Fri Dec 10, 3:11 PM ET

 Local - WLWT ChannelCincinnati.com

A teenager was suspended from a Tri-state high school for handing out letters promoting his Christian faith, News 5's Emily Longnecker reported.

Investigators said Eric Bast, a senior at Oak Hills High School, distributed personally addressed letters to his peers during homeroom Wednesday. When the students opened the envelopes, they found a letter about Jesus Christ.

Bast was suspended for five days because of the incident and he says he wrote the letter and organized its distribution with volunteers.

"I didn't know exactly whether I was going to get in trouble, I just knew that there was a possibility ... but I still wanted to do it," Bast said.

School officials said the content of the letter isn't the real problem, Longnecker reported. They said Bast needed to get permission to pass out the letter.

Officials were also concerned that Bast may have used school time and resources to produce the letter that some students may have found offensive.

"I'm not forcing anybody to make any choice, I just wanted to give everybody the option," Bast said.

School officials said they have received several calls about the letter. The calls were expressing both positive and negative opinions about the incident.