Matthew 7:15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Galatians 5:2 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.


I use the above philosophies to discern whether a spirit or what someone is saying is positive or negative.

If a message inspires fear, I disregard it. After all, the Bible says God is love and in perfect love, there is no fear.

Also, I am of the belief that scriptures, prophecies, and the like, are easily used to manipulate and control people.

When I was in high school, I got deep into the whole Christian doomsday thing and read a lot of alleged prophecies and what have you. All it did was make me fearful to the point I had to reckon the hypocrisy of my position. If I was trying to be a good Christian because I was afraid, then what was the point? I went on to study other religions, dabble with atheism and agnosticism, but ultimately approach the Bible and other scriptures using my own discernment. If it resonates, great. If it causes imbalance and unease, I move on to something more productive, like living life and trying to do the right thing and to do good to others, even when it is not convenient, which can take quite a bit of guts and is quite challenging at times, especially when people who go by conventional but outdated wisdom and are stuck looking through a narrow lens of egoism and want to convert you to their worldview, which is what many people do anyway (human nature) whether they talk of religion or not.

It's all about trying to have power over people's minds. It's not just the media and government that may try to influence people. It's your parents, your neighbors, your partner, your friends, your boss, and so on. I just choose what is authentic and to not get into the trap of falling into my own BS, which is probably the biggest challenge in being a "free thinker." And that, I believe is very helpful if one would manifest Christ and bring the kingdom of heaven to earth.