First and foremost, I do not, in any sense, think that there was an intelligent sentient entity or entities that created the universe. As a matter of fact, I emphatically deny the existence of such a being. There is no ultimate purpose for the universe. It simply exists. The same thing goes for all life on earth. True, we have some evolutionary imperatives, however in the grander scheme of things we exist without any purpose.

I accept Darwin's theory of evolution as fact. I do not accept it precisely as Darwin explicated it, as it has been modified and refined over the last century, but I absolutely think that descent with modification is fact. I accept all of the obvious implications that go along with the theory, such as a multi-billion year old earth, a common ancestor between any two organisms, and that there is no implicit hegemony in the animal kingdom.

On a somewhat related note, I think it is fairly probable that aliens exist. The fundamental constituents of life are known to be prevalent in the universe. An understanding of evolution also allows me to know that the phenomena of life is not based on random chance, in which case life would be extremely improbable, but on a meticulous system which manipulates the fundamental constituents of life. Unfortunately, the scope of our search is limited. We can not probe with much detail outside of our solar system. However, if we were able to investigate places more suitable to life with greater detail I would not be surprised to find life there.

The big bang becomes increasingly clear to me as I continue reading. I accept the theory. It appears that in all likeliness any new evidence we uncover will either support or slightly modify the big bang theory rather than replace it.

Black holes probably exist. Same with dark matter. That is all I have to say about them.

I don't think the speed of light itself influences our universe at all. It's simply the upper speed-limit of the universe. Our realization that it is the upper speed limit of the universe, and also that it is the same in all inertial reference frames affects our understanding of the universe profoundly, though.

There is nothing extraordinary about time travel. We do it all the time. We're doing it right now. We can even manipulate how fast we travel through time, but only to a slight extent. We constantly travel through space-time at C -- the only thing is in general most of that is being done in the time dimension. Velocity causes something somewhat analogous to a rotation of the space-time coordinate system, which allows us deflect some of that velocity we use traveling through time in order to travel through space.

I do not accept any currently proposed grand unified theories of physics. String theory seems to be a promising line for inquiry, though.

Above all I believe in the scientific method for ascertaining the secrets of our universe. Rational inquiry should always take precedent over anecdotes and personal revelation.