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Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life
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.
300 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 1998
43 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 5, 2020
I appreciate a book that is both compelling in its academic analysis and also convicting in its spiritual insight. Chan does a great job of blending doctrine and practice in a cohesive way.
December 7, 2010
Chan presents a thorough and scholarly work on the topic of spiritual theology. He goes into great detail describing a multitude of Christian groups and various techniques they have employed to grow in their affections for God. There are many practical insights to devour and practice should the reader desire to do so.
October 30, 2019
This is an important book in the developing field of spiritual theology, which bridges systematic theology on the one side and spiritual direction and pastoral support on the other. Simon Chan is able to bring in various parts of the Church's experience, writing to evangelicals but speaking from an East and West dual perspective and drawing upon Charismatic, Protestant, and Catholic traditions.
I don't have much to quibble with the book. It is very straightforward and clear, which is hard when you are forging a discipline. I wish it was more exciting, literary, and inviting, bringing more story in. I don't understand why certain things are chosen to guide the reader and others left out. Mostly, I'm missing solid incarnational, creational, and missional theologies with a deeper biblical theological focus.
I guess I mean I wish it was more like Eugene Peterson's Spiritual Theology series, which is an unfair review. So let the reader of this review beware.
I don't have much to quibble with the book. It is very straightforward and clear, which is hard when you are forging a discipline. I wish it was more exciting, literary, and inviting, bringing more story in. I don't understand why certain things are chosen to guide the reader and others left out. Mostly, I'm missing solid incarnational, creational, and missional theologies with a deeper biblical theological focus.
I guess I mean I wish it was more like Eugene Peterson's Spiritual Theology series, which is an unfair review. So let the reader of this review beware.
April 21, 2025
This book was a dark horse in my school reading. I loved it. It bridges the gap between systematic theology and spiritual theology so well. The author explains the theology well and while often cutting to the heart. Wish I had read it sooner!
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February 10, 2026Between Mystery and Normativity
A Critical Review of Simon Chan’s Spiritual Theology
Simon Chan’s Spiritual Theology represents a significant attempt to re-establish Christian spirituality on firm theological, ecclesial, and doctrinal foundations. Rather than offering another manual of spiritual techniques or devotional practices, Chan seeks to articulate a coherent spiritual theology—one that is biblically grounded, historically informed, ecclesially embodied, and globally contextual. In an era when spirituality is often detached from theology and reduced to individual experience, this project is both timely and necessary.
This review argues that Chan’s work succeeds admirably in correcting several dominant distortions within contemporary Christian spirituality, especially those arising from individualism, experientialism, and Western cultural assumptions. At the same time, it suggests that Chan’s deliberate restraint regarding mystical experience, while understandable, may leave certain theological tensions insufficiently explored. The review proceeds by outlining points of strong agreement with Chan’s framework before offering several critical clarifications and constructive supplements.
1. Spirituality under Theological and Ecclesial Norms
One of Chan’s most valuable contributions lies in his insistence that spirituality must remain normed by doctrine, Scripture, and the life of the Church. Spiritual theology, as he defines it, is not opposed to systematic theology but represents its existential and formative extension. Spiritual practices are not autonomous techniques for self-transformation; they are disciplined responses to divine grace within the economy of salvation.
This emphasis directly challenges the widespread assumption—especially prevalent in contemporary evangelical and charismatic contexts—that spiritual vitality can be sustained apart from theological coherence or ecclesial rootedness. Chan rightly argues that when spirituality is severed from doctrine, it becomes vulnerable to subjectivism, emotionalism, and eventually theological distortion. His critique of extreme charismatic expressions that elevate extraordinary experiences without adequate discernment is therefore both pastorally responsible and theologically sound.
2. A Necessary Critique of Modern Individualism
Chan’s sustained critique of modern individualism constitutes another major strength of the book. He resists the reduction of salvation to a purely private transaction between the individual and God, insisting instead that Christian spirituality is fundamentally ecclesial. The Church, sustained by baptism and Eucharist, is not a voluntary association of spiritually motivated individuals but the sacramental community in which spiritual life is both generated and sustained.
