> It makes me think, "If policemen were really good, they wouldn't need guns." "If a war was moral, no weapons would be needed."
That's not a fair comparison. A policeman is a human whose job it is to protect other humans. While guns are a separate issue (and many countries have police that do just fine without carrying one), the gun is meant to give the police an advantage over a potential threat. God is all powerful. He does not need to murder to make his point. An all-knowing, all-powerful god should be able to use reason (or some other non-violent method) to help set evil-doers on a better path.
> Then he came himself to teach the ways of God and righteousness, show us how love really looks, teach us about God (speaking blessings and warnings), and reveal in flesh and blood what the character of God is like.
I disagree with your interpretation. The story of Christ shows me that God requires violence to forgive. I find the necessity of a human sacrifice barbaric (though, understandably it was less so by cultural norms when the authors of the Bible were kicking around) and offensive. God made up the rules, he created everything, he could have chosen to forgive without a murder and he didn't. God advocates, time and time again, violence and suffering. To me, that is not a God of love and righteousness. It's a barbaric, violent God.
> But if physical, fear-based punishment is ineffective, why do we have prisons?
That's a fantastic question, and it's the reason why so many mental health professionals are calling for prison reform. Many studies show that rehabilitation is much more effective at reducing the rate of committing future crimes than incarceration is.
> You're stuck on the "torture mentality."
I'm not. It's a common belief that hell will include suffering, so I was operating under that model of hell. I still find annihilation problematic. Again, you seem to forget that god is the one who decided the rules. If he's going to punish me for not being able to believe in him, then he's punishing me for something out of my control.
But I strongly believe that giving life does not merit worship, and that any being worthy of worship would not command it. To punish people for refusing to worship you is egomaniacal. I could never honestly worship a being who commanded it, because I would inherently lose too much respect for the being. It's petty.
Why create life just to force it to worship you? Why create humans knowing that every single one of them, without exception (unless we're counting Jesus, which I'm not as he's supposed to be divine in origin) will sin? Why create Lucifer, knowing he would be the downfall of humanity? Why create the world, knowing there would be suffering in it? Why create souls just to annihilate them?