Is the Multiverse-Theory real or rubbish science?

[rpp]

I’ve often wondered why God created more than is necessary for our salvation. One of the psalms says, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows forth his handiwork.’ Then there is the hymn, ‘I see the stars. I hear the mighty thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed…Then sings my, soul my saviour God to three, how great thou art.’ The vastness and complexity of the universe fills us with awe at God’s might and majesty.

To ask what is the point in God creating it all is to reduce God to something that can fit into our little minds. It is an attempt to know the mind of God (which isn’t a bad thing). But God’s mind is beyond ours. All we can do is to be so overcome with awe at his creation that we fall to our knees and cry, ‘My God, how great thou art.’ Anything that makes us do that can only aid our salvation.

Ponder these questions by all means, but don’t get uptight about them. You never know, we might find the answers one day. But be aware that if we do they will probably increase our sense of the mystery of God, not diminish it (as evolution and quantum theory did). Be overwhelmed, not over anxious, by the little of God’s glory that science reveals.

In reference to the first sentence, how do you know He did? Seems to me you answered your own question. Everything God created was for our salvation. Though purely speculative, I will even admit to the possibility that there may be other civilizations out there somewhere in the universe in need of salvation too. I do not think that is precluded by any Catholic doctrine.

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CalmDownWisWins…

I like this post. You guys are over my head with your knowledge. But I would want to know from those who believe in God, what would be the point of God creating a multi layered universe, unless the other “them-verses” contain life as well.

I mean its not like after we die we (creation) would have access to all this anyway would it.

Also, its not like God needed to create such a complex universe for Himself or to prove His capabilities to creation, obviously.

Perhaps the “them-verses” are there with different “cosmic constants” such that other laws of physics are “tried out” in them.

Any “them-verse” that doesn’t include life in it doesn’t include a “counter principle” to the “big graying” (entropy), as life (biology, not humanity) is the inevitable result of counter-entropy.

Such a place would either “fly apart” or “go gray very quickly”.

I have no idea why God would want to create such a place, so I’ll leave that as a mystery.

But, if there actually ARE other “them-verses” that have life in them, which means by implication that other “not Sol-3 humans” exist as matter was created SOLELY so as to “clothe” man, then we have discovered nothing more than yet another barrier between groups of humans, just more “impressive” than a mountain range or an ocean.

Now, has Jesus come to those people? No. They WILL be reached by US eventually, or there would have been no reason to create them in that place. Jesus only came to us, as He did.

They simply get to wait MUCH longer than the remote folks in the middle of the ocean for the good news to get to them!

How we’d do that is yet another mystery.

 

[Cadellin]

Brother Consolmagno said the Bible is also replete with references to or descriptions of “nonhuman intelligent beings” who worship God. For example, he said the Scriptures talk about angels, “sons of God” who took human wives, and “heavenly beings” that “shouted for joy” when God created the earth.

If you’re concerned about what was said here go to a good annotated Bile, the Jerusalem Bible would be a good one in this case, and look up Gen 6: 1 - 4 and the the foot notes to this passage.

 

[MH84]

If you’re concerned about what was said here go to a good annotated Bile, the Jerusalem Bible would be a good one in this case, and look up Gen 6: 1 - 4 and the the foot notes to this passage.

Yeah, looking at my quote there is nothing really out of the ordinary in terms of what I have heard the interpretation to be. However, I think the most orthodox interpretation of the ‘sons of God’ and their relationship with the daughters of men is that the descendants of Seth (sons of God) intermarried with the descendants of Cain (daughters of men). I know for a fact that Scott Hahn discusses this in his book: A Father who keeps his promises. I am looking at the 1966 JB notes as well which touches upon the possible interpretations.

Anyway, what I perhaps should have quoted from the article was this:

For science fiction fans, Trekkies, or telescope-toting space enthusiasts, the booklet’s last chapter reveals where there are references to extraterrestrials in the Bible.

What does he mean by extraterrestrials here? Aliens?

 

[freesoulhope]

Is it possible to travel to a different universe, one that’s maybe a little better than this one?

Sometimes I think this one we’re in was one of the early experimental models-----it has some flaws that might have been corrected in later models…

God says in the bible something about destroying this world and creating a new one. I guess the new world will be the perfect one. However, the only people that will be in that world, will be the perfect ones.

