In my own life religion was the best and the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life

 The good part was the spiritual discipline of having two parents who were Mystical Christian Ministers in Seattle and then Los Angeles when we moved there when I was 6 from San Diego.

The bad part of religion in my life is it caused me to be suicidal when I left my childhood church from ages 21 to 25. So, staying alive from 21 to 25 was the single hardest thing I ever had to do at the time until I got married in 1974 and had a son of my own and then gave up the idea of suicide permanently and took on the responsibilities of a husband and father. This then created a lot of happiness in my life starting around 1980 when I married for a 2nd time after being a single father for a few years since my son was 3 years old. Living in Mt. Shasta when I was 32 to 37 raising my older children was one of the happiest times of my life while buying 2 1/2 acres and building a house on remote beautiful land with a view of the mountain and a spring that ran most of the time there.

So, being very mentally disciplined like my father I was able to bite my lip and stay alive for my family and friends even though I mostly wanted to be dead from 21 to 25. Did religion do this to me?

I'd have to say "yes".

So, is religion good or bad? The first thing I have to say is more young people kill themselves because of religion here on earth than almost any other reason.

Then I'd like you to answer the question for yourselves.

When I was about 25 or 26 I joined another religion somewhat similar to the one I was raised in only to find out that I'm not really suited to be a "heart center" member of any religion because I'm just too much of an independent and free thinker.

In other words I'm scientifically minded enough if someone tells me bullshit I'm going to call them on it.

That's just the way I am.

I don't put up with bullshit that isn't true and that I can see that scientifically it just isn't true at all.

So, as long as people don't ask me to believe things that I can personally scientifically disprove then I'm okay.

However, do I believe in God? Yes. Because if I didn't I would have died at 2 of whooping cough and between 10 and 15 of night time seizures caused by a concussion from rock climbing with my father.

So, believing in God and Jesus and Saint Germain and Archangel Michael is something I do believe in. However, Churches generally speaking have nothing to do with God or any of these beings at all necessarily from my personal point of view.

The proof is in the pudding so to speak. 

So, if someone claims something to me I'm intuitive and scientifically knowledgeable enough to know what is true and what isn't.

By God's Grace