It is often thought that modern analytic jurisprudence has left theology behind. Think again. Consider the following quote from the Hart-land of jurisprudence: 

If men are not devils, neither are they angels; and the fact that they are a mean between these two extremes is something which makes a system of mutual forbearances both necessary and possible. With angels, never tempted to harm others, rules requiring forbearances would not be necessary. With devils prepared to destroy, reckless of the cost to themselves, they would be impossible. (HLA Hart, The Concept of Law, 196) 

Neither angels nor demons would have the kind of legal system that we have. Law is situated precariously between heaven and hell. This jurisprudential insight is dripping with theological speculation. It seems that jurisprudence is not done with theology yet. 

This symposium – the sixth in the series – continues the conversation at the intersection of jurisprudence and theology, broadly understood. We welcome papers that explore this intersection from diverse interdisciplinary perspectives, from all faith traditions and none, and from both faculty members and postgraduate students.  

Past symposia were held at the University of Notre Dame Australia (2019), the University of Sydney (2022), the University of Adelaide (2023), the University of Southern Queensland (2024), and the Queensland University of Technology (2025). 

Please submit your abstracts (100-200 words) with your name and institutional affiliation to A/Prof Joshua Neoh (joshua.neoh@anu.edu.au) before 1 November 2025. We will let you know the result of acceptance by 15 November 2025. There is no conference fee for the symposium. 

Accepted papers will be circulated in advance of the symposium. The full papers will be due in early January 2026, so that participants have time to read the papers before the symposium. At the symposium, we will move straight to discussion of each paper. 

Canberra is a very pleasant city, some say the nation’s best. There are plenty of national institutions that you can visit while you are here. There are lots of hotels close to the ANU campus. My personal favourites are Ovolo Nishi and Peppers Gallery. 

Program

Note: This symposium is by invitation only. It is not generally open to the public. If you would like to request to attend, please email joshua.neoh@anu.edu.au

9–9.30am  Welcome & Book Launch

9.30–11am  Session 1: The Word was God

Chair: Constance Lee (2023 Convenor, Adelaide)

FHJ Lim and Joshua Neoh, The Jurisprudence of Christ

Matthew Zagor, Exilic and Post-Exilic Theology

Renae Barker, From Sandals to Sovereignty

Renato Costa, Althusius, the Decalogue and the Just Administration of the Commonwealth

Alex Deagon, What is a Christian Jurisprudence?

11–11.30am  Morning Tea

11.30am–1pm  Session 2: Angels and Demons

Chair: Jonathan Crowe (2024 Convenor, Toowoomba)

Neville Rochow, The Problem of Evil

Constance Lee, John Calvin on Toleration

Niû Têng-úi, Angels, Demons and the Concept of Law

Anna Taitslin, Angelic versus Demonic Legal Orders

Billy Esratian, Fear and Law

1–2pm  Lunch

2–3.30pm  Session 3: Natural Law

Chair: Paul Babie (2023 Convenor, Adelaide)

Jonathan Crowe, Natural Law and Human History

Paul Oslington, A New Natural Law Theory of Market Order

Keith Thompson, Nexus between Natural and Positive Law

Shahar Shalom Yadin, Personal Revelation and Aquinas’s Vision of Law

3.30–4pm  Afternoon Tea

4–5.30pm  Session 4: Church and State

Chair: Alex Deagon (2025 Convenor, Brisbane)

Nicholas Aroney, The Three Uses of Constitutional Law

Joel Harrison, A Positive Religious Constitutionalism

Benjamin Saunders, An Early Theological Take on a Modern Jurisprudential Question

Andrew Errington, The Imperfectability of Judgment

Ignatius Nugraha and Abdurrachman Satrio, Indonesia’s Communal-Religious Human Rights

6pm  Conference Dinner