[craditc]

Read the whole Old Testament. Yahweh spends half his time telling the Jews they're the most special people in the whole wide world and he just love them to bits -- and the other half telling them what worthless disappoints they are, and punishing them severly for it. And its nearly impossible to tell when he's going to be loving God, and when he's going to be angry, violent God.

You know who behaves like that? Alcoholics. Seriously.

So just think of the Jews -- or at least the Israelis -- as Adult Children of Alcoholics. it actually explains quite a bit.