 

[Ignatius]

For years, the Big Bang theory, and cosmology in general, wasn’t accepted as a ligitmate science untill fairly recently; but people reckon they have proof now; and from what i can understand its accepted as true, but has some critics. Now we have the multiverse theory. Is there any ligitimate scientific reason to think that there might be a multiverse?

Unlike the Bog Bang theory, the multple universe theory is pure, unadulterated speculation with no supporting evidence whatsoever.

 

[freesoulhope]

Unlike the Bog Bang theory, the multple universe theory is pure, unadulterated speculation with no supporting evidence whatsoever.

The Bog Bang! That sounds a bit messy.

 

[dacoobob]

To me the mulitverse hypothesis brings to mind Occam’s Razor. If postulating an infinite number of universes isn’t multiplying entities, I don’t know what is…

 

[Richard_Powers]

“UNIVERSE” means the “one ‘verse’ of God”. If it’s not God’s “verse”, whose is it?

This is just wrong. Universe is from the ūnus meaning one and versus which is the past participle of vertere which means to turn. Literally the word universe means all turned into one.

The rest on your post is based on your flawed understanding of the etymology and meaning of the word universe.

 

[Richard_Powers]

Interesting side note the word multiverse was coined by William James. It was originally meant to convey an absence of unity.

 

[ThunderSandwich]

The most plausible (to me) multiverse theory that I’ve seen is this one: arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9704009

Basically, he suggests that some mathematical structures can contain elements which perceive themselves as having physical existence, and that our universe is merely one such structure. I actually find it rather attractive, mainly due to its simplicity and because I think (as the authors suggest) that it could be tautologically true.

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CalmDownWisWins
“UNIVERSE” means the “one ‘verse’ of God”. If it’s not God’s “verse”, whose is it?

This is just wrong. Universe is from the ūnus meaning one and versus which is the past participle of vertere which means to turn. Literally the word universe means all turned into one.

The rest on your post is based on your flawed understanding of the etymology and meaning of the word universe.

You’ll notice that I didn’t define “verse”.

How is a “singular turn” essentially different from “singular verse” in this context?

Also, just to reply in kind:
(( American Heritage Dictionary ))
[Middle English vers, from Old English fers and from Old French vers, both from Latin versus, from past participle of http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/verse”]vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]

…where, in the Indo-European root:
(( American Heritage DIctionary of Indo-European Roots ))
wer-2 = to raise, lift, hold suspended.

The “universe” is the “one thing raised”. It can more generally be taken to mean “the one thing presented”. Who did the “raising” or the “presenting”?

Nearly all of the definitions of “verse” are of a willful work of some person, something purposefully composed for presentation.

Please explain how you think my interpretation is wrong. Thanks!

 

[Richard_Powers]

You’ll notice that I didn’t define “verse”.

How is a “singular turn” essentially different from “singular verse” in this context?

Also, just to reply in kind:
(( American Heritage Dictionary ))
[Middle English vers, from Old English fers and from Old French vers, both from Latin versus, from past participle of http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/verse”]vertere

, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]

…where, in the Indo-European root:
(( American Heritage DIctionary of Indo-European Roots ))
wer-2 = to raise, lift, hold suspended.

The “universe” is the “one thing raised”. It can more generally be taken to mean “the one thing presented”. Who did the “raising” or the “presenting”?

Nearly all of the definitions of “verse” are of a willful work of some person, something purposefully composed for presentation.

Please explain how you think my interpretation is wrong. Thanks!

Because the term and concept universe have nothing to do with God as you claimed. It is not God’s verse or God’s turn, It goes back to Roman (and Greek) origins. It had nothing to do with the Jewish or Christian God. It is just a concept that means all turned into one.

And here is the whole section on wer-2

wer-2
Conventional base of various Indo-European roots; to turn, bend.
Derivatives include stalwart, weird, vertebra, wrath, wrong, wrestle, briar1, rhapsody, and worm.

