A general topic on "what started it all..."

[leo-rcc]

Leo,

I'm not certain that religion does 'know', but it seems that (at least some) seekers among many creeds are actively searching for an answer- by quantitative, qualitative or anecdotal means.

And of course they can do that, but in that way you are not going to get any further then a hypothesis at best. As long as my hypothesis that Gus the magic Hippo farted the universe into existence is just as valid as any other hypothesis brought forward by any other religion, I will not accept there is any merit to their claim. Find the evidence for it, then we will talk.

Conversely, natural scientists often appear content to avoid the subject as if future knowledge cant exist because it hasnt previously been demonstrated.

Nonsense. They have plenty of questions they have a better chance of answering which some day may lead to a better insight into the singularity in a later stage. Just because science doesn't have an answer yet doesn't mean it has given up on it.

Microbes existed, and had profound effects on human life, long before fleming discovered them. Does anything exist today that hasnt yet been discovered?

Yes there is plenty we do not know yet and have not been discovered yet, and science is looking for those answers. What makes you think they don't? If anything it is the scientists are the ones saying "We don't know everything, we need to find that out".

I fear science may have given up too early, and relgated these questions to the religious proponents who may not be trained to provide the kind of evidence scientists would respect.

That fear has no valid basis whatsoever. Name one field where science has "given up".