I'm surprised that you feel the need to ask that question, Amos; don't you know it's all there in the Bible?
Nickhere, you refer to various instances of God punishing his "chosen people" in terms of a loving parent disciplining his children. How can you possibly draw the comparison. A LOVING PARENT DOES NOT KILL SOME, OR MOST, OF HIS CHILDREN TO TEACH THE REST OF THEM A LESSON. HE DOES NOT CONDONE THE KILLING OF ALL OF A FRIEND'S FAMILY TO PROVE THAT THE SURVIVIOR WILL REMAIN HIS FRIEND.
Understand here that I am not renouncing God. All I am renouncing is the notion that the Bible is anything like an accurate history of God's dealings with man; it is a totally human, totally fallible, interpretation of the experience of the ancient Jewish people and the early Christian Church.

And, guess what? I personally appreciate quite a bit of the New Testament, and even some of the Old, where I think the writers "got it right" to at least a very worthwhile degree.

                        Dean