Nope, still don't get it. Thanks for the answer but I still can't get my head around the nothing bit.  I'm happy to take for granted the assumptions that scientists are working on to prove the theory and knowing that there is much in science that I don't really understand.  However, if there was absolute nothing then there would have been no conditions for the big bang to come about.  If you can get me to understand that bit I will be forever grateful because it's always baffled me.

Unfortunately it's not easy to understand from our point of view.  My understanding of the latest thinking is:

We see things as cause and effect - one thing must be caused by another.  For cause and effect to work they must happen in time (our 4th dimension).  The big bang theory says that time was created at the same time as the other dimensions and that therefore cause and effect doesn't apply before the big bang so there doesn't have to be a cause only an effect.  This means that the big bang has no cause as there was nothing to cause it or time to cause it in. 

That probably doesn't help you at all :). 

It gets even more confusing when physicists start talking about time because according to some theories there is no reason why time only goes one way (ie from the past to the present to the future)

> The big bang theory says that time was created at the same

That is where I always go back to my childhood  questions. Who created time ? My mother would say "God" thinking that would give me my answer.
SO who created God??????

WHY WHY WHY. Will we ever know the answers. Thank goodness the bods are doing the asking for me because it makes my head ache.When they know I will listen to the answers !

Does God play any part in science? If the big bang is proved...what about religion?

Mund you, there is supposed to be good evidence that the world will end in 2012 anyway when something hits the earth....hell, eat drink and be merry :)

Personally I don't see how proving the big bang affects God.  Christianity says that God is immortal and that he knows everything (past, present and future), such a being can not be in time as time as we understand  it flows only one way, so he could not know what will happen in the future.  So if you accept that God exists outside of time then he is not affected by our physical universe therefore also not affected by the big bang.

> Personally I don't see how proving the big bang affects God.  Christianity says that God is immortal and that he knows everything (past, present and future), such a being can not be in time as time as we understand  it flows only one way, so he could not know what will happen in the future.  So if you accept that God exists outside of time then he is not affected by our physical universe therefore also not affected by the big bang.

totally agree- plenty things have been proven that disprove many biblical ideas (the age of the earth for example or evolution) and its not hurt peoples belief. to my mind i can't see why this discounts the existance of a higher power- think how amazing it all is! the exact right particles or whatever just happen to cause the big bang- what kind of chance was there? to my mind perhaps it makes more sense if something other started it off. or something that makes the things that drive evolution occur etc. but then i belive in the presence of the gods, to others who don't believe its maybe not so obvious :)

> world will end in 2012

That does not scare me. I was bought up being indoctrinated that 1975 would be armaggedon!!!
Getting to 16 was the best. I eventually said I won't go any more loud enough to be heard, YAY and it was 1977!!!!

> So if you accept that God exists outside of time then he is not affected by our physical universe therefore also not affected by the big bang

Or us????

>there is supposed to be good evidence that the world will end in 2012

Well, I hope it's after the Olympics because if I don't pop off before I fully intend to be there!

     world will end in 2012

That does not scare me. I was bought up being indoctrinated that 1975 would be armaggedon!!!

oh, it dosent scare me, don't even believe it, don't expect the world powers would even tell us if something was about to hit the earth anyway and if the bomb drops I want to be hugging it as it lands.....missed the 1975 thingy!