[Tonio]

Originally Posted by PsyOps

The whole idea of theory is based on speculation.

Theories drawn on observed phenomena and current knowledge. Speculation doesn't draw upon anything but human imagination.

Originally Posted by PsyOps

You can’t even be sure anything is really that far away. Perhaps there is a warp in the universe that gives us the impression objects are as far away as they are.

While such a warp is a possibility, it would seem to be merely an interesting intellectual exercise, since its existence or non-existence would make no difference in the phenomena we are observing. You seem to be suggesting that the human ability to observe and made deductions is not only imperfect and limited, but fundamentally untrustworthy. Is this the case? If we cannot trust these abilities, what's the point of having any curiosity about the universe at all? I have grave misgivings about that concept of untrustworthiness because tyrants throughout history have sought to convince their subjects to distrust their own senses. I'm not saying that we should blindly trust our senses either - I'm talking about a healthy skepticism somewhere between the extremes of assumed trustworthiness and assumed untrustworthiness.

Originally Posted by PsyOps

Just as the scientific community can’t agree as to whether the universe is static, expanding or contracting...

Of course there is always going to be disagreement among scientists, because they are human. But they are still capable of reaching general consensus on answers when observations continue to confirm those answers. The fact that scientists often disagree does not invalidate the entire concept of science. If science were all about belief, there would be no such thing as laboratory experimentation or astronomical observation.

Originally Posted by PsyOps

Try to consider the “observed phenomenon” of belief. Perhaps there’s more to it than just a simple matter of choice or desire to explain the unexplainable, but rather a level of consciousness that no one has, from an observation standpoint, tapped into yet.

Of course there may be something more to belief. Again, the burden of proof is on any claim that there is more to it.