to your first comment: yes all evidence points to there being something else...in the end its your faith to believe that that something/someone else is God. just the same as you have faith to believe that the law of thermodynamics or gravity is real.
second comment: about the animals. i could be wrong...i honestly dont know.
Kudos to your entire post, man.
I do hope everything you believe is what it is. And in a way, I believe the same. Just too many questions make me seem to be a total non-believer. Later, QD.