Only the most unapologetic biblical fundamentalists for instance take every biblical injunction literally. If we all took all scripture at the same level of authority then we would be more open to slavery to the subjugation of women to wider use of stoning. Jesus himself spoke out frequently against divorce in the strongest of terms.
It is not all bad this getting old ripening. After the fruit has got its growth it should juice up and mellow. God forbid I should live long enough to ferment and rot and fall to the ground in a squash.
Wishing to be friends is quick work but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.
To 'choose' dogma and faith over doubt and experience is to throw out the ripening vintage and to reach greedily for the Kool-Aid.
Age is not all decay it is the ripening the swelling of the fresh life within that withers and bursts the husk.