Abstract

The paper considers the relationship between love and justice in the Gospel of Luke, in the context of Lukan eschatology and a Lukan understanding of divine hospitality manifest in aphesis and compassion, especially as these relate to the idea of the neighbour. Contemporary ecological concern, which prompts calls for ecojustice and earth love, forms a framework for the exploration of love and justice in Luke.

• Rosemary Canavan is about to graduate with her doctorate from Flinders University. Her thesis title is “Clothing the Body of Christ at Colossae: A Visual Construction of Identity.”
  
• Rabbi John D. Cooper, BA, MA, CLU, DD will soon be made an Honorary Senior Fellow of the University of the Sunshine Coast. This award recognises his work as one of the founding members of the U3A Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Interfaith Network (SCIN) where he has encouraged theological discourse between people of all faiths, as well as his philanthropic work and contribution to Jewish communities. Rabbi John and his mother, Frayda Myers Cooper, were the co-initiators of Universities of the 3rd Age throughout Queensland and northern NSW. The pioneering U3A in Queensland was U3A Sunshine Coast, which commenced during 1986, ten years before the University of the Sunshine Coast began.

Abstract
Since the appearance of the five volumes of the Earth Bible in early 2000 and its six principles for reading the biblical text ecologically, there has been vigorous debate around these principles and a range of hermeneutical approaches have emerged as scholars have sought to read biblical texts from a contemporary ecological perspective. This literature will serve as a backdrop to this paper in which I propose to briefly situate an approach to reading the Gospel of Matthew ecologically which I have developed. The major focus of the paper, however, will be on some of the challenges which arise when undertaking such a reading. The test-case which I have chosen is Matt 21:12-22 in which Jesus curses an "innocent" fig-tree after having driven out those selling and buying in the temple. It will function as a rich source for focussing some key issues engaging those who undertake an ecological reading of biblical texts.

Abstract
It is now over three years since the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples in the National Parliament. This paper examines the motion passed by the Parliament and the speech of the Prime Minister in light of both Isaiah 52:13–53:12, the so-called song of the suffering servant, and Psalm 51. It reflects theologically on the apology and speech, asking in what ways Isaiah’s description of the suffering servant can influence our perception of the suffering of Indigenous Australians and whether the apology constitutes genuine confession. It seeks what insights the biblical text offers this event in order that it may be seen as a ‘new beginning’ and not just ‘a moment of mere sentimental reflection,’ as the Prime Minister expressed. Howard Wallace is Professor of Old Testament at the Uniting Church Theological College, Parkville Vic. In this role he has taught for many years for the United Faculty of Theology within the Melbourne College of Divinity, particularly on Genesis, Psalms and Isaiah. His research has mostly been in Psalms, although recently he has been working in the area of the intersection of biblical study (especially Isaiah) and the question of contemporary Christian mission. Prof. Wallace will be retiring from full-time teaching at the end of the year.

Abstract
More and more scholars maintain that there was no real parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism until the fourth century, and that before that time the very terms “Christianity” and “Judaism” are anachronistic and inappropriate. Both entities were fluid and it is thus impossible to draw boundary lines. Those who believed in Jesus from the beginning and through the early centuries should therefore be considered as constituting a sect among those groups that were in the process of formulating what would become “Judaism.” Against this viewpoint, I argue that both Judaism and Christianity are identifiable in the first century: monotheism, election, Torah and Temple are central elements shared by all Judaisms; items such as the person of Christ, the kerygma, and the gospel define believers in Jesus from the beginning. A survey of the NT shows that the new claims of the “Christians” inevitably were perceived as challenging the basic commitments of “Judaism.” Conclusion: the parting of the ways is a long process, proceeding at different rates of speed in different places, but having its roots already in the ministry of Jesus. The parting increased in momentum as time passed, but is clearly evident in the first century and even more so in the second century.