Good News?

Studying the New Testament in the light of the Levitical laws is both good and bad. It's good because you'll have a better appreciation of what Jesus did at Calvary from the Jewish perspective, and bad because the love of God is reduced to a legal matter. It is this bad side of the atonement concept that we often hear in the evangelical circles; it is very common for preachers to say that unless you accept Jesus and wash your sins with his blood, you are going to suffer in hell forever. I reject this negative re-inforcement of building up faith. If it's all about ransom, what kind of a good news is that?