What do the texts say about themselves — their origin, their authority, and who they are for?

It says it is God's speech, protected by God (Qur'an 15:9), complete, final, addressed to all humanity — and it dares anyone to find a contradiction in it (Qur'an 4:82) or produce its like (Qur'an 2:23). No one has.

They present themselves as human reasoning open to refutation. Lucretius says he writes to free readers from fear of the gods; Hume and Russell explicitly invite counter-argument; none claims any authority beyond the strength of its case.

They claim to be one person's reasoning, addressed to anyone, with no authority beyond argument. Huxley wrote that agnosticism 'is not a creed, but a method' — and a text that tells its reader to test it is stating exactly what it is for.

They claim divine inspiration — 'all Scripture is God-breathed' (2 Timothy 3:16) — yet also human care: Luke opens by describing his investigation among eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1–4). John states the purpose plainly, 'these are written that you may believe' (John 20:31), and the message is addressed to 'all nations' (Matthew 28:19).

The Torah presents itself as God's commands given through Moses, written down and read publicly to all Israel — men, women, children, and the resident stranger — and the prophets speak in God's name: 'thus says the LORD.' Its covenant is with Israel, while Genesis presents God as Creator and judge of all humanity.

The discourses call the Dhamma «well-expounded, visible here and now, inviting one to come and see» — offered to all beings, not to one people. They claim the authority of an awakened teacher, tell hearers to test rather than merely believe, and even to let the teaching go, like a raft, once it has carried them across.

The Vedas are treated as eternal sound, and for most of history their study was restricted to the "twice-born" castes. The Gita presents itself as God's own counsel — Krishna calls it the king of secrets yet offers refuge to all, "even those of lowly birth" — and the Puranas explicitly open sacred story to women and shudras excluded from Vedic study.

The bani presents itself as revelation — Nanak says he speaks as the word comes to him from the Lord — addressed to every human being of any caste or creed. And since 1708, on Guru Gobind Singh's command, the community has held the book itself to be the eternal Guru.

They present themselves as human instruments: the First Amendment speaks as a restraint on government addressed to all citizens, and Locke's Letter offers itself as an argument any reader may test. None claims divine origin or immunity from criticism.

They call themselves consensus statements of their generation, addressed to all humanity, carrying no authority beyond their arguments, and expressly open to revision as knowledge grows.

They present themselves as fallible human argument addressed to everyone. Mill opens On Liberty by renouncing any appeal to abstract right independent of utility; the Universal Declaration calls itself 'a common standard of achievement' for all peoples — a goal to be reached, not a revelation.

They claim no authority beyond argument and address everyone: Wollstonecraft appeals to reason against custom; hooks's very title declares the movement 'for everybody'; and the Declaration of Sentiments deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence, holding it to its own words.

They present themselves as human argument and appeal: Mazzini addressed Italian workingmen, Fichte his defeated nation, Renan a scholarly audience. None claims more than an author's authority, and each asks to be judged by history and conscience.