Dear Mr.Darwin Beford,

I stumbled on your website today, and the ideas you show on it really stuck with me.  I've been confirmed as a Lutheran Christian, but this was never really my choice, it was just somthing I decided to go along with like the rest of my family.  I was only 13 at the time, and faith never really concerned me.  But these days its somthing that im questioning a lot, especially the religion I was handed.  For example, I really dont like being threatened with the idea of hell because noone here on this earth has ever been there, if it even exists.  In fact it makes me really angry. I wonder if hell wasn't just somthing some men made up to get people to behave the way they wanted. Last year I took a World History course, and one person in the class asked our teacher what her religion was, and she answered that although her family was Roman Catholic, she could never follow a religion thats done so much damage to the human race.  And I'm forced to agree with her!!  I like the main ideas of christianity, like love for one another and such, but I dont like the things that have come out of it.  I see in myself greed and racisim from a lot of the things I've learned somehow...When I give a gift at Christmas theres always a part of me thats thinking what great gift I'll get back for example.  I'm 17 right now and this is a very confusing time of my life, but somehow I really dont think christianity is the way to go for me.  Humanism is really looking like the kind of thing for me.  How can I put the ideas of Humanism in my life when I've been brought up, and living in, in a christian family with christian traditions and ideas?  How do I try and change the bad attitudes that Christianity has put in me?  And is it possible to belive that there is some kind of higher force and still follow humanism?
If you could help me answer these questions I'd be really grateful!
Thank you so much for your time

H*****

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To: H*****
From: Darwin Bedford <Darwin@atheists.net>
Subject: Re: Questioning my Christianity

Hi H*****,

I suppose it is possible to belive that there is some kind of higher force and still follow humanism.  There are probably humanists that do just that.  For me, existence itself can be said to be a higher force.  At your age I was reading a lot of self development books.

You ask "How can I put the ideas of Humanism in my life when I've been brought up, and living in, in a christian family with christian traditions and ideas?"  The answer is that you have to because how can you pretend to be one of them when you know better?

Have you been to this link -- http://canada.humanists.net/links.html ?

Glad to see that you have been saved from the wrath of religion.

Darwin Bedford
www.atheists.net