I haven’t gotten to studying the Baha’i faith yet, so I can’t really say much about it.. But I will get to it eventually and I will be sure to ask more questions then
When you mention textual criticism, you would need to elaborate what you mean being careful to avoid cultural bias.
In terms of textual criticism, I am referring to how close the modern versions of the Holy Scriptures reflect on what was originally written (Has the Bible been corrupted or tampered with over the years like Muslims claim?) Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no other ancient religion with as many accurately copied manuscripts as the Bible. (25 000-30 000 handwritten copies of the New Testament, 5700 in original Greek). There is also the Dead Sea Scrolls which confirm that there has been very little change since the 1st century (minor changes in terms of spelling and grammar as one would expect).
TEXTUAL CRITICISM OF THE BIBLE
The problem I have with the Quran in terms of textual criticism is that Muslims claim that not a single letter or dot has been changed since the 6th century, and that it has been perfectly preserved. (Surah 15:9 prompts Muslims into saying this) As it stands, one would find minor variants in the Quran when purchased in Lebanon, as compared to Turkey (There are over 20 different Arabic versions of the Qur’an worldwide).
As I mentioned before, such a variant would be expected in such an ancient text, so I do not have an issue with that. The problem comes in when people shy away from modern scholarship and the facts to protect their own worldview, and Muslims have imposed this ideal worldview unto other non-Muslims.
One religion being more moral is a very relative term. We need to consider the historic context of each Faith. Christianity that emerged two thousand years ago is very weak on matters such as slavery, equality of women and the importance of democracy when governing human affairs. The Baha'i Faith emerged out of nineteenth century Persia and is much stronger in such areas. Our Teachings are much more suited to the modern age than than the ancient religions, including Christianity.
In terms of morality, we can compare how the religions of Christianity and Islam were founded in the 1st and 6th century. Was it done peacefully without violence, or was it through violent subjugation of the opposition? It is also quite easy to compare the lives of our prophets: Jesus and Muhammad, and see who lived a more moral life. I can raise a few concerns with Muhammad in terms of raping war captives (Sunan Abu Dawud 2150, Surah 4:24), subjugating women (Surah 4:34), marrying a minor (Sahih al-Bukhari 3896), etc but that’s a discussion for another day.
In regards fulfilled prophecies, we would agree that Christ fulfilled many though not all of the prophecies in Judaism.
When you say that not all the prophecies regarding Jesus were fulfilled, which specific ones are you referring to? Even if I grant you that not all 300 prophecies were fulfilled, Jesus was the only prophet whose birth, life, death and resurrection have been predicted to that accuracy, centuries before his birth in the Hebrew Bible.
Coherence is a relative term. The Christian church is divided and its theology just appears more coherent to Christians because they have grown up with otn and have become accustomed to all the contradictions and inconsistencies. The insistence that some Christians have on literal interpretation of some biblical passages is anything but coherent.
When you refer to divisions in the Christian church, I am guessing you are referring to the denominations? But that is true for all religions. In Islam you have the Sunnis and Shias, which can be further subdivided. In Hinduism you have Shaktaism, Shaivism, Vaishnavasim and Smartism, which, again, be further subdivided. In Buddhism you also have the 3 major denominations: Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana.
I am not knowledgeable enough to talk about denominations in other religions, but in Christianity, the differences are over things like whether spiritual gifts and miracles still occur (Charismatics vs Evangelicals) and whether someone should be baptized at birth or later on in life. The core theological doctrines regarding original sin, the nature of Christ, salvation and eschatology are consistent. Organized groups like Jehovah’s witnesses and Mormonism are considered unorthodox, and their doctrines are rejected by mainstream Christianity.