Kevin's Watch

Common to all Christian theology (as I understand it, I'll gladly be corrected):
-Due to his fallen nature, Man is unable to abide the presense of God.
-This is due to sin, which seems akin to the violation of God's law.
-To get around the dire consequenses of sin, Jesus is sacrificed on the cross for all
-Now Man (depending on various 'ifs') will be able to abide the presence of God
*-God is all-forgiving and all merciful

If God is all-forgiving and all merciful, why is he so hell-bent on either a) extracting blood from the only sinless man for the crimes of others or b) condemn all Man to eternal damnation for every frivolous violation of divine law?

My opinion is that none of the above is true with regards to God (I'll get into this later). But, if this is so, then why have the Crucifixion?

As an example of comparative religion, Feudal Japan was generally unimpressed with the sacrifice paradigm. When speaking to missionaries, they would ask what is so special about "sacrifice"? He should not be honored for doing his duty as such, it is expected he could only be dishonored for failing to do it.