In Spiritual Theology, Chan, a professor of systematic theology at Trinity Theological College, Singapore, takes the offensive against post-modern theological thought. Chan calls for Christians to get back to the fundamentals of Christianity. Systematic Theology is the platform of that call. The review that follows highlights Chan’s emphasis on getting back to the fundamentals and defends Chan’s seemingly “Catholic” thought as a call to basics.
Summary
Chan calls on Christians to develop a theology of “redeeming the routine” and integrating faith into every aspect of the Christian life. Chan calls on believers to throw away post-modern Christian thought and get back to fundamental Christian practices. Chan begins his book with an examination of the word “spirituality.” Chan spends the first five chapters of the book effectively developing what Christian spirituality is based on. He says that Christian spirituality is living a God-centered life. The last seven chapters of the book are devoted to putting spirituality into practice. Chan sets the goal of the book as developing the “implications” of Christian doctrine for the life of the believer. Chan seems to agree with the Christian think tank Theological and Cultural Thinkers (T.A.C.T.), that post-modern Christianity is disproportionately focused on conversions and not on spiritual formation. Chan calls on believers to practice the spiritual disciplines and spends the last seven chapters of his work defining how to do so.

Criticism of Moltmann
Chan examines the work of Moltmann and others, concluding that Moltmann is a prisoner of “modern western culture” because Moltmann assumes that western attitudes prevail in the rest of the world. Chan’s criticism of Moltmann is that Moltmann assumes that the whole world agrees with the view Moltmann holds when in fact the whole world does not agree. Chan calls on Christians, particularly in the west to get back to the basics. Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that the church has “abandoned the love it had at first” and calls on the church to get back to basics, Revelation 2: 4-5 NRSV. Chan says the church has “historical pride” and calls that pride “a particularly modern sin”. Chan says that modern Christians lack the “disciplined life” and “critical mind” necessary to resist temptation to conform.”
Chan develops how to practice the spiritual disciplines and effectively incorporates the development of these disciplines as theology. Chan does this by showing that theology is an attempt by man to know more about God and shows that this knowledge can only come through the practice of spiritual disciplines.
Prayer
In discussing spiritual disciplines, Chan devotes a good deal of his writing to the discipline of prayer. Starting with chapter seven Chan says that prayer “keeps God at the center” and that it is the unceasing prayer called for by 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that keeps the Christian in tune with God. He goes on to say that unceasing prayer maintains the believers “spiritual pose” which is a “constantly prayerful frame of mind”.
Self-Centeredness
Chan introduces a concept missing in many modern churches in chapter nine where he introduces the concept of being outwardly focused. Reynoso reports that Augustine first used the Latin term “homo incurvatus in se” to describe the human condition because of the fall. This Latin term means that man’s focus has been turned from an outward focus on God and others to and inward focus on self. Chan would agree and says that the church should be “characterized by exclusive friendships” in which everybody takes part. Again, Chan criticizes Moltmann by saying that the friendship postulated by Moltmann is confused with God’s “universal agape” and is a friendship that loses its flavor and degenerates into mere acquaintanceship. Chan calls on the church to be engaged with the world around it and to serve the world.
Critique
If there is a weakness to Chan’s book it is hard to detect. The book is solidly written and doctrinally sound. The best part of the book is its inclusiveness. Chan leaves out no sect of Christianity as he calls on Christians to refocus on God and to get back to the Christian practices that make up Christian tradition. The real surprise in Chan’s writing is that Chan, a Pentecostal, so openly embraces tradition. Chan calls for Christians to reunite in keeping the traditions. “Tradition” is a word that raises the defenses of many since the Reformation. Chan calls for Christians to embrace tradition. Rybarczyk questions whether Chan is indicating an end to the Reformation Movement, noting that Chan heavily supports many Catholic influences such as tradition. Rybarczyk says that church history is “sated with wise guidance” about Christian spirituality and that it tales an Asian Pentecostal preacher (Chan) to call the church’s attention to this fact. Chan is strongly influenced by his Pentecostal background and calls for the church to embrace the charismata. Chan goes on to say that Pentecostalism is more than a twentieth century reality but that it “encapsulates an essential component” of Christian tradition that mainstream Christianity “ignored in the past. Chan explains that this component of Christianity that was ignored by the church in the past is the charismatic. Chan calls for Pentecostalism to be “incorporated into Christian tradition”. Rybarczyk says that although Chan avoids the use of Catholic terminology, Chan’s “book is quite Catholic.”
The fact that Chan’s book is “quite Catholic” as Rybarczyk says is explainable by the fact that Chan calls for Christians to get back to fundamentals. When it comes to Christian fundamentals, Catholicism and Protestantism hold the same basic beliefs in common.
Conclusion
Chan is correct in asking Christians to practice spiritual disciplines. These spiritual disciplines include journaling, practicing the presence of God, Bible reading and meditation, and of course worship. Chan calls on Christians to practice small steps, which will lead to the development of these disciplines. Chan’s book is theological by nature, but it is not a boring read. It is lively and engaging and effectively uses “tradition” in a manner that should be acceptable to all Christians. Chan’s Systematic Theology is a must read for every Christian. It makes an excellent addition to any Christian library. Chan’s Systematic Theology calls Christians back to what Meyers of the Theological and Cultural Thinkers, (T.A.C.T.), group refers to as “Whole Life Transformation.” This whole life transformation goes beyond conversion and means living closer to God by godly practices. Chan indicates that theology is the study of the doctrine of God. By showing readers how the practice of spiritual discipline brings believers closer to God, Chan has effectively combined theology and Christian discipline.

Seminarians and Christians

The content

There wasn't much I didn't like.

Practice spiritual disciplines more than I currently do.

Dr. Simon Chan

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Created Mar 29, 2021 at 3:44pm • Submit your own review...