological discipline. Calvin’s Christology is a well-known subject with which the Calvinist theologians in the main have kept on dealing from the post-Reformation era to the modern times. However, there still exist pros and contras with regards to the significance of his Christology and whether there is a central thought which penetrates it. In this ongoing state of the debates, this study limits the research scope to re-interpreting Calvin’s Christology by being centred on the thought of the believers’ union with Christ (Únĭo cum Christo). It is because this study assesses that the believers’ Únĭo cum Christo is not simply a doctrine which is subject to the soteriology. Rather, it is possibly a core governing thought and theological principle to figure out Calvin’s Christology. Therefore, a fresh and innovative idea of the entire project is its emphasis upon the thought Únĭo cum Christo that plays such a significant theological role in interpreting Calvin’s Christology. On the basis of this thought, this study systematically re-interprets the meaning of the theological themes such as Christ’s threefold office (Trĭplex Munus Christi) and incarnation (Incarnátĭo) which are included in Calvin’s Christology. The theological principles inherent in these themes are also directly applied to establish a theology of Korean diaspora in Australia.  

As this study requires a systematic methodology, it employs the systematic-theological approach, analysing and re-interpreting Calvin’s Christology by being centred on the thought Únĭo cum Christo. The methods employed are specified as: analyses of various figurative expressions on the thought Únĭo cum Christo included in his Christology, of their distribution in the scope and frequency of use, of their relevance to other themes, of their relation to his theological structure, and of their various theological significance. For these analyses, this study will be engaged in the primary and secondary sources of Calvin’s theology which are relevant to each task according to each method. However, in the main, it deals with Institutes of the Christian Religion, namely, his representative theological work, for an effectual research. The result of the analyses will contribute to establish a theology of Korean diaspora in Australia by providing with an important theological principle of Calvin’s Christology.