Ah, but you misunderstand--that's exactly my point. When I give the "don't eat shellfish" commandment as-is, it sounds pretty stupid. However, if I give that cultural context, you would see how that applies to the people involved, how the culture works, then it makes sense--and then they can see whether or not it applies to them now, whether it makes sense in their own context.

(I admit, the shellfish one seemed a lot WISER than a few of the commandments--or, at least, more practical.)

So yeah, I'm advocating taking a closer look at the book. Then decide whether it deserves mocking.