From Nov. 7–9, the Andrews University Office of Research & Creative Scholarship hosted the annual Autumn Conference on Religion and Science, with the theme of “Creation Care.” The free conference invited university students, researchers, professors and administrators to engage in discussions regarding biblical creation and its modern applications. Sigve Tonstad, an accomplished author and research professor at Loma Linda University, was the featured speaker.
The opening plenary of the conference occurred on the evening of Nov. 7 in Buller Hall’s Newbold Auditorium. Tonstad gave a lecture titled “And Also Many Animals,” a reference to Jonah 4:11. In this verse, God desires even the animals of Nineveh to be spared from destruction despite the prophet Jonah’s fixation with the city’s potential annihilation. Noting that God cares for the upkeep of all forms of life, Tonstad also highlighted verses from Deuteronomy 5 and Leviticus 26, where God specifies that the need for Sabbath rest extends to animals and the land as well. He closed by encouraging attendees to consider how modern care for life ought to be aligned with God’s standards.
The second day of the conference started with a devotional by Michael Campbell, the director of Archives, Statistics & Research within the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Four sessions of presentations were given throughout the day, featuring presenters from Andrews University, AdventHealth University and Burman University. Presentation topics included student awareness of plant-based diets and environmental issues, the future of environmental sustainability, designs for creation care efforts, and connecting theological concepts to environmentalist values.
In one of these sessions, Andrews University President John Wesley Taylor V, along with Katherine Koudele, chair of the Department of Sustainable Agriculture and professor of animal science, and Padma Tadi Uppala, associate dean for research and creative scholarship in the College of Health & Human Services and professor in the School of Population Health, Nutrition & Wellness, presented the current efforts that the University and its Creation Care Council are making to improve the campus’ ecological impact on the environment. Some of these creation care efforts in recent years include reducing food waste in the cafeteria, replacing light fixtures with more efficient LED bulbs, partnering with the faith-based nonprofit Solar Faithful to work to adopt solar power for campus buildings in the future, and educating students and Adventist youth on endangered environments and species.
Martin Hanna, associate professor of systematic theology, led a Friday night vespers program to close the day’s sessions. The conference continued on Sabbath morning, Nov. 9, with Taylor and Willie E. Hucks II, assistant to the president for Mission & Culture, opening the day’s events in the Biology Amphitheater in Price Hall. Following the devotion, presentations on the intersectionality of faith and biology were given by Jessica Moerman, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, Øystein LaBianca, senior research professor of anthropology at Andrews, William Miller, assistant professor of biology at Calvin University, and Sigve Tonstad.
After a lunch break, a panel featuring the day’s four presenters discussed the various topics presented throughout the conference and how Christian universities and their communities ought to seek to improve their care of creation. The conference closed with worship and a supper in Price Hall, where participants had the opportunity to further discuss creation care topics and socialize.
To read more about the Andrews Autumn Conference on Religion & Science and its presenters, please see the conference program and visit the Office of Research & Creative Scholarship’s webpage.