re: Do you accept the notion of the Big Bang as the origin of our universe?

The proven part to the best of my knowledge doesn’t go back to t=0 though and that’s where a lot of the questions about it from doubters arise. Our models and equations track it back to a tiny fraction of a second after, but we don’t have a unifying theory yet to get beck to the absolute beginning.

What’s incredible also and what I don’t think a lot of people realize is the speed of the inflation right after. Everything (including spacetime?) expanded outwards to create the vast expanses that we see today in a very short period of time. Question though, would that initial expansion be faster than light? The speed of c wasn’t established until after the Bang?

Aren't there many scientists who find fault with the Big Bang Theory? I know I'm not as up to date as you on matters of science, but one has only to goggle: "respected astrophysicists who dispute the big bang theory," or "problems with the big bang theory" to find numerous articles and reports from the scientific community asserting the debate is far from settled.

Also, considering the rate that new discoveries are made, and the vastness of the universe, there has to be many discoveries in physics yet to be made. These discoveries would probably have an impact on theories concerning the origin of the universe.

I just think it's premature to definitively say Big Bang Theory has been proven. Honestly, if scientists are even close in their estimation of the age of the universe, I don't think we'll ever definitively know exactly how the universe came into being.

Can we even contemplate an amount of time that vast? I mean supposedly, the earth is 4.5 billion years old. An inconceivable amount of time for us to comprehend. Double that number and add it to the earth's age and we're supposedly approaching the age of the universe!

Might the laws of physics change over such vast lengths of time? Might the laws of physics have been different in the past, or change in the future? Are there areas in the vastness of the universe were the laws of physics are different? Is it out of the realm of possibility for this to be true? (I know, I ask a lot of questions)

Modern astrophysics as a science is only 200 years old. Can we presume to say we have 13 billion years of history ascertained after so short a time?

Plus, I just don't trust scientists. I'm sorry, but there's too much grant money at stake. Too much pride. Too many egos. More than a few have been known to skew or interpret data a certain way to support a preferred conclusion. Faulty data means faulty conclusions.

Based on the evidence, BBT is probably the leading explanation for the origin of the universe. I just think there's more evidence out there. Plus, time is against us. We have only a limited amount of time to study the universe before humanity's time is done.

I don't think science has all the answers. I think there are answers science cant provide. I think scientists feel the absolute need to explain everything, and are resistant to admitting there are mysteries in the universe that cant be explained, or ever will be. There are just some questions we won't get answers for in this life.