"This day and age," "modern values," "modern society"—oh, how the current generations do think of themselves as superior.
You seem to miss the whole point of the Hebrew faith. God's character doesn't change with time; morality is not relative; old ways do not become irrelevant because people of the now feel as if they are a part of some enlightened age.
The shame regarding non-virgins is one that, frankly, I wish still existed today; and besides, I was explaining why such a thing was looked down upon in those circles at that time. I think what you're getting at is that it would be wrong to stone someone to death for being adulterous or not a virgin before marriage, and I agree: those practices were particular to those people at that time. Would it be barbaric? That would imply that the people who did it then were primitive and barbaric; unadvanced, uncivilized. (Though they were a lowly desert people.) But it doesn't matter anymore because Christ, who was prophesied about since the beginning of the Old Testament, came and took sin upon Himself; thus, doing away with the "self-cleansing" practices ordered by God at the time, including the practices of the sacrificial lamb and all that.
Not like you believe in any of that, but saying, "It shouldn't be done now; it was barbaric," is kind of irrelevant, because nobody does that now, nor is it commanded of anyone. I highly doubt even the most strict Orthodox Jews put such practices into action, as they likely see many of these ordinances being specific to the Israelites of then.
So, it's not really a thing of adapting religion and religious practices to fit modern times (though many erroneously do this), but more interpreting Scriptural passages accurately in the contexts of the times, and of God saying, "This is no longer required of you," for reasons perhaps only known to God, though others can be speculated on.
The "cursing" thing is actually a whole lot more extreme than an angsty teen cursing his or her parents. ;) We're talking extremely lavish, forever damning-type curses—not simply saying, "Fuck you, dad!" or the sort (though surely that's bad, just not something deserving of death).
Anyway, apologies for derailing the thread some. I just felt that it was an odd comment to make, and so responded; but you've elaborated upon what you meant. Still, here I am sidetracking things even further, perhaps. ;) It's just that Judeo-Christianity is a very important subject to me—a lifestyle, even (although something I've sadly strayed from in recent months).