Publication Details
Morrison, G. J.
(2013).
Grapes, olives and yams: Towards a theology of the garden in Oceania.
Australian eJournal of Theology, 20 (3), 171-184.
Abstract
Pursuing a theology of the garden in Oceania, the article develops Ilaitia Tuwere’s Fijian theological perspectives with Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophy and Talmudic readings. The defining experience in the Oceanic garden is mercy. Through the bodiliness and otherness of Jesus, the chief Gardener, an immemorial truth emerges: the land (vanua) testifies to the mercy (maternity) of God, revealing a garden (were) of justice, repentance, peace, healing and the forgiveness of sins. Indeed, our hope for the reign of God is not useless and for nothing, for it becomes the very source of the fecundity of time and the positive value of history, moving us on with confidence and courage to encounter Edens and Gethsemanes in the Oceanic garden.
Keywords
Eden, Garden, Gethsemane, Levinas, Oceania, Reign of God, Tuwere
