The 2025 South Pacific Division (SPD) Faith and Science Conference was held from May 6 to 9, 2025. It brought together teachers, pastors, and church members to explore cosmology, astronomy, and life beyond Earth from a biblical perspective.
The conference was the third in a series of events organised by the SPD since 2019. The first focused on biology and the origin of life, while the second, in 2023, centred on geology and the Flood.
The 2025 conference included a field trip to the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, which, according to SPD Ministry and Strategy Director Sven Östring, “dazzled those who attended with a visual journey that began in Brisbane, travelled through the Solar System and out to the very edge of our observable universe”.
Presenters from Australia, the United States and Spain addressed a range of questions, including the effectiveness of mathematics in describing nature, whether the Big Bang theory can be integrated into a biblical worldview, the possibility of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and how to teach children about the universe in an engaging and faith-affirming way.
The organising team.
Teachers, pastors and church members came together to discuss faith and science.
The conference features speakers from Australia, Spain and the US.
Attendees also had the opportunity to shape the SPD’s strategy for future engagement with faith and science. Delegates proposed developing a strong Bible-based science curriculum for teachers and pastors, a network of presenters for professional development and Big Camp events, and a broader social media approach for sharing information on faith and science.
Recommendations were also made to organize Faith and Science Conferences at Avondale University in Australia, Pacific Adventist University in Papua New Guinea, and Fulton Adventist University College in Fiji, addressing both general issues and specific topics such as sorcery and the origin of life in the Pacific.
“The Faith and Science Conference confirmed our faith in God in the following ways: He is the Creator of the universe, He works miraculously in our lives, and our greatest hope is in Jesus and His promise that He will create a new cosmic home for us,” Östring wrote in his report.
“Even though there are still many aspects of the universe which remain to be explored and regions of space that we will never be able to see, even with our best telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, we can still be confident in our Adventist faith and worldview which is based on the Bible,” he added.
Launch of Rising Waters, Enduring Faith.
Attendees explored materials on faith and science.
A book produced from the 2023 event, Rising Waters, Enduring Faith, published by the Avondale Academic Press, was officially launched during this year’s conference.
Resources from the conference series are available at education.adventistchurch.com/faith-and-science-conference, and a book of presentations from the 2025 event is in development.
The original article was published on the South Pacific Division news site, Adventist Record. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news.
