You can not have it both ways Dan. If part of the Bible and its tales of woe and worse are hokum then who can say with a sense of dignity the other part is righteous?

God is a mystery. And to us creatures of nature will always be so.

While to the men and women among us who state they know what God's motives are... see the deed of sacrifice of a "son" for the purpose of forgiving bad deeds past and present, is beyond comprehension unless. Unless the notion of a man knowing all things is all that remains important. All things including the argument you know God's motives because you have read such in a book created over thousands of years with hundreds of authors all merging their world views into a definitive knowledge of God.

Why does the persona of God change over time? Because the motives of the authors merged into cultural change makes more sense then not. In the end what do you have Dan? You have a creation of these realities. Created by man for man. This includes the trope of sacrifice, rebirth, and miracles akin to walking on water. And the fear of retribution by God via death and mayhem stories. Death by the hordes for those who fail to get in line and behave themselves. A truth made by man for the likes of man with control as a motive, using well known troupes to boot. Sad... while there it is, one story after another. And as you lament, daunting to the core yet, none so daunting then the one death. A sacrifice by God as confirmed by man and man alone.

Eric