I can’t say I have had much dealings with the Occult or Demons. Perhaps I have and have not paid that kind of label/attention to it as we go through life. To measure something you might be decentralized to can be difficult. You might consider this an incomplete generalized overview based on my understanding.
Romans 12:3(English Standard Version) For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Roman’s 12 is a battle plan for defeating evil. There are of course others throughout the bible. Defining Roman’s 12 as a battle plan for defeating evil might make some aspects easier to see. The chapter ends with overcoming evil with good but we are going to start with Judgement. A famous verse often quoted is 1 Peter 4:17 that judgment begins in the house of the Lord.
1 Peter 4:17 KJV For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
The cesspool of the Church In varying degrees, we can find, manipulation, gaslighting, cults of personality, bias, false teachers declaring a message as the voice of God, false prophets declaring a message as the voice of God, misjudgment of what is good fruit, leviathan spirits, paradigms(indoctrination of their brand of Christianity) people married more to the church than their spouse, arrogance, rebellion and the use of scripture to control to name a few.
I classify the cesspool of the Church vs the Occult as one and the same with God and that would be FAFO. You can go into it, you can learn about it, you can play with it, you can have stuff work for you spiritually like miracles but at the end of the day, it can come with a cost. The cost might be viewed in several ways. You need to maintain balance, too much emphasis on something and you can begin to drift on the currents. You could also say God is a jealous God be careful what you keep putting first. God might be just as jealous for the things he has made, you having correct attitudes towards others as well as for himself. That might be an individual path as to where the wind of the Holy Spirit blows.
The cesspool, to dig yourself out of the pit from what I have seen. You need to head towards getting an understanding, and wisdom of foundational spiritual principles, with the battle plans throughout the bible. To understand how you might interpret actions. (Including your own) in the light of scripture, bias, and paradigm of opinions.
You can say you use the discernment of the Holy Spirit but consider where you might get consistency with discernment. Is it with the law? Love justice, mercy, and walk humbly before God. The Golden Rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated. These are part of what seems to be foundation spiritual principles that seem to go hand in hand with various battle plans in the bible.
Foundation spiritual principles are the spiritual principles from what I can tell cut across different religions. Karma and The Golden Rule/Ethics Of Reciprocity would probably be the most well-known.
The Golden Rule – Treat others as you would like others to treat you. It can be found in various variations across a number of religions and civilizations. Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, Ancient Greece, Ancient Persia, Ancient Rome.
Golden Rule Wikipedia – According to Simon Blackburn, the Golden Rule “can be found in some form in almost every ethical tradition”.[20] A multi-faith poster showing the Golden Rule in sacred writings from 13 faith traditions (designed by Paul McKenna of Scarboro Missions, 2000) has been on permanent display at the Headquarters of the United Nations since 4 January 2002.[21] Creating the poster “took five years of research that included consultations with experts in each of the 13 faith groups.”[21] (See also the section on Global Ethic.)
Expanding on what I mean by I classify the cesspool of the Church vs the Occult as one and the same with God and that would be FAFO. It is along the lines of God will not be mocked a man will reap what he sows. You want to judge the Occult and not see your own version of witchcraft. If you can’t look inside yourself into your own blind spots to try to see how you might project into the world. Well…
Matthew 7:1-3 (KJV) Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?