nothing, nothing, nothing...big bang?

[Tiberius]

Please prove the assertion that I have marked in bold. If you cannot, then it is merely an assumption being used to support your argument, and we all know how well that usually works out...

Simple.
Everything we know has had a beginning. We can speculate and go 'what if' but what if we find a moon made of cheese? So lets not speculate.
Currently everything that has had a beginning has had a cause. Whether that be you, Dawkins, the London Bridge, life itself, galaxies, stars and the universe itself have all had a cause for its existence. Perhaps in the future we will find something which doesnt have a cause for its beginning. We may also find that energy and matter can be created, but lets not speculate...

Not so simple actually, seeing as you didn't prove anything. You say we shouldn't speculate, and then admit that your entire reasoning is speculation. You have no reason for believing that everything that had a beginning also had a cause for that beginning; only that everything we've seen so far does. This is speculation (and also wrong, as theVOID has pointed out on many occasions).

I should also mention that saying "simple" as if you've proved it, and then saying "perhaps in the future..." reveals the contradictory nature of your argument. Next time you think you've proved something, you shouldn't add a conditional on the end...

So I disagree; speculation is very powerful. It stops us from becoming so arrogant we make stupid statements without any proof whatsoever. What if we find a moon made of cheese? Well then we've found some new and interesting in the universe. What if we find that matter / energy can be created? Then we've advanced science further than we thought possible. What if some things can have a beginning without a cause? Then your argument is flawed. Speculation is a good thing.