espritch

In the case of Hawking radiation, you are not getting something for nothing. When one member of the virtual particle pair becomes a real particle, it does so by taking some of the mass or energy from the black hole. In effect, Hawking radiation causes the black hole to evaporate. So there really aren't any good examples of something from nothing.

Your first response is better. We really don't know what came before the big bang. There are various theories that have been floated out there such as brane theory, but non of them are really in the realm of being provable so far. Also, no one outside of a few cosmologists has any idea of what they are actually about in any event. However, there is no inherent reason to believe the universe did not exist prior to the big bang. It may have existed but in a different form. It may have always existed. Why should we assume that the universe had a beginning?

DJohson

Do you believe in the principle of causality? According to this principal, every scientific theory bases on the rational point of view that for every effect there is a cause. Im confused at this point. What was the cause of the universe? The muslims at http://forums.shiasource.com have countered that spot. I guess the universe occurred by accident?