Why All The Details?

[jester710]

A few things:

1. Just because God won't necessarily "punish" you if you get certain things wrong doesn't mean they don't matter. Also, just because an issue isn't central to salvation does not mean it's not important. Disobedience in issues unrelated to salvation could lead to punishment from God, even if that punishment is just the withholding of possible rewards. For example, failure to tithe probably won't send you to hell, but it could keep God from blessing your finances.

2. Many of these issues aren't important in and of themselves, but serve as building blocks for other issues and arguments. The "image of God" argument, for instance, becomes important for anyone arguing against evolution (you could say that this is just a further waste of time, and I'm sure any scientists in Kansas would agree).

Most of this stuff doesn't really seem like it matters, especially when people get bogged down by a single Scripture or something mentioned in passing. However, when these individual Scriptures become central in heated debates (e.g., those condemning homosexuality), their importance is clear. Personally, I think that when these things become that important, it only serves to prove the OP's point.