You're entitled to your opinion, but your first point is based around the assumption that Religions aren't real, and there isn't a God, and your subsequent points therefore present arguments based on your initial premise. Obviously, I disagree with you on the first point (as would anyone else that follows a religion), and your subsequent points.
Sorry, the reality or not of God is not relevant. The texts were written in pre-industrial times and unless I'm mistaken they do not include any guidance on genetics, radio, nuclear power, aeroplanes or space flight, particle physics, stem cell research, anti-biotics. They don't account for modern medicine and it's impact on life-expectancy or infant mortality or the ability to treat and cure illnesses and infectious diseases. There is no information on new diseases and a complete absence of any useful knowledge of about anything apart from a relatively small area around the Eastern Mediterranean (Middle Earth) Sea.
You can have your God but please explain how he missed out information about so much that we now take for granted.
I mean on the most basic level - religious laws against eating pork! Any civiisation that prohibits the bacon sandwich is an abomination. Still, there are good reasons for it according to this scholar:
http://islamicvoice.com/february.99/zakir.htmThe Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. Its prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.
Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked a name other than that of Allah. [Al-Qur’an 5:3] The above verses of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.
My favourite reason:
6. Pig is the most shameless animalThe pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. It feels no jealousy. And among people who consume pork, the practice of wife swapping and other forms of promiscuous behaviour is common.
And the Q'uran refers to the camel:
Do they not look at the Camels, how they are made? And at the sky, how it is raised high? And at the Mountains, how they are fixed firm? And at the earth, how it is spread out? Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one to admonish.” (Al-Ghashiya - The Overwhelming, 88: 17-21)
Do you accept that camels are the result of evolution? That the 'sky' doesn't actually exist and therefore can't be 'high'. That the mountains aren't fixed at all and are the result of massive geological and tectonic forces. And that the Earth is not 'spread out' but is spherical and all over the shop.
It's a primitive view of the world based on the best information available at the time. It's up to you to decide how that is relevant to your own belief in God but it is clearly not a useful text for understanding the modern world.
Having said that - there are clearly attempts to make the attitudes of 7th Century Arab society fit better with modern society. This is great advice about understanding the verse about a husband's right (or duty) to beat his wife:
“Men are the guardians of women, because God has given advantage to some people over another, and because they spend from their wealth. Consequently, pious women are obedient [to their husbands] and keep their secrets for God also keeps secrets. And as for those from whom you fear rebellion, admonish them [first] and [next] refuse to share their beds and [even then if they do not listen] beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Indeed, God is Exalted and Mighty.” - Al Nisa' 4:34
Conclusions:
We can easily reach a conclusion by putting together all the above twelve points as a summary of observations on the verse 4:34:
Men by nature and by their obligation to be financially responsible are the guardians of their wives and heads of the family. The wife may disagree and as it happens, can even occasionally disobey her husband. However if the wife’s disobedience to her husband means rejecting the authority that the husband has been given by the Almighty, then this will be a serious problem as it can easily break the structure and the sanctity of the family. In this case the Qur’an has given (not an instruction but an) advice that could easily fit with the socio cultural norms of the Arab society of the time. According to this advice, the husband is allowed to beat her wife in the above condition, if admonishing her and leaving her bed does not work. The Prophet (pbuh) has advised Muslims that the beating should be light and should not leave a mark. In fact the beating should not be to satisfy the anger, it is merely a gesture of disapproval and dissatisfaction. This is a one off solution that should either result in peace or should be followed by the next major step that is involving closed ones to help.http://www.understanding-islam.com/articles/islamic-beliefs/understanding-the-verse-of-beating-women-in-the-quran-9356I'm glad that's all cleared up. If it wasn't for that explanation I might have left a mark when I beat my wife...
It's as relevant in the twenty-first century as the nonsensical rules in Leviticus.