Religious books. What they say has to be interpreted by someone. They are first and foremost the many priests, rabbis, imams and ayatollahs, and then the fundamentalists and jihadists, and finally ordinary people. All in all, there are numerous versions of what is true or not, how to behave or not, what to do on a Sunday morning, are not.
Among all these interpretations are there any that we can take as fundamental? Basic to being a religious person. It just might help to see more clearly.
William Buiter, Professor of European Political Economy, London School of Economics and Political Science, cuts to the chase,
The Christian faith teaches (straight from the Tanakh) that the two great commandments are “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind …and … Love your neighbour as yourself. All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” All the rest is interpretation and rationalisation.