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This whole Christian discussion has brought to light the important matter of perception. What we are taught is not often fact, and we're still slowly evolving ideologies. Someone can say whatever they want about their perception of God, because of course that's highly subjective. No two people will perceive God exactly the same.
Then there's also the matter of which texts you believe are representative and which stand as literal. How much of the story is based on fact and how much is imagery, symbolism, embellishment, and interpretation. If people start citing passages to me from the bible as though they are based on fact, I begin to think of other things of greater importance to me... such as whether or not George W. Bush has jaundiced toe nails, or what's next in store for Howie Mandell's career...
The texts themselves are subjective interpretations which we interpret subjectively. Then you must take into account how long it took for the verbal accounts to actually be documented in textual form, the basis of the literature itself, etc.
No one person's religious opinion can be verified or discounted, and anyone who can bring themselves to a state of faith is more than welcome to cradle themselves in pleasant (or unpleasant) ideologies at their whim. If someone wants to see God as a malevolent figure, do not allow yourself to take offense for what you should easily perceive as ignorance, just as they should do the same for you. That's my little rant for the day.
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