Cutting The Universe Down To Size

One of the fundamental assumptions of every theistic worldview is the assumption that God is aware of and cares for the human species, human civilization, human morality, ethics, behavior, etc.  Obviously, if God was not aware of or was uninterested in our affairs, it would not have taken the time to regale our ancestors with stories, perform miracles, answer prayers or otherwise intervene in our affairs, let alone sacrifice itself to atone for our allegedly naughty behavior.

The obvious corollary to this assumption is the notion that our species and our planet is somehow important.  That we are relevant.  That we matter.

This assumption falls to pieces when we consider the true size and scope of the Universe and consider our place within it.

Imagine that the entirety of the observable Universe, every planet, every star, every black hole, every galaxy, every gas cloud, everything that humanity has ever or will ever see, were reduced to the size of a 1,000 square foot apartment.  Your apartment.  You own it.  You built it.  You furnished it.  You are far and away the most intelligent, powerful and capable being in that Universe.  For all intents and purposes, you would be God.  Congratulations, you are God of your apartment.

Now imagine that our galaxy, the Milky Way, is somewhere in that Universe.  What kind of object do you suppose would be roughly the same size?  Posing this question to theists generates a wide array of answers.  Some assume that our galaxy would be the size of the couch.  Others guess the size of a television.  Others guess something the size of a lamp.  None have guessed anything smaller than a coaster.

None of them are even close to the reality.

Our Universe has a radius of some 46 billion light years (ly) while our Galaxy has a radius of approximately 50,000 ly and our solar system has a radius of approximately 0.00001581 ly.  Using some high school geometry we can determine the volume of those relative objects and then scale them down to approximate their size if the Universe were crammed down to fit in a 1,000 square foot apartment.  Having no wish to bore anyone with the math, I have placed the numbers at the bottom, but the result is this:

If the Universe were crammed down to fit in a 1,000 square foot apartment, every single cubic inch would occupy a region of space equivalent to 2,359,489,230,131,172,839,506,172 ly^3.  Our galaxy, in comparison occupies a measly 523,598,333,333,333 ly^3.  Meaning our galaxy is MUCH smaller than a cubic inch.  Indeed, our galaxy is much smaller than a cubic millimeter.  To measure the size of our galaxy, we need to go much smaller, down to the kind of measurements we use to measure wavelengths of light and make circuit boards.  We need to use microns.

It turns out that if the volume of the Universe were equivalent to a 1,000 square foot apartment the ENTIRE Milky Way Galaxy would occupy a region of space roughly equivalent to a sphere with a radius of approximately 9.5 μm.  This would constitute an object about two and a half times the size of a single red blood cell.  Our solar system would comprise an object far, far, far smaller.  Something on the order of a sphere with a radius slightly over 10 picometers.  For comparison, the smallest atom (helium) has a radius of about 31 picometers.

So if our Universe were crammed down to fit in the size of my apartment, our galaxy would be an object roughly the size of a single cell, and our solar system would be an object somewhere in that apartment that is smaller than an atom.

Now ask yourself, how much do you care about the individual atoms in your home?  Do you worry about their well being?  Do you consider their fates?  Do you ponder their moral failings?  Do you intervene in their affairs?  Do you crave their worship?  Do you bestow your wisdom upon them?  Do you desire a personal relationship with them?  Would you sacrifice yourself for them?  Of course not.  Because such trifling, insignificant things simply do not matter to you.  They are irrelevant.  Meaningless.  Our entire galaxy would be reduced to the kind of thing that I breathe in and out every day without the slightest awareness.  The kind of thing my white blood cells attack and destroy without the slightest hesitation.  And our humble star?  Our humble star would only even be detectable with the largest particle accelerators ever built.

You occupy a level of existence, and possess a level of power and intelligence so far beyond that which exists on an atomic level that to even consider the 'feelings' or 'thoughts' or existence of an individual atom is ludicrous.  200,000,000,000,000 atoms would fit in the period at the end of this sentence.  Is it really reasonable to believe or expect that you would even be aware of, let alone care, about such things?  Of course not.  Such things are simply beneath you.

So it would be with God.

Assuming that there is a God who created the Big Bang, that being would dwell on a level of existence so far beyond our own that our entire existence and that of every other object in our entire galaxy would be rendered totally irrelevant.  Our galaxy would not be the equivalent of the television set or the couch or the refrigerator, our entire galaxy would be far less than a single speck of dust.  Our galaxy would be a particle of grime on the toilet or in the carpet or on God's glasses?  Or a speck inhaled and promptly destroyed by the divine equivalent of white blood cells.  And our humble star?  Infinitely less.

Quite simply we do not represent the kind of beings which an entity on that plane of existence would have any interest.  Certainly not the kind that would spark a desire for a personal relationship.  To expect that the Creator of the Entire Universe, Sovereign over countless septillions of stars is going to cultivate a deep personal relationship and would willingly endure pain and sacrifice for inconsequential creatures trapped on the cosmic equivalent of an atom is perhaps the most insulting and degradingly arrogant belief imaginable.  It does violence to the very idea of divinity.

Theists always protest that it is impossible to know the mind of God, that certainly God is greater than we could imagine and that he COULD desire a relationship with beings such as us.  But is such a belief reasonable?  Is it probable?  We are, afterall, allegedly created in God's image.  If WE have absolutely ZERO interest in cultivating deep personal relationships with bacteria, why would we expect God to have any interest in us when comparatively speaking, our entire planet is far less than the divine equivalent of bacteria?

Is it not far more likely that these assumptions are merely the wishful myths of ancient people with no understanding or knowledge of the wider world rather than a statement of how the Universe actually operates?

MATH

Volume of Sphere 4/3π*r^3

Radius of Universe ≈ 46,000,000,000 LY
Volume of Universe ≈ 407,719,738,966,666,666,666,666,666,666,666 Cubic LY
Radius of Milky Way Galaxy ≈ 50,000 LY
Volume of Milky Way Galaxy ≈ 523,598,333,333,333 Cubic LY
Radius of Solar System ≈ 0.00001581 LY
Volume of Solar System ≈ 0.0000662247172 Cubic LY

Volume of 1000 Square Foot Apartment as Universe = 10,000 Cubic Ft

Cramming the approximate volume of the Universe into those 10,000 Cubic Feet yields the following results.  While not perfect, it provides a good illustration.

Each Cubic Foot (ULY/10,000) ≈ 4,077,197,389,666,666,666,666,666,666 Cubic LY

Each Cubic Inch (/[12*12*12]) ≈ 2,359,489,230,131,172,839,506,172 Cubic LY

Each Cubic Milimeter (/[25.4*25.4*25.4]) (mm^3) ≈ 143,984,966,534,476,799,064 Cubic LY

Each Cubic Micrometer (/[1000*1000*1000]) (μm^3) ≈ 143,984,966,534 Cubic LY

Each Cubic Nanometer (/[1000*1000*1000]) (µµ^3) ≈ 143.984966 Cubic LY

Each Cubic Picometer (/[1000*1000*1000]) (pm^3) ≈ 0.0000000143984 Cubic LY

Galaxy

523,598,333,333,333 ly^3 / 143,984,966,534 ly^3 = 3636.479 μm^3  Solve for r.  R ≈ 9.5 μm.

Solar System 0.0000662247172 ly^3 / 0.0000000143984 ly^3 = 4599.449 pm^3  Solve for r.  R ≈ 10.5 pm.