Universe
The universe is everything, and everything is part of the universe.
There is a lot you can say about to the universe, so instead of including it all on this page, it is spread throughout the wiki.
"The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." -Eden Phillpotts
This page is here to establish some basic perspectives on the relationship between god and the universe, and address a few common metaphysical narratives about the universe.
For other big-picture topics related to the universe, see:
- Science, Materialism, Reality, Laws of physics
- Fractals, Self-organization, Creation, Big bang, Evolution
- Theory of everything
- Pantheism, god, Nature
- Holistic, Belief system
- Quantum mechanics and The gambler
- Simulation theory
- Apocalypse
God = Universe
The universe is everything. God is everything. God is great. God is the universe. Therefore the universe is great. Enjoy it!
The terms universe and god will be used interchangeably throughout this wiki, so atheists and literalists will just need to deal with that.
Pantheistic Universalism
metaculture adopts a pantheistic view of god in order to bridge the gap between traditional religious modes of thought and modern science and rationalism. Viewing god and the universe as the same thing allows scientific inquiry to be seen with the same divine inspiration as spirituality. It allows those who come from religious backgrounds to embrace materialism by seeing their beliefs in a new light rather than rejecting them outright.
It also allows for religious universalism without the need for moral relativism, since all religions ultimately describe the same god (the universe) using different metaphors, languages and cultural reference points. Therefore, all morality ultimately comes from the same source, and instead of being arbitrary, there are boundaries to what any culture might find acceptable, based on our evolutionary psychology.
The Universe of Universes
Some say there is a multiverse. Parallel universes in other dimensions, ones that existed before or will come after ours, or ones outside of the bounds of our own but within the same space-time continuum. Regardless, the existence of any other universe is irrelevant until there is some evidence there is some impact on our own universe, or some way for us to interact with them.
It is fun to discuss theoretically, but the truth of the multiverse should have no influence on what you choose to believe about god. It also kind of violates the principle of conservation of energy, since it implies a doubling of all matter every time you collapse a wave function. It doesn't seem like the best bet on the true nature of reality. When popular culture explores the idea, it veers quickly into quantum woo.
The pantheistic definition of god uses universe as a shorthand, but it really means all of existence, including any unknown matter or dimensions outside of our own.
The multiverse is a powerful metaphor, but it's probably not literally true.
The Universe is a Simulation
No it isn't and it wouldn't matter if it was. See Simulation Theory.
The Best of All Possible Universes
Is this the best of all possible universes? Voltaire's Candide examined the notion that this world is certainly not the best of all possible worlds, but what of the universe? Is there a better universe that can be conceived? What would a better universe even look like? Unless you are willing to forego the rules of logic, it is unlikely for some utopian universe to even be possible. Can a universe exist without pain? Can love exist without heartache? Even in a completely alternate reality, this is impossible.
Universals of Our Universe
See the Theory of everything page for an overview of the universal principles that exist throughout the universe, and how these create a metanarrative based theory of everything without the need to make up pseudoscience.
Bright Star
Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art by John Keats.
Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art—
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors—
No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever—or else swoon to death.
Journey to the Center of the Universe
The fractal contains an infinite universe of complexity without a designer.