Some atheists argue that the Gospel is extortion akin to paying the mob's "protection fees". Just as the mob effectively protects a business from themselves in exchange for such a fee, God protects the Christian from the punishment He will deliver if the Christian does not believe. Is this a legitimate comparison?
As it happens, there is another entity in our world that is far more common than the mob, and yet operates under a similar system. That entity is the government. The difference between a government and a mob, other than their physical power, is their legitimacy. A mob, theoretically, has the power to enforce its will, but not legitimately. By contrast, the government may legitimately require a certain amount of taxes in return for its services. This includes punishing those who do not pay those taxes. And yet, no atheist will ever compare God to the government. Why? Because that doesn't have nearly as much emotional power. If you compare God to a mob, you automatically make Him look like the bad guy, whereas if you compare Him to the government, then frame that as a bad thing, you look like the bad guy.
The problem atheists have is that God can only legitimately be compared to the government. Or, more accurately, the government can only legitimately be compared to God. See, all power and authority comes from God. God was the first thing to exist. As I like to say, "there was never a time when God did not exist, but there was a God when time did not exist". As God asks Job, "Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine." (Job 41:11). In other words, when there was neither government or mob, nor people for them to command, God was already enacting His will for His good pleasure.
And that is precisely why He created the heavens and the earth. All things were created by Him, for Him. The heavens, the earth and the people in it were all designed for His purpose. And because we were designed for His purpose, He gets to determine what that purpose is.
Think of life as being like a garden. Who has authority over a garden? The owner. If I own a garden, I get to decide what I do with it. If I want to grow an apple tree, I can grow an apple tree. But suppose that tree displeases me. What if its roots start messing with the foundations of my greenhouse? What if it grows so much it overshadows the daffodils? What if it won't grow fruit, or if it grows inedible fruit? If the apple tree displeases me, I have options. I can alter the tree, or I can remove it completely. And who can tell me otherwise?
Similarly, God "grew" humanity like an apple tree. Every single one of us is intended to bear fruits. In fact, breaking away from the analogy, the Bible tells us we are supposed to bear His image. We are supposed to be like God! Like Adam in the garden, we are supposed to have dominion over the earth and subdue it! But we displease God. We do not bear the fruits He desires, but instead rebel against Him on a regular basis. And so just like the apple tree in our analogy, God has the right to chop us down and throw us on the fire. Or just like the government, He has the authority to prosecute us to the fullest extent of the law. But thankfully, this isn't His desire.
Instead of instantly punishing us, like He has the legal authority, and indeed the legal responsibility as a just judge to do, God chose a better option. He sent His Son to live as a man, living a life fully pleasing to God. Not once did Jesus rebel against God. Not once did He do anything worthy of punishment. And yet, He was punished regardless. He didn't take His own punishment, He took ours. The punishment we deserve, that being death, He received on the cross. Because of this, we can receive eternal life in His Kingdom. All it requires is faith. Those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe He rose from the dead will be saved. My friends, this is not extortion akin to paying protection money to the mob. This is akin to a treasonous criminal on death row being offered a royal pardon, and an inheritance of the Kingdom, at the expense of the King. Take your pardon! Take eternal life! How can one compare something so great, offered so freely, to extortion? You gain more than the so-called "mob" out of this deal!