Where do atheists get their morality from?

[Undeceived]

The bottom line is we Christians don't know where we get our morality from. Some of us who are stupid will say THE BIBLE but any atheist can call our bluff and show us how immoral the Bible is and watch us squirm. And squirm we do like a jelly fish fresh on the sand because we know what a manic bastard our God sounds in the Bible and what gross immorality is encouraged in the Bible. We know how God is said not just to be an infanticidal genocidal maniac but also one who encourages, nay commands, the Israelite soldiers to rape prepubescent girls after killing their fathers, mothers, brothers and infant sisters.

Most Christians understand the OT God as merciful, compassionate and forgiving. Prior to each of his 'judgments' he gave warnings and allowed the people time to repent. If your view of God is that he is evil, but other parts of the Bible show him good, what do you make of such a contradicting God? If you say fabrication, there is no god to call good or bad. But if you entertain the possibility of this Christian God of the Bible being real and present, then you must resolve the apparent contradiction. Either God has changing moods, is evil, or has a good reason for everything he does--a reason you may not understand until you study the Bible further and let God into your heart. If he has changing moods, the NT God is the latest version and He is wonderful! If God seems evil, on what grounds? We are made in his image, able to see goodness and evil as He sees them. What would God gain by torturing us? Pleasure? You seem to put yourself above God, calling this pleasure wrong or illogical--using a standard He gave you, setting up God to do something that's already senseless in your mind. A strawman, if you will. Now the third possibility--that God has a decent reason--is the more plausible of the list in that it does not attempt to make God a dumber being than ourselves. A son does not understand what his father does until he is older, but he trusts his judgment. He may think being sent to his room a crass injustice. But the father loves his son then and now--through the lessons of the Old Testament to the harvesting of love in the New. And when the boy grows up, his eyes are opened.

I believe your real argument is not that God is evil, but that the scriptures were fabricated by man. That is a discussion for another time. Try reading a couple books by Christian theologians, such as Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God by Copan. Theologians are better experts on the Bible than a biologist like Richard Dawkins. A knowledgeable believer can reconcile the NT and OT Gods using the scriptures. We believe God is good, as evidenced by the sacrifice of His son Jesus. You believe God is evil, and base that judgment on hasty conclusions and popular media. This matter should not be taken lightly, but thoroughly investigated. Have you read the Bible completely through, Greneknight?