Wow. A lot to go through. I will return to these excellent philosophical questions soon, but my wife is out of town, and the kids aren't in school and I am only one man against the tide of the terror of CHILDREN. I did read the Koran, and a few Hadiths in my comparative religion class at UChicago. We had that, Tao Te Ching, Bagavhad Gita, some Buddhist Teachings... My perspective doesn't include purpose or plan, just a confluence of physical laws, human behavior and blind luck. I find value in my traditions and celebrations and texts, but only how they describe the former.