Before Big Bang God or Singularity

Keep in mind that in a Cosmology Forum, the scientists should never be on the defensive. Theologians accept what they read on faith. That is all any of us have in that area of speculation.While these questions are good and will hopefully help there to be greater understanding between science and faith, we do have to defer to the discipline of science as being cautious and tentative when considering any answers to otherwise philosophical questions.

I'll play along! How do we know that this first element is 1?

One problem that I see here is this:Scientists are geared towards asking questions and testing them. Scientists do not assume any answers.Theologians, by nature of their very belief, assume answers on a daily basis and use other written answers to back them up.Carry on, guys...just thought I would clear that up before our philosophy thread continues!

In a scientific sense, we can only follow where the clues lead us. Thats why we are asking the physicists questions! Don't you mean, in a strict sense, that the real place was T=0?Keep in mind that we humans are finite...at least evidentially.For us to know something with any certainty that happened before we were around would require either insight or proof. Scientists look for proof and a trail to test and reconstruct.Theologians pray for insight, BTW.

I have no way of knowing if T=0 is true. I assume that it is the best hypotheis that science an/or Cosmology has. I can read what Hawking has to say on the matter, but I am unable to fully comprehend his arguments. Here at EvC, Son Goku and Cavediver both have a better grip on the path that led to the hupothesis of t=0 existing, so that is in essence why we have scientific philosophy threads. My point is that neither side knows anything absolutely because neither side was there at that point. (Unless you believe that all matter past present and future was at that point, in which case I may have been there in some form!

OK I have a question. Do many of the Cosmologists believe that the universe had a time prior to the hot dense state where it again was large, as it is now?

I respect this, and would present it as the prime difference between Theological Faith/Belief models and scientific models. Skepticism is welcomed in Science, discouraged in Faith/Belief.