I. Root *wert-, to turn, wind.

1. Germanic *werth-.

a.

i. -WARD, from Old English -weard, toward (< “turned toward”);
ii. INWARD, from Old English inweard, inward, from Germanic *inwarth, inward (*in, in; see en). Both (i) and (ii) from Germanic variant *warth;

b. perhaps Germanic derivative *werthaz, “toward, opposite,” hence “equivalent, worth.” WORTH1; STALWART, from Old English weorth, worth, valuable, and derivative noun weorth, wierth, value.

continued

 

[Richard_Powers]

1. WORTH2, from Old English weorthan, to befall, from Germanic *werthan, to become (< “to turn into”).
2. Zero-grade form *wt-. WEIRD, from Old English wyrd, fate, destiny (< “that which befalls one”), from Germanic *wurthi-.
3. VERSATILE, VERSE1, VERSION, VERSUS, VERTEBRA, VERTEX, VERTIGO, VORTEX; ADVERSE, ANNIVERSARY, AVERT, BOULEVERSEMENT, CONTROVERSY, CONVERSE1, CONVERT, DEXTRORSE, DIVERT, EVERT, EXTRORSE, EXTROVERSION, EXTROVERT, INTRORSE, INTROVERT, INVERT, MALVERSATION, OBVERT, PEEVISH, PERVERT, PROSE, RETRORSE, REVERT, SINISTRORSE, SUBVERT, TERGIVERSATE, TRANSVERSE, UNIVERSE, from Latin vertere, to turn, with its frequentative versāre, to turn, and passive versārī, to stay, behave (< “to move around a place, frequent”).
4. VERST, from Russian versta, line, from Balto-Slavic *wirstā-, a turn, bend.

II. Root *wreit-, to turn.

1. WREATH, from Old English writha, band (< “that which is wound around”);
2. WRITHE, from Old English wrīthan, to twist, torture;
3. WRATH, WROTH, from Old English wrāth, angry (< “tormented, twisted”). 1-3 all from Germanic *wrīth-, *wraith-.

III. Root *wergh-, to turn.

1. WORRY, from Old English wyrgan, to strangle, from Germanic *wurgjan.
2. Nasalized variant *wrengh-.

a. WRING, from Old English wringan, to twist, from Germanic *wreng-;
b.

i. WRONG, from Middle English wrong, wrong, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse *vrangr, rangr, curved, crooked, wrong;
ii. WRANGLE, from Middle English wranglen, to wrangle, from a Low German source akin to wrangeln, to wrestle. Both (i) and (ii) from Germanic *wrang-.

IV. Root *werg-, to turn.

1. Nasalized variant form *wreng-.

a. WRENCH, from Old English wrencan, to twist;
b. WRINKLE, from Old English gewrinclian, to wind (ge-, collective prefix; see kom). Both a and b from Germanic *wrankjan.

1. VERGE2; CONVERGE, DIVERGE, from Latin vergere, to turn, tend toward.

V. Root *wreik-, to turn.

a. WRY, from Old English wrīgian, to turn, bend, go;
b. WRIGGLE, from Middle Low German wriggeln, to wriggle. Both a and b from Germanic *wrīg-.

a. WRIST, from Old English wrist, wrist;
b. GAITER, from Old French guietre, gaiter, from Frankish *wrist-. Both a and b from Germanic *wristiz, from *wrihst-.

1. WREST, WRESTLE, from Old English wrǣstan, to twist, from secondary Germanic derivative *wraistjan.
2. Possibly o-grade form *wroik-. BRIAR1, BRUSQUE, from Late Latin brūcus, heather, from Gaulish *brūko-.

VI. RIBALD, from Old French riber, to be wanton, from Germanic root *wrib-.
VII. Root *werb-, also *werbh-, to turn, bend.

1. WARP, from Old English weorpan, to throw away, from Germanic *werp-, *warp-, “to fling by turning the arm.”
2. REVERBERATE, from Latin verber, whip, rod.
3. VERBENA, VERVAIN, from Latin verbēna, sacred foliage.
4. Zero-grade form *wb-. RHABDOMANCY, RHABDOVIRUS, from Greek rhabdos, rod.
5. Nasalized variant form *wrembh-. RHOMBUS, from Greek rhombos, magic wheel, rhombus.

VIII. Root *werp-, to turn, wind.

1. Metathesized form *wrep-. WRAP, from Middle English wrappen, to wrap, from a source akin to Danish dialectal vravle, to wind, from Germanic *wrap-.
2. Zero-grade form *wp-. RAPHE, RHAPHIDE; RHAPSODY, STAPHYLORRHAPHY, TENORRHAPHY, from Greek rhaptein, to sew.

