I, like most, have questioned our origin and purpose.    I can't say that I've gone as far as some on the journey to enlightenment, but curiosity and conflicting theories has been enough for me to really seek a satisfying answer.  Hearing stories of Jesus didn't solidify anything for me, while raw science simply didn't explain much beyond physical matter.   Now, this is entirely my opinion, but it works for me.

The idea of an entity that watches over our every move, making sure we conform to a certain set of rules, that varies based on your up-bringing sounds foolish to me.   If "he" created the entire universe, why in hell would he pay so much individual attention to us?   He wouldn't.   As far as I'm concerned, religious practice is merely a tool, used by us, and only us, to build and sustain society and essentially power.  If you do "this" you go to heaven, but if you do "that" you go to hell.  It's a simple concept that involves our fears and desires for positive experience.  All species on Earth avoid danger and gravitate towards what they want or need.  It's how we survive.  However, my cats are more interested in fake mice, than the crucifix necklace my crazy Aunt gave me for Christmas.

With all the contradictions, rules, and practice that goes with the diversity of religions in the world, there's no wonder why so many people are confused.  You could just blindly follow whatever you were taught, but not all of us are isolated, or ignorant.  We can't just give up on curiosity though.  As humans our quest for information is what keeps us alive.  We have to be comfortable in our beliefs.   Some people find comfort in belief of a perfect being that gives life and provides balance, along with all the answers to the burning questions.   Believe it or not, I am one of those people. But instead of going to Church, I go outside.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Nature, this whole entire world, left to it's own devices, is perfect.
It provides life, nourishment, and balance, in an extremely complex system, that will prevail over all.  Whether it's food chains, or weather patterns.  It has purpose.   When the temperature increases in the ocean, nature has a way of cooling it down - hurricanes.  When any plant or animal dies, it's body provides nourishment to new life.   Bees help plants reproduce, while plants feed bees.  It simply all works out.  We often have a hard time seeing that for two reasons, it doesn't always work in our favor, and we are too far away from our roots. Sure, life isn't always fair, but it's all a part of Nature's plan.   We are the demons of this planet, due to our indulgence and sodomy of what Nature has provided for all life, and not just ours.  Even the most kind of people will value human life over any other specie.   We have manipulated, and even created animals, that never should have been, and would never survive according to Nature's laws, for our own gain.  Look at dogs for example.  In the beginning we started a relationship with dogs.  The least aggressive, and timid, went along with us on hunts where they would use the tools nature gave them to herd game, which we killed.  Realizing their use to us, we fed those dogs in return.  Over the course of thousands of years, dogs have adapted to our needs in order to fulfill theirs.  Eventually, we began to selectively breed them, but unfortunately our needs turned to wants, and dogs have suffered as a result.
The English Bulldog is a prime example.  As dumb as we are, we used to believe that steak tasted better if the cow was frightened immediately before slaughter (fuck we're disgusting) so we used dogs to scare them.  Now that we smartened up to a certain extent, we no longer use dogs to scare cows, and the English Bulldog has turned from tool, to novelty.  We're so interested in them being cute, or within the Kennel Club guidelines of perfection, and now the English Bulldog is a disfigured animal with a slew of horrible inherited health issues that usually results in an untimely death.  Hell, the damn things can't even be born naturally anymore. They are all born via c-section because their heads are too large for the mother's birth canal.   Nature simply wouldn't allow that. 

At the end of the day, I don't find peace knowing that God will one day wipe the world of sin.  But I do find peace knowing that Nature will prevail.  We cannot prevent earth quakes, predict the exact time and location of tornadoes, plug volcanoes, stop hurricanes, or make it rain.  Hell with all the technology, we can't even accurately, and decisively predict the weather one week in advance.   If you're looking for awesome, watch a thunder storm roll in.  If you want tranquility, running your fingers through a clear slow flowing stream is as relaxing as it gets.   Going to Church to find "God" is like using Meth to find happiness.  It's manufactured.

Now, I didn't answer any real questions.  The reason being is, knowing how it all began, how it will end, or why we're even here, isn't going to bring the peace we're after.  Can you imagine if we knew?  What would we wonder then?