The question of ultimate origins is a religious question, so claiming to discuss
it in non-religious terms is pointless. & someone who claims that it is a
"philosophical" rather than a religious question simply shows his or her attachment to
the God of the philosophers.
If I may comment here on your parallel post concerning lawyers (to cut down on
internet traffic) - I can be as critical as anyone of the practices of present-day
lawyers. But it's only fair to note that the "lawyers" who come in for a lot of
criticism in the gospels are experts in the Moasiac law, & thus are correspond as much
to today's biblical scholars & theologians as to lawyers.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/