Simon Chan's "Spiritual Theology" is a tremendous introductory text to what, for me, is something a new field. My seminary training treated theology from an exclusively systematic perspective, largely developed to tracing historical development without offering any value judgments on the developments or noting any real "application" to personal spiritual life.

In that sense, reading Chan's book has been quite a refreshing experience...effectively the "turning inside out" of a topic that I've spent considerable time both studying and teaching. Most importantly, as I read Chan's work, I repeatedly found myself thinking: "Talking about [X theological topic] THIS way makes a whole lot more sense than the way I heard it talked about in seminary!"

I think Chan does a great job of striking the systematic/spiritual balance; this book is, as he explains, a SYSTEMATIC study of Christian spirituality. The importance of that progression becomes clearly obvious in the chapters on spiritual discernment and spiritual direction (at the end of the book).

It will take me a good while to absorb all that I've learned from Chan. But I feel like I've got a good foundation on which I can build, a good overview of the various related areas and key thinkers, and a good set of refined questions that I can take to other texts within the field. And, for me, that's what makes a good book. ( )

Book description:
A 1999 Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Book! Theology is "the doctrine of living unto God," wrote the Puritan theologian William Ames. Unfortunately, post-Enlightenment theology has tended to divorce "doctrine" from "living unto God." And to the degree that this split has been deepened and perpetuated, both theology and spirituality have been impoverished. Spiritual Theology is a rare book. In it, Simon Chan surveys the little-explored landscape where systematic theology and godly praxis meet, highlighting the connections between Christian doctrine and Christian living and drawing out the spiritual implications of particular aspects of systematic theology. Allowing rational formulations to drop into the background, he brings the mystery of the faith to the fore. Chan begins with the principal doctrines of God, sin, salvation and the church. He then progresses to a reflective consideration of the practice of the spiritual life, from prayer to spiritual direction. Unabashedly evangelical and truly ecumenical, Chan grounds his exploration in the sources of the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox traditions. His work is well abreast of contemporary theological currents and crossculturally conversant from an Asian perspective. Spiritual Theology is a book for those who care deeply about theology and spirituality, and strive to integrate the two. It is well worth careful reflection and prayerful reading.