Most atheists are brainwashed into thinking that if they ask about the beginning of the Universe, they are ignorant. Worse, they are taught that anyone asking the question is ignorant. It's a complete appeal to emotion argument to prevent people from asking the questions, which could be the most important you could ever ask (assuming you came to the conclusion that maybe there is such a thing as a creator).
That has to be one of the largest balls of shite i've seen on slashdot in a while.
Some atheists (who by definition are not a homogenous group as you like to paint them) ask those kinds of questions all the time. The difference is that we're willing to accept "we don't know (yet)" as an answer instead of having to dive into fantasy land to make up something to make us feel better.
Hey, maybe there is some vastly more powerful being out there who created the universe. And maybe, just maybe, said being takes more of an interest in us than we do in, say, the lives of the bacteria in our guts. That's still no compelling reason to dive down into heaven and hell fantasies. If said being really wants something from us, it could pop down to Times Square some time and make its wishes clear. But don't expect me to believe some guy who just wants a cushy job inside with no heavy lifting that if I don't do as he says I'll burn in some fantasy oven forever and ever.