Interesting page.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/faithandreason/perspectives4.html




FAITH vs. BELIEF
While the words faith and belief tend to be used somewhat interchangeably in theological discussions, there has long been an effort among writers and theologians to differentiate between the two. Just what the subtle distinction is, however, has become a source of debate.

Religious scholar Elaine Pagels laid out her thoughts in an interview with Bill Moyers:

"Faith is a quality of relationship. One has faith. And faith can be verified in experience. If I have faith in you, or you have faith in me, it can be betrayed, or it can be verified. Belief can be a system. It can be, but many people say Christian tradition traditionally said, 'Well, believe in this. You have no verification, but you're just supposed to take it on somebody else's word.' That's very different from verifying in experience the faith that comes through relationship with another person, or with a divine source."

That would depend on your understanding and of what courage, cowardice, fear and faith are.

I dunno about magic mushrooms...more likely deepak just likes money. He is developing and marketing himself as a brand by inventing new ideas from old ones (by bastardizing those with attractive words?) that many people seem to be buying into.

Spirituality and self love...Are you referring to your reasons or his?

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The questions "why", and "why not" are ones with infinite numbers of possibilities ( and probable impossibilities)

Are you saying that some people choose not to believe because they have not received satisfactory answers to "why"?

fair point. but not entirely true.

He does seem philosophical tho, in his own brand of new age religion/science mixture kind of way. He has his roots in Hinduism and seems to use that to color his philosophy on several other popular major religions and what is termed by many as pseudoscience, in order to produce a new kind of belief.

It seems like he is collecting a following for himself by writing books referencing several organized religions/belief systems by presenting his own less traditional interpretation of who he thinks Jesus is and what he projects/assumes Jesus would say in the present time.

He also does this with Muhammad. He also does this with God. He also does this with science. There is no mention about what he thinks of Allah...but i guess he considered that covered when he wrote about God...he also has books titled "life after death", "Buddha", "the thirteenth disciple".

i do wonder how much money he made be introducing this kind of new philosophy (and perhaps, soon-to-be belief?) to the general public?
but his real feeling of God existing or not, well...i think may still be questionable since it appears that he will agree to just about anything.

thank you for the research material you prompted. here are some links and excerpts.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Deepak_Chopra
As Deepak Chopra taught us, quantum physics means anything can happen at any time for no reason!
-Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth

Colbert: Are you a prophet?
Chopra: If you spell it p-r-o-f-i-t.
-��Chopra on the Colbert Report


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepak_Chopra
Chopra has been described as "America's most prominent spokesman for Ayurveda". He mixes ideas associated with quantum mechanics with Ayurvedic medicine in what he calls "quantum healing".

Chopra has described the AIDS virus as emitting "a sound that lures the DNA to its destruction". The condition can be treated, according to Chopra, with "Ayurveda's primordial sound". Taking issue with this view, medical professor Lawrence Schneiderman has said that ethical issues are raised when alternative medicine is not based on empirical evidence and that, "to put it mildly, Dr. Chopra proposes a treatment and prevention program for AIDS that has no supporting empirical data".
Chopra has likened the universe to a "reality sandwich" which has three layers: the "material" world, a "quantum" zone of matter and energy, and a "virtual" zone outside of time and space, which is the domain of God, and from which God can direct the other layers. Chopra has written that human beings' brains are "hardwired to know God" and that the functions of the human nervous system mirror divine experience. Chopra has written that his thinking has been inspired by Jiddu Krishnamurti, a 20th-century speaker and writer on philosophical and spiritual subjects.

In 2012, reviewing War of the Worldviews – a book co-authored by Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow – physics professor Mark Alford says that the work is set out as a debate between the two authors, "[covering] all the big questions: cosmology, life and evolution, the mind and brain, and God". Alford considers the two sides of the debate a false opposition, and says that "the counterpoint to Chopra's speculations is not science, with its complicated structure of facts, theories, and hypotheses," but rather Occam's razor.

