"I quite realize how frightfully unfair it must seem...[the world] keeps on killing the thing that He started: and each time, just as they are patting down the earth on its grave, they suddenly hear that it is still alive and has broken out in some new place. No wonder they hate us." -C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
As much as I hate the "us vs. them" mentality that Lewis suggests, the point he makes is one that I had never really thought about. Imagine if you try to kill a spider in your house, you kill it and sleep peacefully. The next day you see it again, you are positive it is the exact same spider, you kill it again. You then find it a third time the next morning, this cycle continues. How terrifying it must be to not be able to get rid of the one thing you try hardest! How frustrating and disturbing it must be when the thing you despise most will not leave you alone. Given that this is not the best example, I think it gets the point across. Point being, it cannot be contained. Just when you think you have it under control, God proves you wrong. Second point being, Christianity is not a poisonous spider. It can be terrifying at times with its blunt and matter of fact doctrines, but once you get past that, it is God's creation, and it is not going to hurt you.
In addition, this quote in Mere Christianity is a reflection of the resurrection. Just when we think we have suppressed God, He has escaped somewhere else. He shows up in some of the least likely places, and His resurrection is something powerful that leaves us wide-eyed with our jaw on the ground if we believe that it really happened. As Lewis says "no wonder [the world] hates us." Christians follow the person who is trying hardest to know them, and the person that they are trying so hard to push out of their lives. Plainly put, they see Christianity as making life more difficult it should be. I actually would agree with this, Christianity makes life way more complicated and difficult than it should be, but for anyone who has experienced the power of the resurrection or how God is worked in their life, they know that the difficulty is way more than worth it! Lastly, the resurrection is not a one time event. It did not just happen some 2000-odd years ago, it happens everyday. As all of us are resurrected from our sleep each morning (God willing), the resurrection of Christ also becomes anew every morning. It makes our lives worth living, and I think we should strive to reflect it daily, and it should be just as powerful as the time before.
If you are fighting Christianity, I challenge you to give it a chance. Yes, the people are far from perfect, but the basic point of the gospel is one that reflects the resurrection. It is a message of love and great hope of a better tomorrow and a better today. To everyone, I challenge you to find ways to let the resurrection be real in your everyday life. Let it live on and let it breathe. Without the resurrection, the very fiber of Christianity ceases to exist.