IX. Root *wmi-, worm; rhyme word to kwmi-.

1. WORM, from Old English wyrm, worm, from Germanic *wurmiz.
2. VERMEIL, VERMI-, VERMICELLI, VERMICULAR, VERMIN, from Latin vermis, worm.

[Pokorny 3. er- 1152.]

I don’t know where you got wer-2 means “to raise, lift, hold suspended”. (Maybe we are looking at different editions.) That is wer-1. See:

wer-1
To raise, lift, hold suspended. Oldest form *ə2wer-.

1. Basic form *awer-. AORTA, ARSIS, ARTERIO-, ARTERIOLE, ARTERY; METEOR, from Greek āeirein, to raise, and artēriā, windpipe, artery.
2. Possibly from this root is Greek āēr, air (from an obscure basic form *āwer-): AERIAL, AERO-, AIR, ARIA; MALARIA.
3. Zero-grade form *aur-. AURA, from Greek aurā, breath, vapor (related to Greek āēr, air; see 2 above).

Verse and universe are not derived from this. Specifically you should look under wer-2 number 4:

1. VERSATILE, VERSE1, VERSION, VERSUS, VERTEBRA, VERTEX, VERTIGO, VORTEX; ADVERSE, ANNIVERSARY, AVERT, BOULEVERSEMENT, CONTROVERSY, CONVERSE1, CONVERT, DEXTRORSE, DIVERT, EVERT, EXTRORSE, EXTROVERSION, EXTROVERT, INTRORSE, INTROVERT, INVERT, MALVERSATION, OBVERT, PEEVISH, PERVERT, PROSE, RETRORSE, REVERT, SINISTRORSE, SUBVERT, TERGIVERSATE, TRANSVERSE, UNIVERSE, from Latin vertere, to turn, with its frequentative versāre, to turn, and passive versārī, to stay, behave (< “to move around a place, frequent”).

 

[Richard_Powers]

Here is the whole section all the different wer roots:

wer-1
To raise, lift, hold suspended. Oldest form *ə2wer-.

1. Basic form *awer-. AORTA, ARSIS, ARTERIO-, ARTERIOLE, ARTERY; METEOR, from Greek āeirein, to raise, and artēriā, windpipe, artery.
2. Possibly from this root is Greek āēr, air (from an obscure basic form *āwer-): AERIAL, AERO-, AIR, ARIA; MALARIA.
3. Zero-grade form *aur-. AURA, from Greek aurā, breath, vapor (related to Greek āēr, air; see 2 above).

[Pokorny 1. er- 1150.]

wer-2
Conventional base of various Indo-European roots; to turn, bend.
Derivatives include stalwart, weird, vertebra, wrath, wrong, wrestle, briar1, rhapsody, and worm.

I. Root *wert-, to turn, wind.

1. Germanic *werth-.

a.

i. -WARD, from Old English -weard, toward (< “turned toward”);
ii. INWARD, from Old English inweard, inward, from Germanic *inwarth, inward (*in, in; see en). Both (i) and (ii) from Germanic variant *warth;

b. perhaps Germanic derivative *werthaz, “toward, opposite,” hence “equivalent, worth.” WORTH1; STALWART, from Old English weorth, worth, valuable, and derivative noun weorth, wierth, value.

1. WORTH2, from Old English weorthan, to befall, from Germanic *werthan, to become (< “to turn into”).
2. Zero-grade form *wt-. WEIRD, from Old English wyrd, fate, destiny (< “that which befalls one”), from Germanic *wurthi-.
3. VERSATILE, VERSE1, VERSION, VERSUS, VERTEBRA, VERTEX, VERTIGO, VORTEX; ADVERSE, ANNIVERSARY, AVERT, BOULEVERSEMENT, CONTROVERSY, CONVERSE1, CONVERT, DEXTRORSE, DIVERT, EVERT, EXTRORSE, EXTROVERSION, EXTROVERT, INTRORSE, INTROVERT, INVERT, MALVERSATION, OBVERT, PEEVISH, PERVERT, PROSE, RETRORSE, REVERT, SINISTRORSE, SUBVERT, TERGIVERSATE, TRANSVERSE, UNIVERSE, from Latin vertere, to turn, with its frequentative versāre, to turn, and passive versārī, to stay, behave (< “to move around a place, frequent”).
4. VERST, from Russian versta, line, from Balto-Slavic *wirstā-, a turn, bend.

