Well yeah there were religion and stories but the gathering of tales and compiling it into one great epic tale to share throughout the known world was new. Sure Gilgamesh was regional. Egyptian stories were too. But to write them and share, that was new..

Hmmm...you are a storyteller, that's a good thing but I would comment that before scrolls people were writing on stones...before stones and during and after stones there was story telling. I'm pretty sure religion has been around as long as there have been people living in groups and able to tell stories...

The Jews of Jesus' day could definitely read....
Matthew 12:3
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Matthew 12:5
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Matthew 19:4
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Matthew 21:16
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Matthew 21:42
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Matthew 22:31
But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
Matthew 24:15
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

This list of Scriptures is just from Matthew. I could of had a bigger list if I used the other gospels. But in each Scripture, Jesus assumes that his Jewish audience can read.
Perhaps Gentiles can't read...but Jews have always been literate. Their mothers wouldn't allow them to grow up without knowing how to read.
​

Hey Medicdad, you could write a story about this and sell it on Amazon. Then again, you could just start a religion of your own...maybe we'd call it "Medicdadism".