Covered

Believe in God and everything will be okay; He's got you covered. Does he really though? If people have free will, is God really the one in control? What about, by your free will, trying not to do stupid things, thereby putting yourself in danger?*

The recent attempt on Donald Trump's life is a case in point. Not only was Trump almost killed but innocent bystanders were also injured and even killed in the encounter. Where was God? Did He have them covered? Look at martyrs as another example. They believed in God and paid the ultimate price because the free-will of the Roman Empire (to name one) chose to persecute Christians.

God didn't say: "believe in me and nothing 'bad' will happen to you." He said: "believe in me and I will save your soul." Just like an earthly father, he may try to protect you from the evil world, but he is not always successful. Sometimes, he has to fall back on the consolation prize -- a free, all expenses paid trip to heaven. Whether that is 'good' or 'bad' I guess is a matter of personal preference.

Is religion just man's response to the over-powering and potentially paralyzing reality that life is nasty, brutish, and short? In the animal kingdom, life can be, and frequently is, ended in a second; one wrong move, one bad decision, and it's all over. Humans are set apart from this carnage by participating in a civilized society, the morality of which is mostly founded on religious principles. However, religious morals backed by marshal low can't always guarantee a positive outcome and bad things still happen.

*"You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." (Mathew 4:7) or the more secular version, "don't tempt fate."