II. Root *wreit-, to turn.

1. WREATH, from Old English writha, band (< “that which is wound around”);
2. WRITHE, from Old English wrīthan, to twist, torture;
3. WRATH, WROTH, from Old English wrāth, angry (< “tormented, twisted”). 1-3 all from Germanic *wrīth-, *wraith-.

III. Root *wergh-, to turn.

1. WORRY, from Old English wyrgan, to strangle, from Germanic *wurgjan.
2. Nasalized variant *wrengh-.

a. WRING, from Old English wringan, to twist, from Germanic *wreng-;
b.

i. WRONG, from Middle English wrong, wrong, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse *vrangr, rangr, curved, crooked, wrong;
ii. WRANGLE, from Middle English wranglen, to wrangle, from a Low German source akin to wrangeln, to wrestle. Both (i) and (ii) from Germanic *wrang-.

IV. Root *werg-, to turn.

1. Nasalized variant form *wreng-.

a. WRENCH, from Old English wrencan, to twist;
b. WRINKLE, from Old English gewrinclian, to wind (ge-, collective prefix; see kom). Both a and b from Germanic *wrankjan.

1. VERGE2; CONVERGE, DIVERGE, from Latin vergere, to turn, tend toward.

V. Root *wreik-, to turn.

a. WRY, from Old English wrīgian, to turn, bend, go;
b. WRIGGLE, from Middle Low German wriggeln, to wriggle. Both a and b from Germanic *wrīg-.

a. WRIST, from Old English wrist, wrist;
b. GAITER, from Old French guietre, gaiter, from Frankish *wrist-. Both a and b from Germanic *wristiz, from *wrihst-.

1. WREST, WRESTLE, from Old English wrǣstan, to twist, from secondary Germanic derivative *wraistjan.
2. Possibly o-grade form *wroik-. BRIAR1, BRUSQUE, from Late Latin brūcus, heather, from Gaulish *brūko-.

VI. RIBALD, from Old French riber, to be wanton, from Germanic root *wrib-.
VII. Root *werb-, also *werbh-, to turn, bend.

1. WARP, from Old English weorpan, to throw away, from Germanic *werp-, *warp-, “to fling by turning the arm.”
2. REVERBERATE, from Latin verber, whip, rod.
3. VERBENA, VERVAIN, from Latin verbēna, sacred foliage.
4. Zero-grade form *wb-. RHABDOMANCY, RHABDOVIRUS, from Greek rhabdos, rod.
5. Nasalized variant form *wrembh-. RHOMBUS, from Greek rhombos, magic wheel, rhombus.

VIII. Root *werp-, to turn, wind.

1. Metathesized form *wrep-. WRAP, from Middle English wrappen, to wrap, from a source akin to Danish dialectal vravle, to wind, from Germanic *wrap-.
2. Zero-grade form *wp-. RAPHE, RHAPHIDE; RHAPSODY, STAPHYLORRHAPHY, TENORRHAPHY, from Greek rhaptein, to sew.

IX. Root *wmi-, worm; rhyme word to kwmi-.

1. WORM, from Old English wyrm, worm, from Germanic *wurmiz.
2. VERMEIL, VERMI-, VERMICELLI, VERMICULAR, VERMIN, from Latin vermis, worm.

[Pokorny 3. er- 1152.]

continued

 

[Richard_Powers]

wer-3
To perceive, watch out for.
Derivatives include wary, lord, reward, guard, and panorama.

I. O-grade form *wor-.

1. Suffixed form *wor-o-.

a. WARY, from Old English wær, watchful;
b. AWARE, from Old English gewær, aware (ge-, collective and intensive prefix; see kom);
c. WARE2, from Old English warian, to beware. a-c all from Germanic *waraz.

1. Suffixed form wor-to-.

a.

i. WARD; LORD, STEWARD, from Old English weard, a watching, keeper;
ii. WARDER2, from Old English weardian, to ward, guard;

b. WARDEN; AWARD, REWARD, WARDROBE, from Old North French warder, to guard;
c. GUARD; GARDEROBE, REGARD, from Old French guarder,to guard;
d. REARWARD2, from Anglo-Norman warde, guard. a-d all from Germanic *wardaz, guard, and *wardōn, to guard.

