1. Basic Premises of Metaversalism
2. Great Mysteries Solved by Metaversalism
Q. Why does the universe exist?
A. It exists because, as modern physics suggests, it is describable as a mathematical object. All
mathematical objects, including all mathematically describable
universes, must exist, in a mathematical sense, by pure logical
necessity. However, some universes are apparently more "real" than others, which we interpret as meaning more probable. By
the laws of probability, our universe is overwhelmingly likely to have
a high degree of reality, among those universes that contain sentient
beings similar to ourselves. This high degree of probability can be
interpreted as implying that our universe must be (a) particularly simple to
define, (b) particularly interesting to elaborate the details of, or
(c) some combination of the two. Physics suggests that (a), at least, is true. The fact that intelligent life has evolved in this universe suggests that (b), at least, is true as well. Because our universe is simple, it occurs frequently within other "dumb" mathematical structures, quite by accident, and because it is interesting, it may be intentionally embedded within other universes, for purposes of examination & study, by powerful beings in other universes. Both its simplicity and interestingness may contribute to our universe's overall degree of reality. It is not yet clear which of these factors has the greater importance.
Q. Does God exist?
A. The Metaverse includes all possible mathematically describable entities, so if your conception of God allows that He may be defined by some mathematical description (however complex it may be), then yes. As to whether your God (or any God) actually created the particular instance of this universe that we are all in, that is a different matter. In metaversalism, all possible means of creating this universe are simultaneously true (for different instances of it). However, some ways of creating the universe involve mechanisms that are more real (more probable) than others. Whether your God is likely to have done the job depends on how real your God is. If you can demonstrate that the mathematical object that describes your particular God entity arises more frequently in the metaverse than other possible universe-creating mechanisms, then your God is more real than other possibilities and is likely to be the responsible party. Otherwise, He isn’t. The Church of Metaversalism does not (yet) take any particular stance on which existing conceptions of God (or non-senitient creation mechanisms) have the greatest degree of reality, although further study may help to clarify these issues.
Another,
alternative perspective on God offered by Metaversalism is that God may
just be another name for the whole Metaverse itself, in other words,
for the completed, infinite totality of all possible mathematical
theories, structures, and computations, in their entirety. This Entity
would contain the answers to all questions, including those about the
consistency of mathematical theories and the final outcomes of
unbounded computations, which we have proved cannot be answered by any
finite means. This God would thus be "omniscient" in a sense,
containing reflections of all aspects of its infinite self. We, as
finite beings in a finite observable universe, are a part of this
infinite entity. This Metaversal God-Entity would itself be the
timeless, eternal essence of Being; whereas all of us finite conscious
observers / civilizations / universes, at any given point in our
experience, would merely be somewhere along in the process of Becoming.
Q. Is there life after death?
A. Yes, in a certain sense. The instance of your consciousness that is embedded within any particular universe may certainly cease to exist within that universe. But, insofar as a consciousness is a mathematically describable evolving pattern of information, that same pattern (identical up to the moment of your death) also exists in an infinite variety of other contexts, throughout the metaverse. Although one instance of you may die, others will continue living, and insofar as “you” are the general pattern of your consciousness, rather than just a specific instance, you will find yourself continuing to exist within a new context, once the framework of this universe no longer supports your continuation. The question of which context, which new environment, you will find yourself in depends entirely on the relative probabilities (degrees of reality) of the various contexts in which you might continue. You are most likely to find yourself continuing within whichever context, out of those that support your continuation, has the greatest degree of reality. Incidentally, the fact that during your lifetime, you reliably find yourself continuing within this universe, rather than finding your consciousness constantly hopping around between wildly different universes, is one of the major pieces of evidence that this universe is more real than others in which your particular consciousness may exist. So when you die, you go to a place that is less real than here, and if you die again in that place, you go somewhere else that is less real still. But your continued existence never fades out entirely.
Q. Are our ancestors watching over us?
A. Yes, because there are possible universes (extending our own universe's laws of physics) that provide a mechanism for the consciousness of a dying individual to be preserved in some other medium, and permitted to explore and examine the events occurring within a replica of our universe. If a super-smart programmer armed with a computer with unlimited power could , even in principle, program such a scenario, then it exists, somewhere out there in the Metaverse. Therefore, in these extensions of our universe, your ancestors (and perhaps all manner of other beings as well) are observing your actions. (This is assuming that your particular ancestors are interested enough in your life to pay attention to it.) You can talk to them. However, don't expect them to be able to talk back - most of your conscious experience may be stuck within a "plain vanilla" version of our universe, with the laws of physics as we know them, and with no mechanism for deceased ancestors to communicate back to us.
3. Answers to some Objections to Metaversalism
4. History of Metaversalism
