Is an atheist worldview compatible with a belief in absolute moral values?

[Cap'n MacDougal]

I think it is a combination of different factors, but it all points to the existence of a God that loves us and cares about us. I tried different religions: Catholicism, Buddhism, New Age. However, only accepting Jesus as my personal Savior and opening my life to Him has given me peace and has filled the emptiness that I always had had in my heart. After I became a Christian I experienced a lot of personal and supernatural experiences that leave no room for doubt: despite my insignificance God is always by my side and comes to my rescue every time I need Him. I will not share these experiences because they are very intimate and would not convince another person. To me, on the contrary, they are as clear as they could be. Anyway, there are many things in the Bible that should convince anyone. For instance, the prophecies contained in Isaiah chapter 53 or Isaiah chapter 9.

There's a lot going on there! Are you familiar with Rambo's Integrative Model? It's pretty interesting stuff re: religious conversion. Obviously, such things are highly personal, so no model can capture all associated factors, underlying causal relationships, etc. But, it does a decent job.
Recourse to personal experience is pretty common. Although (and please pardon me for not reading the entire thread, I'm somewhat lazy at times) it doesn't appear to sufficiently ground any claim that God is necessary for moral behavior.
If you live near a synogogue, you should take a few minutes and speak with a Rabbi about the prophecies in Isaiah. You may find the experience enlightening and enjoyable, although entirely disagreeable. It seems that NT prophecies amount to little more than shooting the arrow first and drawing the target later.

 

[viole]

I think it is a combination of different factors, but it all points to the existence of a God that loves us and cares about us. I tried different religions: Catholicism, Buddhism, New Age. However, only accepting Jesus as my personal Savior and opening my life to Him has given me peace and has filled the emptiness that I always had had in my heart. After I became a Christian I experienced a lot of personal and supernatural experiences that leave no room for doubt: despite my insignificance God is always by my side and comes to my rescue every time I need Him. I will not share these experiences because they are very intimate and would not convince another person. To me, on the contrary, they are as clear as they could be. Anyway, there are many things in the Bible that should convince anyone. For instance, the prophecies contained in Isaiah chapter 53 or Isaiah chapter 9.

I hope you indulge me if I do not take personal experiences as evidence of anything. What you say, is exactly what my Muslim friend, and my Hindu friend, say. Intimate, amazing, supernatural, unexplainable, etc. If their claims cannot be used as evidence of Allah or Vishnu, then it follows that Christian experiences cannot be used as evidence of Jesus. Unless we are already Christians, obviously.

And, to reiterate my question, if the prophecies in the Bible are so obviously true, then why do you venture in phylosophy and cosmology to prove the existence of an unspecified creator, when the evidence of a well specified one is so easily at hand? It would be like using phylosophy and advanced science to prove the logical necessity for the existence of mechanical devices while driving a car.

So, where is your car?

Ciao

- viole

 

[Ouroboros]

There is a logical link between "something exists" and "there is a God". I cannot prove that the Creator is the God of Abraham using that logical link, but it seems very reasonable to assume that it is. For example, the Greek gods were not eternal.

How can there be a logical link but you can't share it? To "prove" something in math, you use logic. Logic is a formal language to express the proofs. If you have a logical link between "something" and "someone" then you should be able to provide it in a logical formalization.