Sorry, Rimfire - I was thinking like you:
when people can read for themselves how murderous, bloodthirsty, vengeful, angry, hostile, genocidal, jealous, petty, demanding, unforgiving and dictating the god of the bible is, do they still have an interest
Mostly, I hope people are looking for something more consistently kind to follow; but the OT seems mostly about "my dad is gonne beat up your dad", and indeed perhaps that's the enticement for adults trying to recreate the experiences of their family of origin. Maybe they can only apprecate a nasty, mean God because that's the only kind of parenting they've been exposed to.
how anyone can still find anything in that book worth paying attention to, especially after actually reading it?
Selective belief, me thinks, as well as what you term "mental contortions and distortions".
Or, just pull out the ol' "They all desreved it, those sinners" rationale. Kinda defeats the unconditional love and grace of God that gets airtime in the NT, though.
Again, you say it well yourself:
I was asking about those who *have* and still believe that there is some benevolent god lurking about in the bible.
Could lead to a rather short conversation...yes, there would be those apologists that "bite", but it might be somewhat like asking Rush Limbaugh to give a speech on how only the morally depraved become drug addicts.
Because there is actually no foundation for seeing a benevolent god in the bible and so people don't want to talk about it?
Yeah, that one.