@Fusion
I concur with the majority of your statements, I will only then comments on few of those.
While it is true that all books can be seen as products of God's creation,
All is God's creation, given the core concept is actually there is only one Creator.
One then should ponder "Why there is only one?"
For this specific question there's another thread on this forum about "Infinity".
There are trillion of galaxies in this universe alone, where each galaxy contains billions of stars.
The story of this universe doesn't start with human or earth and will not end with human or earth.
And there are multiple universe as well to add more to the complexity of "all creations" created by one creator
it does not necessarily imply that they are all on an equal footing when it comes to their spiritual or moral authority. Different religious traditions claim the divine origin of their respective scriptures, such as the Bible, the Quran, and others. It is through these texts that believers seek guidance, wisdom, and a deeper understanding of their faith.
What is your definition of "divine"? and how can a thing be "more divine" than the others? (thus less divine)
And there are period where even text or scripture was not yet even invented.
From "where" then soul on those period should seek their guidance?
Then add that to the fact that literacy rate among human throughout the majority of their history was quite low.
And the majority of the figures on the book that you mentioned was not written by it's figure.
Specifically since the context of this thread is about Jesus;
In time of Jesus literacy rate was lower than 10%.
Jesus never wrote any book although he certainly can read and write in Hebrew and Aramaic.
From where did Jesus received his guidance?
Only Torah scrolls? The scrolls compiled by religious authority of his time?
Read the Gospel and it's the content of the Torah where he had trouble with in the first place and triggered
his own seeking.
that the concept of superiority arose from a desire for control and power within certain groups
Concur... and religion is the tool to achieve control and power over a society.
Observe how Jesus did not invent any religion, the religion of Christianity was not invented by Jesus, thus Jesus is not even a Christian. This fact sometimes caused logical dissonance among some people.
The reason being: control and power is not the goal or desire of Jesus during his lifetime on earth.
it does not negate the possibility that certain religious texts contain profound spiritual truths that resonate with their followers.
Yes and falsehood as well, it's a mixed bag, as can be derived from Jesus experience.
Having said that: truth will not exist when it's opposite; falsehood does not exist.
Thus strengthening one's 'discretion capability' is actually the goal, and that can only be achieved by exposure to the falsehood. Through this way; falsehood can act as guidance towards truth. By knowing the "is not" one will then found the "is".
You mention the question of why Jesus, John, or Muhammad did not personally write down their teachings. It is worth noting that the transmission of religious teachings and experiences does not solely rely on written documents. In many faith traditions, oral transmission and personal encounters play a vital role in conveying the message of spirituality.
Concur, and I've added the fact about literacy rate above to support this.
And it's important to note your statement of 'conveying the message of spirituality' and 'not religion'.
You rightly emphasize the importance of seeking and asking for divine guidance.
Yes, this is the most important message.
Because it's always available to all, regardless of which galaxies, stars or planets, let alone 'social identity' such as religion.
Yet religion state that 'revelation has ended' and only available through their artifacts as an effort to obtain control and power. The Jesus story is an example of how a soul named Jesus proved such statement as falsehood and that's actually one of Jesus core message.
Seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given.
Stating that each of you has a direct relationship with something that he named as "Father in Heaven".
In conclusion, the question of which religious book is "better" should not solely be approached from a perspective of idolatry or fanaticism.
It's important to also note that in order for a thing to be 'better' then it's opposite 'lesser' need to also exist.
When one start to claim that "A" is better, on any context, then one must view and proved that "Other than A" are lesser in comparation to "A".
This "A" can be anything, ranging from nationality, races, religion, holy book, holy places, figure or even as menial as football club.
At first; this view seems to be innocent, but it's the gateway that opened the door towards fanaticism.
And it's an expression of pride.
As they say:
pride came before the fall.
It's the reason why for example in today's Germany they banned the "Deutschland uber alles" part from their national anthem. As they've learned, through the hard way, where does this "uber alles" attitude will lead.
The true value of any religious text or figure lies in their ability to inspire individuals to lead a life of compassion, love, and righteousness.
Concur..
Yet it's important to note that many religious texts was compiled as a mean to obtain power and control by political authority. (Kingdom, Empire, Caliphate et. al.)
Thus I better rephrased and add your statement above to be:
The true value of your lifetime on earth lies on how you can live your life expressing humility, compassion, love and righteousness.
Actually not only on earth; on any planets or galaxies or realm is also the same.
Yet in order for humility, compassion, love and righteousness to be recognizable and exist; it's opposite also need to exist (pride, revenge, hatred and wickedness).
As said by Jesus:
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
-- Matthew 6
