Stories as Dogma

The very best stories in the collected wisdom of the human race have several important things in common:

• They always deal with important tribal mores, values and customs.
• They are frequently told as "children's stories" although the target is the parents and mentors in the audience. 
• Irony and frequently hyperbole are integral to the mnemonic.

The problem with these stories after they are collected into Holy Writ is that the irony and hyperbole is regarded as TRUTH™ and used by self-serving preachers to manipulate their followers in ways that would be abhorrent to the originators of the stories.   

Origin Stories

Science vs. Religion - Science & Religion - Beliefnet Community

There is overwhelming evidence that all gods including God came from tribal stories to explain the unexplainable at the time, including the origins of people and things and by extension the universe. These tribal stories ultimately came from the minds of people, who pre-existed the stories. Since these people presumably had something to sit on while telling their stories, the universe, technically ebergy/mass must be the bottom turtle.

Collective consciousness defined.

Don't Stereotype Atheists - Beliefnet Forums: "I do find credible evidence for a 'collective consciousness' which is separate from the individual consciousness and accessible to individuals in times of emotional stress. It is nothing supernatural, just a multi-processor reservoir for the collected wisdom and lore of a tribe. The manifestation of this reservoir is called God by many tribes, and in these tribes rituals are created to reinforce the ability to access this collected wisdom called God."