Is Old Testament God an angry spiteful tyrant?

Christianity teaches that God is the embodiment of love. This comes through by various explicit scriptures...

God is love -- 1 John 4:8

...and also through the life of Jesus, who was God in human flesh. Jesus' actions are clearly those of loving, caring, humble, person and those are generally what we look to when thinking of a Christian role model.

But very often we find people making out that Old Testament God is a very different character to New Testament God and Jesus, even though they are the same.
In one particularly hilarious example from the show 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt', a character at one point says, "Oh, thank angry Old Testament God, the one who's always threatening to kill children to prove a point!". While later, another character, Titus, while praying says, "Forgive me friendly New Testament God after you settled down and had a family."

Does God cast people into Hellfire?

Sceptics like to point to Medieval paintings of torture and hellfire and demons with pitchforks and tell us that God throws sinners into this imaginary place.
Of course none of this is Biblical.

Have a look at A-rough-guide-to-God's-plan for a Scripture based detailed look at some of this.
For a more brief version stay put here.

Firstly. The idea of flaming pools of lava and torture racks and so on is an artistic invention that came about centuries after the Bible was finished. It is not what the Bible describes.
I myself am an annihilationist, which means I believe that those who don't go to Heaven, will be wiped from existence altogether. There are a lot of reasons why I hold this view, but as a quick pointer 'Matthew 10:28' just about covers it: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."