Some Rambling on Religion and Choice

On Real Time this week, author Jon Meachem said that there has been a long-standing tradition based on a precedent set by God himself not to force obedience. In other words, God gives us the freedom to choose and man should give the same freedom. When Meachem says "long-standing tradition" he refers to freedom of religion in America. I think he’s giving God and the U.S. too much credit. It is true, God does technically give humans a choice. You can believe in God and submit to the bible's teachings, or burn in hell for all of eternity with weeping, teeth gnashing and all the rest. That’s not much of a choice. The same is true to a lesser extent for freedom of religion and the separation of church and state in the United States. Is it even possible to imagine an atheist being elected to major national office? And doesn't the Judeo-Christian God pervade every corner of society from "God Bless America" at baseball games to presidents being sworn in on the bible. It doesn't matter that I, and a growing number of Americans, feel awkward when thousands of fans sing "God Bless America" or ashamed when our president's memos are covered with religious propaganda because Christianity in one form or another is the de facto American religion.

While we’re on the subject of godly obedience, I think this also brings to light a fundamental inconsistency between God and Jesus, who was part of the trinity, namely god in the flesh, or one and the same entity. If Jesus was God in the flesh, and he was this selfless impoverished miracle worker, and God on the other hand, demands that people praise him, obey him, and put nothing above him for fear of everlasting pain described in the "good book"; how is that selfless? The Christ of the new testament taught an exemplary moral system based on helping others and turning the other cheek. This is vastly different from the God who made his first four commandments revolve around his own vanity and jealousy. Isn’t this enormously inconsistent?

On a side note, it is impossible not to see the parallels between the aforementioned arrangement between God and people and the arrangement the United States has with the rest of the world; mainly, do what we say or we place economic sanctions on you, or occupy your country and murder your citizens making them collateral damage in our “spread of democracy.” Again not much of a choice. I warned it was rambling.