There are some pretty deep philosophic issues behind various of these problems. For one thing, there tends to be two sides to every coin, but we like to frame everything as singular. Such as there being both top down ways to frame our perceptions, versus the bottom up dynamics by which they come to be.

For instance, logically a spiritual absolute would be the essence of sentience, from which we rise, rather than an ideal of wisdom and judgement, from which we fell.

More the light shining through the film, than the images on it. The new born babe, than the wise old man. Emergent, rather than ordained.

Sources, the absolute, are elemental, while ideals are aspirational, so when we believe our ideals to be absolute, it tends to empower the more close minded and fanatic, while only confusing the open minded.

Here is another essay, where I try peeling apart some of these issues;

https://medium.com/predict/peeling-the-paradigm-1ceab7e774b0