Introduction
The Universe is infinite and unbound. It is infinite in every respect and in every direction. It is infinitely small. No matter how many times you divide the smallest of the small, you will always be able to divide it again.
There is no center to the Universe, for there to be a center, there must be an edge. There are no edges.
The universe is not expanding. How can you expand what is already infinite? If you leave this planet and travel in a straight line, you will not return from where you started, you will keep going forever.
There is no need for the Universe to try to "contain" itself. Once you invoke the idea of containment, you introduce boundaries. The Universe has no boundaries.
The physical Universe that we see and probe with our instruments is only a small part of the total Universe. It stretches to infinity in every dimension. There are not 4 or 6 or 26 dimensions, there are an infinite number of dimensions.
Entropy is a local illusion. Planets die and stars go cold, but new stars and planet are reborn form the ashes of the old. Black Holes are the Universes solution to entropy, they suck dark matter in an evaporate energy back out.( I know that this statement is going to be controversial, especially with the scientific mined among us. That's alright, I will wait for science to catch up.)
We have stretched our sight to the limits of our abilities and placed our best guess as to the age of the "universe". But that is only our local neighborhood, that is as far as we can see. Our "Big Bang" was but a firefly on a calm summer night. There are an infinite number of galaxies beyond our view. Each one being regenerated from their own ashes again and again into infinity. Our sight is limited by our technology.
We are of the Universe, and just like everything in it, we too are infinite. Our consciousness does not end with our bodies, it goes on forever. We all draw from the same "Ether", but each takes from its infinite possibilities that which it wills. There is not one for each, but one for all.
The scientist and the skeptic draw from it that which will reinforce their reality. The mystic and the clairvoyant draw from the same Ether, but only that which will reinforce their reality. That is our "Free Will", for our minds to select from the infinite possibilities of the Ether of the Universe that which we will. We all chose our own paths to follow, and in doing so we chose our own Heaven or Hell or neither if that is our want. There is no "Final Judgement", unless we chose there to be, but we chose our own destination by following the path that fits our perception.
We do not "create" anything, it is already created. All possibilities have always existed, we just chose which path we wish to follow from the infinite paths before us.
All the infinite possibilities of the past, presents and futures have always existed. Since they have always existed, time is an illusion. The Universe only knows now, which is comprised of all possible times. The Universe is infinitely old and brand new all at the same time.
One Answer
It doesn't matter which way you look at it. It all comes down to only One. Whether you believe in a God as a Creator, or you believe in a universe of evolving matter and energy, it does not matter. There is one thing that you cannot escape. As you travel back and back there comes a point where you cannot go back anymore. There has to be a first, the One that is without beginning and without end, the One thing from which all else stems.
If you wish to call it God, or the universal egg is up to you, it is all one and the same. It is only a matter of perception. It is your Free Will to perceive it the way you wish.
It is from the writings of Plato that we have learned the philosophy of Socrates. It was Socrates who is said to have taught that everyone has the ultimate truth within their soul. That it is only necessary to consciously reflect inwardly to find that answer. I believe he was right.
If Socrates was right, than everyone who searches their souls for the "Ultimate Truth" should find the answer there. Over the centuries countless many have done just that. And the countless many have all come out with countless different answers. There are about six Billion people on this planet today, and there are six Billion different Beliefs. No two people believe exactly the same thing.
The next time you go to your Church service, or you go to a scientific seminar or a meeting of skeptics, look around you. It doesn't matter if there are two thousand people or only two, no one you see will believe exactly the same thing you do. Some may agree 90%, some may even agree 99.99%, but no one will agree 100.0%. And they all will tell you that they know in their heart of hearts that they know the "Truth." That they have searched their souls and have found the answer.
Now you would think that with everyone searching their souls and arriving at different answers that maybe Socrates was wrong, that maybe the ultimate truth is not contained within our souls. Either that, or nobody really knows how to look, or what to look for.
I believe Socrates was right. I also believe everyone else is also right. We all have found the "Ultimate Truth," it is just that the Ultimate truth is different for everyone. The Ultimate truth that we seek is the truth we wish to find.
You cannot separate the soul or the spirit from the "id." They are all one and the same. The soul, the spirit, and the id, are what gives all of us our Free Will. They are our Free Will. It is our inner self that makes us who we are. It makes us individuals, separate and different from anyone else. When we search our id, we will find that difference. We will not find "THE" Ultimate Truth, but we will find the Ultimate Truth for each of us. We each have our own Ultimate Truth, and that truth is just as valid as anyone's. They are all part of the One from which all else stems.
The definition of Universe is the whole body of things and phenomena observed or postulated. It is all there is. It is the only One. All things are part of the Universe. There cannot be anything that is not a part of the Universe or outside of it. It must be infinite. It cannot have a beginning or an end. If it does than it cannot be "The" Universe, but only a part of The Infinite Universe. There are theories that there are other "universes" outside of the one in which we presently reside. There is also a "Many Worlds" theory that suggests that every action "creates" a new universe. Neither of these can be correct. If THE Universe is all there is, than it must be infinite and contain all others. And if it already contains all others, no new ones can be "created." You cannot add to something that already is "Everything."
If it is Everything, than you can call it God if that is your desire. Or you can call it anything that fits with your belief. It doesn't matter, it is all one and the same and all things are part of it. It is the only One. All things that are observed or that can be postulated are part of the One, and therefor all beliefs are part of the One also. It is our Free Will to follow that belief which we perceive to be true. It is the difference in our spirits that makes us individuals and it is that difference that allows us to perceive a different truth.
The One that is already Everything cannot have anything new added to it. It is already infinite in every respect. If there cannot be anything new, than all things must already exist. If it is infinite and without beginning or end than it must be without time, because you cannot add time to it. This would lead to the belief in predestination, for if all things already exist than you must choose from something already here. In a sense that is true, but in an infinite Universe you have an infinite choice to choose from so in effect, your destination is also infinite.
All things already exist. All pasts, presents, and futures are all contained in the One. It is our Free Will to choose which we wish to follow. The only limits in the Universe are the ones we place on ourselves. We choose the path that limits our perceptions of what lies along other paths. Everything is all there if we choose to look for it. You just have to know it is there and be willing to look for it.
We do not need a new Religion, or a new Belief. We just have to accept that all Beliefs are true. Maybe not to you, but they are true to someone. And that 'someone' is one with the Universe and so are their beliefs, just as yours are.