God tends to be a placeholder for many things other than a deity. In the ancient world, it was believed that the ruler was either chosen by a god, or in fact, was a god. Phrases like 'son of god', 'light of the world', 'son of the morning' were not titles that originated in the Christian canon, but in the ancient Levant region where pre-semitic tribes dwelt. The Pharaoh was thought to be the direct channel to god in the monotheistic strand of the Egyptian religion. Although these titles had spiritual meaning, the ideas behind them originated out of the minds of the people who created them. Free will existed before god did.
Look at the Biblical examples that prove that god did not control them. The first mega-church pastor, Moses wasn't even Hebrew, was most likely an Egyptian and may not have even actually existed, but if he did, he murdered someone before becoming a tribal head of state. So, if god controlled Moses' actions, then god is either a murderer or in the least, an accomplice. However, if Moses did it, by choice, then humans are free because Moses committed violence out of choice, not out of a forced divine hand.
Isn't this what most want? No one really wants to be ruled, controlled, or domineered. This idea of freedom being unconditional, however, is an extremely American one. For many, its tied into the forefathers ideology who penned the constitution. But, is freedom unconditional? Can such a thing exist? It was Jesus of Nazareth who told Peter to give up his sword, to not use violence (writers would later refer to Jesus as god and Christ), that giving up control was the most divine thing you could do. If Jesus was god, then god gave up its control, so we could have it back.
However, if God, as a singular ruling being who dwells somewhere in the cosmos, does not actually control or direct the fate of all mankind, then what are we left with? If the desire to explain evil acts through the embodiment of some dark anti-god (aka, Satan/Devil) is only part of historical mythology, then who is to blame? These are the key questions, and the answer to both of those questions are staring us right in the face. You and I. We are free. But freedom costs something. We only realize we are or aren't free because others exist. This could be why war is such a popular form of violence, because if we eradicate this 'other', then we wont' have the reminder that we aren't free. This is why tribal wars in the ancient world were so popular. "If I want more of what they have, well then, its a reminder that I don't have that, so I will perform any sort of violence necessary to get it".
This is the story of god vs the common man. A revolution is afoot. No longer are humans taking cues from dead gods, or old arid myths of divine retribution. This is the proletariat revolution, but on a cosmic scale. The bourgeois share the trait with a more mainstream view of god. Namely in the way of production. God creates, and so do the bourgeoisie; to the point of controlling the means of production. In religion, we are told to be grateful to the deity who created what we have. As children, we are told by our parents that "We should be grateful for what we have", rather than notice the very socio-economic discrepancies hiding in that very axiom. The bourgeoisie have megalomania issues, that for many, lead to fascism. They desire some form of worship, some form of payment or recognition. Like god, they demand worship.
Right now, we see this in the very space that Donald Trump occupies, he willingly makes controversial statements, and uses the very controversy to simultaneously endear and incite. His statements are two-edged swords. He makes xenophobic and racist statements like his popular quote: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting." These lazy metaphysical statements enforce the vilification of certain people groups to justify scapegoating and escapism necessary to hide the flaws in a system that needs sacrifices to appease itself. This very system that promises democracy (which it will never be able to do, because not every single person can really be represented) and that voting matters and that all voices and desires will be heard is directly akin to the notion of prayer in most major religions. As if to imply, like prayer, your vote counts and is heard. But with so much corruption within the voting system, we now know, this is not true.
Why? Because, we pray to a god outside of ourselves who tells us: ""Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" So, on one hand we're encouraged to ask for we want, but are never told that the problem lies in the fact that we have a government (god) who mediates for us on our behalf. That we then rely on a system to do the work for us.That prayer exists as a mechanism of control. Because it is easier to blame the system or the people running it, rather than actually working together to do something about it. This religious strain hiding in American politics blinds us from that reality. It immobilizes us into inactivity, and then helps us find ways to justify that inactivity by blaming others and no one else. Blaming god, blaming religion, blaming systems - these give us the feeling of being constructive with our existence, rather than realizing that we are prisoners of the very things we concede to.
So, when televangelists tell us god is destroying people because of sin, what they fail to see is that their claim is coming from their very own lips. More explicitly, they create the theology they want to believe in. We all do. And it does matter. How you see the world, why you see it that way, who told you to see it that way, it effects who you are. How you treat others the way you do and why you treat them the way you do can change the very fabric of reality. No, god is not in control, and that's good news, because it means we are, and we all need to work together to use it wisely toward a beneficial future for all not just for a few.