Why be good?

[Iroscato]

If it is true that the only reason you aren't committing atrocities is your belief in a higher power, then a)please do not ever stop holding that belief and b)please consult a mental health professional, because you are severely lacking in empathy and that is a very worrying sign.

Assuming, of course, you're not just bullshitting us and possibly yourself.

Is it really so extreme as that?

Sure, we all have basic understandings of right and wrong (I say these are from God; some but not all atheists in this thread say they are from societal convention or agreement or evolution).

However, there's no reason to believe that all Christians would become axe murderers if they "lost" their faith. But conversely, I think the "Mad Max" analogy used much earlier might have some truth to it in the total absence of God.

Let me put it this way: you, as an atheist, benefit from the fact that you live in a society that is still largely influenced by Judeo-Christian morality. A look at ISIS will give you some indication of what your life would be like if Christianity were not still pulling us to the "right".

Or would you look forward to living under Sharia law? And what would life be like if there were no authority at all?

The situation in the middle east is due to a vast array of complex and interconnected factors that have been playing out for many centuries, and could do without you pointing it out and going "LOL it's cuz they got teh rong god!!!111oneoneeleven!!
Islam might be responsible for some horrendous acts of barbarity, but you've got some serious balls (or a severe lack of brain cells, I suspect) to suggest your own brand of bullshit is in any way better.

And hey, guess what? We already have a total absence of god in our daily lives. He isn't there. He is non-existent. You have wasted so much of your life kneeling at the feet of a phantom. I honestly pity you in some small way.