I'm assuming you're stoning to death people who work on Sundays? What about people who wear cotton and denim? They should be stoned to death as well. Do you think we should kill people who eat bacon?
Klaus, context these were written 10,000 years ago.
Some people are work-aholics so what better way to make them take a break than breaking their bones? It keeps productivity-obsessed boses from getting 100% productivity from their employees.
As for the mixed textiles it could be related to a time of frugality and simplicity. People who could afford to mix textiles would piss off ppl who can only afford one textile. Remember back then people tended to stay in their clothes months on end vs our daily change for washing we enjoy today. In the Philippines we have a similar law but I cannot remember what it is right now.
Pork aint good for you. And food sanitation was non-existent so if you eat something that wallowed in its own filth then it becomes a health care concern for the community. If tapeworm wont get you then cholesterol will.
It is like the religious hell bent stance on pre-marital sex. A few millennia before kids who started to bleed or produce sperm were married off immediately so there was no wiggle room for pre-marital sex. You were either a "child" or an "adult". Teenage years only became fashionable in the last few centuries because of lengthening lifespans. A talk about population growth showed that people on average lived to their early 30s and by that time you were a grandparent.
Ever wondered how old the Virgin Mary was when she had Jesus Christ? Chances are (and this will piss off a lot of religious) she was in her teens.
Again, a lot of the things written in holy texts must be framed in the situations of when it was written. These were effective in making societies thrive to this day.
Like say homosexuality... go back to a time when medical technology was pang-hihilot and agriculture was wholly dependent on the seasons and people not producing offsprings becomes a problem when the average person dies by their 30s. Today with people living to their 70s, 80s, 90s and 100s and so long as you have money you can buy cheap calories and an upset stomach can be solved with some pills then overpopulation becomes an issues.
rascal, there are peoples who still practice the Old Testament.
In the time where literacy and education was only for the learned few forces people to take brutal (by our standards) approaches to keep society solvent.
This is a reason why I don't attend Holy Mass even though I still consider myself a Roman Catholic.