You can learn a lot about a religion by the stories they teach. In Christianity:

Adam and Eve: Ignorance is bliss, obey Yahweh no matter what
The story of Abraham: If God tells you to horrible things like kill your son you'd better fucking do it unquestioningly
Job: Even if Yahweh makes you suffer miserably for a gentleman's bet with Satan, you'd better still praise and obey him
Noah: God will murder everyone on earth if you displease him
Tower of Babel: don't get too big for your britches or try to unify different societies linguistically and create great works, God hates this, stay fractured and obedient
Doubting Thomas: skepticism is bad, suspend that disbelief

The men who claim to speak for gods teach stories about how you'd better obey and not dissent or question their gods, usually to children before they learn to think critically.