Rahab’s House

Sunday February 28, 2016

As Suzie mentioned, we got up early this morning to head out to church in Svay Pak at Rahab’s House. It was a beautiful service. The highlights for me were 1) taking communion in Khmer—it reminds me that the Gospel is for everyone, every tongue, tribe, and nation; and 2) singing the Doxology in Khmer.

When I attend church in other countries with people from a different culture, who speak in a different language, I am never more convinced of the truth of Christianity. Language and cultural barriers do not hinder the love and respect brothers and sisters in Christ share. They do not hinder a real sense of community that we share with other believers. Nor do they mask the shared experience of Christ’s grace and mercy we all need and receive through the Gospel.

Today’s church experience reminds me of a very interesting argument for God’s existence (popularized most recently by philosopher Richard Swinburne) called the Argument from Religious Experience. (George, this is for you.)

The argument goes like this:

·      A substantial number of ordinary Christians report common spiritual experiences throughout the last two thousand years, regardless of their culture.

·      These spiritual experiences have a profound effect on people’s lives. They generally become better people, more loving and sacrificial.

·      These experiences seem very real to the people involved.

·      There are no good reasons to think that all or most of these experiences are delusional.

·      It is rational to believe that some people really have experienced God.

I experienced God in Svay Pak today.