Snurp, as much as we caution the religious folks, I have to say we need to exercise caution also on the statements we made from science. Big bang theory is just a theory. Science theories evolve as we get more empirical data. Never say anything for certain until and unless that has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt (say +/- 3 sigma). What was before big bang? It depends upon what theory you follow, given the assumption that big bang did occur.