The God of wrath was the Old Testament perception of God as understood by people who went through all kinds of trouble and tribulation just as we do. But in their belief, everything that happened was via the hand of God, therefore when everything went to hell in a handbasket, it was because they had screwed up as a people sufficiently to evoke God's wrath.
I think most Christians understand a God who loved us so much, and was willing to forgive so much, that he willingly suffered and died for us. We understand, however, that sin has consequences built into the system, and those consequences can have long reaching effects. As it is expressed in Exodus: The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children even unto the fourth and fifth generations. Translation: the natural consequences of sin that we commit knowingly or unknowingly may not be obvious to us, but it nevertheless spoils God's perfect creation and there will be consequences.
And there are some who embrace both the God of love and salvation as revealed in the New Testament and also the God of wrath as perceived in the Old Testament. Such people can struggle with the dichotomy inherent in that and still be very good people. A few will also be judgmental and assign their beliefs to others.
But then some Atheists do that too, so we can't realistically blame that on God.
I think most Christians understand a God who loved us so much, and was willing to forgive so much, that he willingly suffered and died for us. We understand, however, that sin has consequences built into the system, and those consequences can have long reaching effects. As it is expressed in Exodus: The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children even unto the fourth and fifth generations. Translation: the natural consequences of sin that we commit knowingly or unknowingly may not be obvious to us, but it nevertheless spoils God's perfect creation and there will be consequences.
And there are some who embrace both the God of love and salvation as revealed in the New Testament and also the God of wrath as perceived in the Old Testament. Such people can struggle with the dichotomy inherent in that and still be very good people. A few will also be judgmental and assign their beliefs to others.
But then some Atheists do that too, so we can't realistically blame that on God.