 the fact that God stated them. The rules would be needed even if there were no God.
Changing God is not a requirement to change His rules. We have seen, over the centuries, great changes in the rules said to be given by God. Dietary restrictions have been eliminated gradually – it was only in 1966, for instance, that mandatory restrictions on eating meat on Fridays were relaxed for Catholics. Slavery has come to be seen as an abomination, despite its earlier reliance on God for justification. Segregation has become seen as not desired by God, despite earlier invocations of the Curse of Ham. Tolerance of other religions has greatly increased in many (sadly, not all) countries, and attitudes towards varieties of sexual relationships are changing rapidly in many places.
All without changing or doing away with God. God, it seems, is adaptable once the opinions of society change, claims of "eternal rules" notwithstanding.
Symbols are important, and symbols – particularly symbols alleged to be active participants in rulemaking – have force. It’s not that they should be ignored in a quest for social justice or reform. But it is wise to remind ourselves that they remain symbols, and that it is the underlying order they represent that is at issue.