The Tower of Zuck

I suppose there had to come a time where plain old reality became a little too old. 

Seeing the radiance and contrast in a star-lit night, 
Feeling the years in the complex texture of a long-standing oak tree, 
Hearing the layered bubbling of a smooth river...

Experiences like this have an expiration date, right? They become tired like anything else. Especially when hot competition is all around.

Enter modernity with our technologically profound novel realities: phones, apps, games, VR, movies, etc. It's a bold new world and the old world, the one that man did not generate, just cannot keep up. 

Our fearless leader is none other than the great king Zuck himself - I mean Mark Zuckerberg of course - who will not stop until an entirely new universe is formed, a Metaverse with the aim of "Immersive all day experiences" (1).

How great is our king. Those who do not kneel will certainly be left to perish in the waning days of the old world - right? 

I beg to differ. No that's too light. The metaverse and all efforts like it are insane. 

Let me tell you how I really feel.

The modern urge to predominately replace living in the firstborn, ex-nihilo, directly-God-made universe with the derivative, second-hand, tinkerings of man is a rejection of God's revelation. 

Why do I say this? Turn with me to Scripture:

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world."
- Psalm 19:1-4 NASB

The created object focused on in these verses is "the heavens" or "space" in our modern terminology. However, the principle that God's glory emanates and knowledge of Him flows from his creation is the essence of what is being said. Paul generalizes this principle to all of creation, not just the heavens, in Romans 1:18-23.

The tension with the metaverse is evident. God speaks through His creation to us. He speaks of His glory, power, beauty, creativity, preeminence, and excellence. As Paul puts it, "His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made" (Romans 1:20 NASB). To act as if the derivative realities of man could match the God revealing power of His direct creation is eminently foolish. Therefore, we would be fools to spend our brief time here on earth surrounded by man's petty work when the incomparable works of God are at our doorstep. 

The second half of Psalm 19 is dedicated to God's didactic revelation - "the Law of the LORD" or, more simply, Scripture. There is no mention of man's works in Psalm 19; because it simply is a sideshow compared to the banquet of God's revelation: His world and His Word. 

Coram Deo,
Mikey

References:
(1) Article in Inc titled "5 Things Mark Zuckerberg Said About His Plan for the Metaverse That Should Make You Very Worried"