Saying that you should do something for me out of fear for what I will do to you if you don't is a threat, plain and simple. It's not a valid reason for staying in that relationship.
I do agree with this. This anthromorphized, magic guy in the sky image of God has been painted by Christians - especially YEC Christians - for years. As such, it’s really damaged our understanding of God; by defining Him as personal, we have gone farther and defined him as being like a person.
God to the Christian is the transcendent setter of the laws of the Universe, both its physical laws and its moral laws, who exists outside out of our understanding of space time. The real comparison here is not to a marriage between equals, but between a uniquely superior law giver and inferior law followers. It is this understanding of God - as having an authority most similar to a government - which is far more defensible. After all, a government doesn’t punish you for simply not “respecting it”; a government has the ability - and thence the authority - to make laws, and to punish you accordingly.
Now some claim that they fully understand these laws and their punishments, but I don’t. I find it unlikely for me to fully grasp the consequences of breaking the law, so instead I search out what this moral law is and follow it. Someone who says they have the authority to tell you what laws you are breaking and what the punishment will be is someone to be wary of; they are either the greatest of prophets or a common conman, and one is much more likely than the other.
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