Why did god create evil?

[The Grand Nudger]

Culture might be more than just memory (specifically the implication that it is a memory of actual events). Great works of fiction spring to mind and are relevant to the discussion at hand. Genesis and Exodus, for example. It's "memory", but only in the narrative sense, as it could in no way be argued to be a history of actual events as described. Still, Genesis and Exodus are a huge part of culture, are they not?

Identical clothing- Yes. Just about every society with similar environmental concerns comes up with the same ass covering. Show me a subarctic people who wear bikinis, or tropical people who wear heavy furs. The cut and lines of clothing have alot to do with human anatomy, and that's the same anywhere you care to go.

Same poem- Well, you're arguing that all of the religious narratives are all essentially the same poem are you not?

Musicians and melody- Happens so often that there are laws to protect the guy who goes public first.

Authors and stories- Again, yes, and again this is exactly what you're arguing for is it not?

Scientists, inventions, theories- Pretty commonplace, yes.

Not really sure what this comment about the wheel means.

Why can't my argument be taken seriously, because it doesn't end with the same conclusion as your own? I'm criticizing your hypothesis based on it drawing such overarching conclusions with so little evidence, sourced from so many disparate places whilst ignoring all the bits of myth, legend, and recent history with regards to the same that don't agree with your conclusions.

Now, you were just going on about norse mythology so you can see where I might take issue with this (again). Not all traditions state that men were created by the gods imperfectly (or even created by the gods at all), or that the gods are attempting to destroy us and start over. Ragnorak has nothing to do with human beings other than us being cannon fodder for the battle, and in that regard our support is highly sought out by the gods. Some traditions say we were created perfect, some have no gods, many have no "end of days", and more than just a few gods never lived in the sky. Even more have absolutely no mention of human beings ever revolting (which would in many cases be utterly ridiculous/blasphemous to even consider...as if human beings could revolt against the gods.)

Ah, so you don't want to address scientology or cargo cults directly, and prefer to state that somehow, some way, they must support your hypothesis. Well, I don't buy it, that's all.

Paleolithic/neolithic people were often buried with items they would require for their afterlives. They certainly seem to have believed in some sort of "neighborhood in the afterlife" or they wouldn't need their tools. This behavior predates the egyptian funerary texts by an incredibly large amount of time. I'm not really certain what you mean about souls dissappearing from translations as I'm not familiar with how translations of the egyptian texts change over time. Here's the deal, I don't buy it, but I'll just go ahead and give you the whole bit about egyptian texts describing your hypothesis to a t. Now what does that have to do with the entirety of human myth and legend? Every time you're challenged on this you retreat to the egyptian texts. How about you limit your claim to those texts (and that single tradition) alone, since they seem to be the only "support" you have for any of your conclusions? Now, understand that I'm not saying that you are 100% wrong in each and every case, simply that what you've presented thusfar is too weak to make a claim to absolute truth. Especially a claim with such extraordinary breadth and scope as to blanket the entirety of human myth, legend, and superstition. You not only have to re-translate words and myths to suit your argument, you have to assert that people really did not believe what they seem (and claim) to have believed. Well, short of digging them up, raising them from the dead and asking them, how can you be so sure of this? A lot of work (in time, resources, and labor) seems to have gone into idols, trinkets, temples, and tales for something that people didn't believe.

(I wouldn't liken my own position to Zeitgeist if I wanted people to take me seriously, it's an insult, Zeitgeist is garbage too)