I've always had this weird thought that religions sprout up when a grifter finds a fictional book buried somewhere that no ones heard off and builds a cult around it with themselves as the center piece.

That’s a cool thought.

Same with Julius Caesar, Nebuchadnezzar, Christopher Columbus, Henry VIII, Copernicus, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Ptolemy.

Really anybody famous could have their image embellished back before the widespread ability to read and write. (Some folks listed above may not have lived in a time of illiteracy, but it was hard to think of a list of historical characters lol.)

We know that this is from a series of texts that built on each other - many "facts" and feats attributed to Jesus were earlier attributed to Mithras and others.

The same "miracles" and other stuff get reused and applied to new prophets or supposed gods as they roll in.

Chuck norris could be the second coming of Jesus, and here you are, writing blasphemy

Isn't that how cats inserted themselves into human society?