A Divine Resonance Model of Cosmology
Are there more hopeful endings than endlessly cold,
explosively chaotic, or cosmic collapsing models?
by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT
Proposal: "A Divine Relationally-Becoming Model of
Co-Mutuality, Co-Partnership, and Co-Dependency"
I have been curious about "the end of the universe" for some time. The most recent article related to this curiosity was seen in the Atlantic magazine with the following heading:
The Atlantic: The Nobel Prize Winner Who Thinks We Have the Universe All Wrong. Cosmologists are fighting over everything, by Ross Andersen | May 30, 2025
As a shortcut, I asked Chatbot about the several more popular theories about the end of the universe wondering if there might be something I might resonate with along the lines of process philosophy and theology. Not surprisingly, there was. And with ChatGPT's help I offer this processual model as a more hopeful and creative proposition for science to consider in place of their more bleak endings.
As always, the science will be sufficient but not off putting so that readers with a non-science background can follow along.
Enjoy.
R.E. Slater
& ChatGPT
June 10, 2025
![]() |
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani | The Atlantic. Sources: Janerik Henriksson | AFP |Getty; Getty. |
INTRODUCTION
The end of the universe is a topic of ongoing debate and speculation in cosmology. While the exact fate remains uncertain, several models have been proposed, including the Big Crunch, Big Rip, Big Freeze, and the heat death of the universe. The Big Crunch suggests the universe will eventually collapse under its own gravity, while the Big Rip posits a catastrophic tearing apart due to accelerating expansion caused by dark energy. The Big Freeze and heat death envision a scenario where the universe continues to expand indefinitely, reaching a state of thermodynamic equilibrium and maximum entropy.
Here's a more detailed look at these models:
- Big Crunch - This theory suggests the universe will eventually stop expanding and begin contracting, ultimately collapsing into a singularity. This would happen if the density of matter and energy in the universe is sufficient to overcome the outward expansion caused by the Big Bang. This would be due to the reversal of dark energy which is a theoretical repulsive force that counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.
- Big Rip - This model proposes that the universe's expansion will accelerate so dramatically due to dark energy that it will tear apart all matter, including stars, galaxies, atoms, and even spacetime itself.
- Big Freeze / Heat Death - This scenario envisions the universe continuing to expand indefinitely, with galaxies and stars eventually becoming so far apart that they are effectively isolated. The universe would cool down to a near-absolute zero temperature, reaching a state of maximum entropy and no longer able to sustain any further thermodynamic processes.
- Cyclic Universe - This model proposes that the universe undergoes an endless cycle of expansion and contraction, with each cycle beginning with a Big Bang and ending with a Big Crunch. Essential dark energy and dark matter work in tandem counteracting each other's forces. [Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter that makes up a significant portion of the universe, but is invisible because it doesn't interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation.]
- Conformal Cyclic Cosmology - This theory suggests that the universe will end in a finite amount of conformal time at a future conformal boundary, but the physical development of the universe can continue beyond this boundary.
- Braneworld Cosmologies - These models, inspired by string theory, propose that our universe is a membrane embedded in a higher-dimensional spacetime.
- Modified Theories of Gravity - These theories explore alternative ways of understanding gravity that could lead to different scenarios for the end of the universe.
Note
In the standard Lambda-CDM model of cosmology, the mass–energy content of the universe is 5% ordinary matter, 26.8% dark matter, and 68.2% a form of energy known as dark energy. Here, dark matter constitutes 85% of the total mass; together, dark energy and dark matter constitute 95% of the total mass–energy content.
Several Popular Cosmology Models
click to enlarge any model