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It’s been many years since I read them both, completely.

I specifically remember some of the scriptures relating to dealing with spirits and warning of imitators. I’m trying to remember as it has been over twenty years since I read them, but my interpretation at the time was that part of it did not fit my experiential reality.

I use the Bible as my comparison for anything that I read in other religions. Where conflict arises, I first do a more comprehensive search of related Bible Scriptures. Then I go to the concordance to determine if there is possibly a mis-translation or other interpretation of the Bible scriptures.

Then I prayerfully meditate on it, asking the Holy Spirit for further guidance.

The hardest reconciliations are when my actual experiences differ with the normal interpretations of the Bible scriptures. Again, I rely of the Bible, but dig much deeper.

For example, when I’m reading a soul and examine the details of when this soul was in its mother’s womb, then back to conception, and then back a bit further, I am in the stored memory of the death experience of the past life. These are real physical objects and often directly correlate with birth defects, personality attributes, or phobias. Where do people think instinct comes from? It’s not just nature vs. nurture, it is often nurture in the current life vs. nurture prior to this life. This area of experience really tormented me and took a lot of research, prayer and contemplation to reconcile my perceived reality with the Bible. I do not impose my beliefs on others, nor do I need the validation of others to accept them at accurate.

Where I really must be careful is in reading and listening to the research done by scholars like Bart Ehrman, New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He lives and teaches here in Chapel Hill and I’ve heard him speak several times. I respect his work. Again, I am not one to just swallow someone else’s opinion, but need to carefully examine supporting facts and research.

He has written over 30 books and is quite a scholar. I do not agree with him on many of his contentions, but he stimulates my critical thinking, so I keep investigating. Here is a link to his faculty bio at UNC for anyone interested:

https://religion.unc.edu/_people/full-time-faculty/ehrman/