1. WARE1, from Old English waru, goods, protection, guard, from Germanic *warō.
2. Suffixed form *wor-wo-. ARCTURUS, PYLORUS, from Greek ouros, a guard.
3. Probably variant *(s)wor-, *s(w)or-. EPHOR, PANORAMA, from Greek horān, to see.

II. Suffixed (stative) form *wer-ē-. REVERE1, from Latin verērī, to respect, feel awe for.

[Pokorny 8. er- 1164.]

wer-4
To cover.
Derivatives include overt, cover, warranty, garage, garrison, and garnish.

I. Basic form *wer-.

1. WEIR, from Old English wer, dam, fish trap, from Germanic *wer-jōn-.
2. Compound form *ap-wer-yo- (*ap-, off, away; see apo-). APERIENT, APéRITIF, APERTURE; OVERT, OVERTURE, PERT, from Latin aperīre, to open, uncover.
3. Compound form *op-wer-yo- (*op-, over; see epi). COVER, OPERCULUM; KERCHIEF, from Latin operīre, to cover.
4. Suffixed form *wer-tro-. AMBARELLA, from Sanskrit vāṭaḥ, enclosure, from lengthened-grade derivative *vārt(r)a-.

II. O-grade form *wor-.

1. WARN, from Old English *war(e)nian, to take heed, warn, from Germanic *war-nōn.

a.

i. GUARANTY, from Old French garant, warrant, authorization;
ii. WARRANT, WARRANTEE, WARRANTY, from Old North French warant, warrant, and warantir, to guarantee;

b. GARAGE, from Old French garer, to guard, protect;
c. GARRET, GARRISON, from Old French g(u)arir, to defend, protect;
d. WARREN, from Old North French warenne, enclosure, game preserve;
e. GARMENT, GARNISH, GARNITURE, from Old French g(u)arnir, to equip. a-e all from Germanic *war-.

1. Suffixed form *wor-o-.

a. Germanic *warōn-, protector, in compound *burg-warōn- (see bhergh-2);
b. BARBICAN, from Old Iranian compound *pari-vāraka-, protective (*pari-, around; see per1).

[Pokorny 5. er- 1160.]

wer-5
Also werə-. To speak. Oldest form *werə1-, with variant *wreə1-, contracted to *wrē-.

1. Suffixed zero-grade form *w-dho-. WORD, from Old English word, word, from Germanic *wurdam.
2. Suffixed form *wer-dho-. VERB, VERVE; ADVERB, PROVERB, from Latin verbum, word.
3. Suffixed form *wer-yo-. IRONY, from Greek eirein, to say, speak.
4. Variant form *wrē-.

a. Suffixed form *wrē-tor-. RHETOR, from Greek rhētōr, public speaker;
b. suffixed form *wrē-m. RHEME, from Greek rhēma, word.

[Pokorny 6. er- 1162.]

Verse in universe means turn. The word universe means all turned into one.

 

[Richard_Powers]

How is a “singular turn” essentially different from “singular verse” in this context?

Universe does not mean one turn. It uses the perfect passive participle of vertere. That is it mean turned into.

 

[CalmDownWisWins]

Verse in universe means turn. The word universe means all turned into one.

 

[Richard_Powers]

Richard Powers;3100952:

Rich, my friend, if it “turned into one”, how was that done?

It was not literally turned into one. It is just a word.

I like your meaning of “universe” which is: “All turned into one”. To be “turned”, which is a verb, there must be some “actor” doing the turning. That which is “turned” is “all”, and it’s result of being “turned” is “into one”, but what affectuates the “turning”?

Did WE “turn” the “total of what we think is everything in existence (ALL)” into “one thing” by simply making up the word “universe” to put a label to it?

It is not my definition. Look it up in the AHD or better yet the OED.

No turned anything. It just a word to denote a concept. There is no need for an actor.

Look at these pages to get an idea of how Latin words work.

slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/grammar/whprax/w23ppl-f.html
takeourword.com/theory.html

Did the latins (or greeks, or indo-europeans, etc) use the word “universe”? What did they call what we know of as “the universe”?

I assume by latins you mean the Romans. They did use a word very much like universe - universum which is the noun use of universus. It is derived from the Greek concept of holos.

 

[john_doran]

you guys are freaking me out…