On 11 September 2006
A reflection on conversations with my spiritual guides on 11 September 2006
1. On Educating Those Who Harm Us
Whilst we seek to forgive those who have done us griveous harm and to not hold it against them thereafter, we should also seek to educate and teach them to never repeat their acts. This is a virtue of justice and responsibility we should impose upon ourselves for the wellbeing of the wider society.
It is a human inclination to execute parting shots at those who have harmed us and to exist apart from them in order to safeguard one's own wellbeing. But the imperatives of justice and love prescribe that we must do what is within our capabilities to assist those who have harmed us in the alteration of their behaviour pattern.
2. On the Fragmentation of Protestant Spirituality
The Protestant Church at this point of time exists in a very divided state. A particular point of division exists between those of the liturgical traditions and those of the Pentecostal-Charismatic traditions. The solution for this seeming fragmentary impasse in the Church is the recovery of sacramental theology.
Liturgical traditions seek to invoke the response of the worshipper through the use of visible realities which engage the senses. Pentecostal-charismatic traditions seek to preserve the existential experience of the worshipper in a Spirit-led life. Sacramental theology helps these two streams to find a point of common agreement: that spiritual realities can be represented by visible realities. In Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God's presence abides with his people; and this enlivening presence can be uncovered in visible rituals and symbols in Christian worship.
Liturgical Theology:
The Church as Worshipping Community
For further and deeper understanding of this topic, this book was given my spiritual guide throughout our conversation. It is newly published and hasn't yet hit the bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia! The following is a synopsis of the book:
"Bad worship produces bad theology, and bad theology produces an unhealthy church."
In Liturgical Theology, Simon Chan issues a call to evangelicals to develop a mature theology of the church - an ecclesiology that is grounded in the church's identity as a worshiping community. Evangelicals, he argues, are confused about the meaning and purpose of the church in part because they have an inadequate understanding of Christian worship. As a remedy for this ailment, Chan presents a coherent theology of the church that pays particular attention to the liturgical practices that have constituted Christian worship throughout the centuries. With a seasoned eye and steady hand, he guides the reader through these practices and unpacks their significance for theology, spirituality and the renewal of evangelicalism in the postmodern era.
Chan's proposal advances the conversation among evangelicals regarding the relationship between theology and worship. In contrast to some theologians who have tended to emphasize a sociological analysis, Chan argues that we need to consider what is essential to the church's theological identity. Drawing on the larger Christian tradition, Chan argues that we discover that identity primarily in the structure and significance of Christian worship.
Here is an "interview" between Zach Kincaid and Simon Chan regarding some points discussed in the book: READ.
Comments (3)
Looks like a very interesting book. Do you know how we can get a copy? Who is the publisher?
Thanks
Posted by Raj | September 14, 2006 11:09 AM
The publisher is InterVarsity Press. I don't think the book has hit the bookstores in Singapore or Malaysia yet. But if you'd like a copy of it, I'll inform you when I next see it in Singapore (it's likely to hit Singapore first, definitely).
Posted by sk | September 14, 2006 1:51 PM
I also want a copy to supplement the first one.
Posted by Sivin | September 18, 2006 9:45 PM