In August 2005, Chopra wrote a series of articles on the creation-evolution controversy and Intelligent design, which were criticized by science writer Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society. Shermer has said that Chopra is "the very definition of what we mean by pseudoscience".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/why-god-makes-more-sense-_b_6212042.html
Why God Makes More Sense than Atheism by Deepak Chopra
excerpt:

1. Science isn't by definition anti-religious.
2. Atheists have a point when they accuse organized religion of a litany of gross failings, including crusades, jihads, and the Inquisition. But religions are human institutions prone to every human failing. Religious history is about us, not about whether God exists.
3. God can be approached without resorting to the cultural mythology of a humanized Father and Mother watching over us from Heaven. Atheists largely attack this myth, but smashing a myth doesn't mean you've smashed reality.
4. There is a rich tradition, both East and West, of an impersonal God.
5. God is the source of consciousness and all that we associate with consciousness: self-awareness, intelligence, creativity, evolution, etc.
6. The experience of God is found inside our own consciousness, not "out there" in a supernatural realm.


1. If all experience is subjective, going inward is a valid means of exploring reality.
2. In this exploration, new levels of consciousness reveal themselves.
3. At deeper levels of consciousness, perception changes radically.
4. As perception changes, so does reality itself, since nothing is real for us beyond what we can perceive in some way.
5. The conjunction of the individual mind with the source of consciousness is where God lives.


http://www.creationsmagazine.com/articles/C114/Chopra.html
HOW TO KNOW GOD
by Deepak Chopra
excerpt:

I believe that the experience of God is available to anyone regardless of their religious background or lack of it. The human nervous system is hardwired to experience God.

God is defined as infinite intelligence and therefore infinite creativity. The universe is a manifestation of this infinite creativity. Whenever we create something new in our lives, we tap into the infinite mind. The miracles that are described in every spiritual tradition are manifestations of the creativity that we have access to when we tap into "the mind of God." Einstein once said "I want to know how God thinks, everything else is a detail."

blue detail is in reference also to the conversation with mightymoe regarding Einstein's view on God

..or this ^^ ...same difference...lol..

in my experience...spiritual experiences are very difficult to describe accurately into mere words.

too open for misinterpretation...

...i think partly because it is very surreal, like it has no clear reference of which it can be based on...such that the more details you put, the less understandable it becomes.

lmao..

kaustuv and ladywind:

you too! :)

this ^^

He and I may not always see eye to eye on many things...but there is no doubt that He is the best.

thank you, jaan. you brought a smile from the inside out...once again.
i like the way you express your faith, both process and content.

ana, your stories are always inspiring and uplifting. thank you.
yes, i would love to hear the other things you have experienced.

wonderful! :)

No problem eric.
I didnt mean lost as just meaning "having then losing", it can also mean lost as in "not found". But then again, it may also signify something else completely for someone else.
Just as "believing" and "knowing" something can mean the same difference..lol...words have a way of being such, but the impact lies in the manner of assertion of what is expressed.
Thank you for clarifying.

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Yes Annie, that is true.
Which is also why I asked the question to begin with and after reading thru the comments and shared experiences of the posters, my understanding of the answer helps me realize certain things regarding The topic. The same answers likely has a different impact for you.

I can no more push or pander what i believe on others any more than others can force their belief on me.
For me, to understand what is not yet known is infinite. And growth proceeds with understanding.
That is why it is not a debate nor a bashing nor a converting thread. I try to refrain from that because provoking such has no purpose in real understanding.

Like I said, there is no such explicit material evidenciary proof to point beyond all doubt and reason whether God is real or not. We only have individual testimony of why He is or isn't and the personal reasons we have for being sure of it.

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As always, I appreciate both your inputs.

Hello annie and jaan.
Thank you for your comments.

You do not come from the same religious background or belief system, but I noticed that you both made the comment on what spiritual matters are.
Yes, God is an all encompassing spiritual being, and the Most Divine and Holiest one at that, but by no means am I confining God with these two words alone.

I think the grasp of this particular concept is lost, which is why an understanding of God is lacking for some, hence the logical next step is the decision to disbelieve.
We can no more understand God by what we do not know (or do not want to know), anymore than we can understand anything else by defining it based on what cannot be conceived about it.

Jaan, i like the way you put it....
..."in my heart of heart"...

...is a good way of describing what Spirit is, in stark contrast to Body, Mind and Soul.
..everything else (words, actions, intentions, thoughts...etc) that proceeds from us (good or bad, right or wrong) has a basis in that.

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Welcome, prashant.

ok...i can understand that...

it is a matter of speculation and interpretation....like the bible or any religious text...like God...like many other things....taken to mean one thing or another...could be real or imagined...

and that is the answer to your question of why even just one God and one bible...there are many religions/sects stemming from it...
one Einstein, one letter... many ways of looking at it...
all dependent on context and intent and extent of interpretation and misinterpretation.

a theory based on a reality