J_L, what you are asking in all 5 questions is "show me the way", well if I could I would, but I am only human and can't. I don't believe that 'anyone' made the universe and I don't believe in any religion that I have met to date. You keep quoting a lot of wise men from the past, and I don't doubt their messages or wisdom, but we could do with some more modern teachings. I know that most of those wise men are a hard act to follow and we get too much information from all angles these days, but someone, someday, may find a way of using this communications paradise to spread the word and enlighten.
I think that we are our own god, so there are millions of them, what we do and say we are in the first place responsible to ourselves, our families, our community ETC. Two things are certain, life and death not only ours but our world too, so make the most of it you only get one shot. I do believe there is something or someone to guide us (I have seen it with my own eyes) but our actions are still ours. We either listen to it or don't that's our freedom, a freedom that not even the deepest dungeon can take away.
As for peace, it is hard to find two people that agree let alone two cultures or two nations. Even for one country to pick a leader it's nearly always 50/50. The best thing we can do, I have to repeat, is start on our own doorstep, be more friendly and tolerant. This "free hugs" thing is spreading (thank god!) now they are dishing them out in the main station of Ghent with a bag of sweets on top of that!
The Scott's have seen the writing on the wall in England and want out, good luck to them I say, but that's a point for another discussion.