Why order people to kill in god's name at all?

[Chad32]

In these books, mostly the Abrahamic religions, it will tell people to kill heretics. Kill witches. Kill blasphemers. Don't you think it's a bit suspicious? Yahweh doesn't seem to have a problem personally killing in the stories. Why does he need anyone to be his hitman? Go spread the word. If someone refuses, let your god handle it. He's the all powerful creator. If he feels that someone is being so insulting that they should die, why not do it himself?

It seems to me that this should be seen as a sign that religion is a human construct. If you want to argue free will, then just let the person live until they die and be judged. If you think that they have gone too far in insulting the all powerful creator of the universe, let that guy deal with the person. But no. There are all manner of verses in the bible and such that say if people don't conform, and try to convince others not to, you should kill them. Often painfully, as with burning or stoning.

What if some atheist convinces a crowd that may otherwise get into heaven? Then god or his followers aren't doing a good enough job at being rational people. After all, if you have to follow up your point with violence, you probably don't have a good point to start with.