"The most respected scientists do not believe in the big bang" this is demonstrably untrue. Von Braun was an engineer, not a physicist. Also, Galileo could not have had an opinion on the Big Bang as he died several centuries before the thought had ever occurred to anyone. BTW, NASA's budget of $17 billion has resulted in endless innovations for everyone (weather forecasting, agricultural research, energy-saving and "green"technology, firefighting apparatus, CAT scans, wireless technology, plus thousands more) for less than .01 cent of every tax dollar. Contrast that with the $900 billion spent so far in Iraq and what has that gotten us? (besides the opportunity to spend even more?) Evolutionary biology is presently being used to develop cures for everything from MS to Parkinsons - and that is theory put into practice! Or you could try praying the disease away.... just because it's never worked before doesn't mean it's not worth a shot!