C Wadey's assertion that religious belief is the result of parental influence and the "brainwashing of teachers", (Letters, December 26) cannot apply to the thousands of converts to Christianity and other religions who were reared in Marxist atheism as was the case in the former Soviet Union, other Eastern-Bloc countries and China.

Among the converts to Christianity was Joseph Stalin's daughter.

My own personal experience was similar. As a teenager, I rejected the Christianity I had been reared in and turned to agnosticism.

It was through my own personal reading of the Bible, my contact with other Christians and witnessing the practical Christianity of my local Salvation Army Corps and their love for the poor and needy that led to my personal faith in Christ.

It was men and women of faith who first formed hospitals and schools and it is still the Christian Church in this country that has pioneered the care of the elderly, the poor and those on the fringes of society. As Jesus said: "By their fruits you shall know them."

By the way Mr Wadey, don't worry if people may think you a crackpot.

It is we crackpots who force people to think and explore all things. We are not satisfied with the trivial or shallow thinking.

-Rev John Webster, Gleton Avenue, Hove