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The universe is trying to tell us something.”

Last night as I was watching TV, a character said that line so matter-of-factly that it almost rolled past me without notice. After all, I’ve heard people say that in person and in popular entertainment hundreds of times.

But lately it’s been gnawing at me.

The Universe Isn’t Speaking To Us

I’ve been mulling over a harsh, but important truth, lately.

The universe isn’t trying to tell you something. It doesn’t love you. It’s not looking out for your best interests.

The universe can’t care about you, because the universe is not a conscious, self-aware being. It doesn’t have a moral code. It’s not beholden to you, me or anyone.

It’s not listening, because it can’t.

The universe doesn’t care about you or me any more than the odds-and-ends in my kitchen junk drawer care about us.

The Universe Doesn’t Care

We have to stop anthropomorphizing the universe. Yeah, it’s a big word, but I’m not using it to show off. It’s the only word that fits here.

Anthropomorphism is what happens when we attribute human characteristics to non-human things. When a movie like The Lion King shows animals talking to each other, that’s an intentional anthropomorphization. For a couple hours we suspend our disbelief that animals can’t actually talk or sing like humans, and we’re entertained by it.

That’s what a lot of folks are doing with the universe. They’re attributing human characteristics to it. They’re treating this massive collection of stars, galaxies and a whole lot of empty space as if it was a being with a conscience, a heart, a mind, and a capacity to care about how badly you hate your job and want to be fulfilled in your life.

Sorry, but the universe doesn’t care if you’re fulfilled.

God/Universe Language

If you listen to what a lot people say about the universe, it actually sounds like a lot of our God language.

“The universe cares, loves, gives, and listens to us. And if we listen to what the universe is telling us, our lives will go better.”

If you replaced “the universe” with “God” in that paragraph, it could be mistaken for (shallow) Christian theology. And that’s what a lot of folks are actually doing. They’re rejecting God, then substituting the universe in God’s place, with a few tweaks so it fits what they want to believe.

I’ve even heard some preachers using God/universe replacement terminology.

They’ll say that the language we use to describe God is constantly changing, so they’re just using the word that’s in vogue right now. They insist that it doesn’t matter whether we use the term “God” or “the universe” because the idea behind them is the same.

No. They’re not the same.

Not at all.

Here’s why.

Why God ≠ The Universe

To say God is listening, God cares, and Jesus loves us is infinitely different than saying the universe cares and loves us. For a few reasons.

First, the universe is not God. It’s not even an adequate language substitute for God. The universe can’t be God because it was created by God. Just like us.

God can be seen in his creation, but he is infinitely more than his creation. To substitute one for the other is to trivialize both.

Second, when we speak of God, we’re not anthropomorphizing him. God actually exists as a conscious, loving, knowing being. We’re not creating God in our image, God created us in his. It’s the opposite of anthropomorphization.

Third, the universe didn’t die for us. No matter how often you substitute “universe” for “God” in your language, it all falls apart when it comes to the person of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.

The Jesus Difference

Jesus was not an anthropomorphized ideal. He was a flesh-and-blood person who walked, talked, ate, slept, felt pain, and voluntarily gave his life for ours.

Then he rose from the dead to give us new life, so he’s still consciously, actively aware of who we are and what we’re going through.

Unlike the universe, we don’t have to pretend Jesus cared for us. The cross assures us that Jesus did care, while the resurrection guarantees that he still does care.

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