In a series of experiments, students were asked to read a biblical description of violence -- in one group, references to God were removed, while in the other, they were included. In tests to quantify aggression, the second group scored higher. The experiment is actually more complicated than this, but that's the gist.

in my community, we have seen the effects of this first-hand when on july 1, 1999 two brothers killed two gay men in their bed while they slept. when one brother called his mother from jail, he said he killed them "to get jewels on his crown in heaven!" the loss of gary matson and winfield mowder can not be measured. they were very involved in the community, starting our local natural science museum and the community garden. they are still missed.