The third question from Brian Mclaren's book "A New Kind of Christianity" is "The God Question". The question is pretty narrow in regards to the main aspect "Is God Violent."
Mclarens main response to this question is that the Bible is evolutionary. That the the Christ-like aspect of God was always in the Old Testement, amoung the stories of genocide. That through time the beautiful aspects of redemtion, grace, peace etc etc have come to a fullest expression in Christ.
Much of the ugly aspects of the Old Testament can be attributed to humans who wrote the stories and the culture in which they where living.
I had heard of this previously in my Old Testement lectures in my study days. Although I'm not sure it was used as a defence against the aspects of God and violence.
The obvious problem for some people is that it means the Bible is a dymanic, it is changing, in understanding and meaning. (I supose this can be seen in many things we come to accept and have changed. From abolishment of slavery, equality between races.)
It makes scene, certainly it can be the Old Testament. I'm pretty comfortable with this chapter.