This ecclesial emphasis is particularly important in contexts where churches have increasingly adopted consumerist or therapeutic models of ministry. By recovering the Church’s sacramental and eschatological identity, Chan restores spirituality to its proper communal and teleological horizon. Spiritual formation, in his account, is inseparable from worship, traditioning, and shared practices of discernment.
3. Salvation as a Process: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification
Chan’s treatment of salvation as a dynamic process rather than a static event further reinforces the coherence of his spiritual theology. By framing Christian life in terms of justification, sanctification, and glorification, he provides a theological grammar capable of holding together assurance, growth, and eschatological hope.
Particularly noteworthy is his clarification that Christian “perfection” does not imply sinlessness but rather a perfection of love—a fundamental orientation of the will toward God. This account avoids both moral perfectionism and antinomian complacency, offering instead a realistic and pastorally sensitive vision of spiritual maturity. The believer is already united with Christ through faith, yet remains on a pilgrimage toward the fullness of that union.
4. Mystery and the Question of Mystical Experience
Despite these strengths, Chan’s treatment of divine mystery invites further reflection. Throughout the book, he repeatedly emphasizes God’s transcendence, freedom, and incomprehensibility. God is not subject to human manipulation, nor can divine action be reduced to predictable patterns. Yet while the language of mystery permeates his theological vision, explicit engagement with mystical experience remains notably restrained.
This restraint is understandable. Chan is clearly concerned to guard against an uncritical fascination with extraordinary experiences, particularly in contexts lacking biblical and doctrinal grounding. Nevertheless, a question remains: if God is truly transcendent and personal, can genuine interaction with such a God entirely avoid experiential forms that exceed conceptual articulation?
To affirm the possibility of mystical experience is not to endorse its uncritical pursuit. Rather, it is to acknowledge that encounter with a transcendent God may at times involve dimensions that resist rational domestication. Importantly, such experiences must always be subject to discernment and measured against Scripture. God does not contradict divine revelation; when tension arises, it is more likely a summons to deeper hermeneutical and theological reflection than a dismissal of experience as such.
5. “Weak God” and “Christus Victor”: Toward an Integrated Vision
Chan’s contrast between the “weak God” emphasized in certain strands of Western theology and the “victorious Christ” (Christus Victor) meaningful in many Asian contexts is one of the book’s more provocative arguments. His point—that theological images must be tested against lived spiritual realities—is well taken, especially in contexts shaped by overt experiences of spiritual conflict.
Yet this contrast risks becoming overly polarized if not carefully integrated. Divine “weakness” in the face of suffering does not necessarily imply impotence; it may reflect a redemptive patience that forms faith and obedience. Conversely, Christ’s victory is not achieved by bypassing the cross but through obedience unto death. The cross itself is the paradoxical site where weakness and victory converge. A more integrated account may therefore better preserve the fullness of the biblical witness.
6. Reciprocity and the Limits of Cultural Analogy
Chan’s engagement with Confucian notions of reciprocity offers a creative attempt at cross-cultural theological dialogue. His use of non-dominative, reciprocal relationality to illuminate Trinitarian and ecclesial relationships is suggestive and fruitful. However, this analogy requires careful theological qualification.
Human reciprocity, especially in pre-Christian cultural systems, often remains conditional and transactional: benevolence is extended in expectation of return. By contrast, the love revealed in Jesus Christ is unilateral, self-giving, and directed toward sinners without precondition. Cultural concepts of reciprocity may serve as analogies, but they cannot function as normative descriptions of divine love without significant transformation by the gospel.
7. Personal and Communal Dimensions of Spiritual Practice
Finally, while Chan rightly emphasizes the communal nature of spirituality in response to individualism, it is important to clarify that many spiritual disciplines—prayer, meditation, self-examination, discernment—are irreducibly personal. This does not undermine their ecclesial character. On the contrary, personal practices find their proper orientation and protection precisely within the life of the Church.
The command to love God with one’s whole heart is addressed to each believer personally, yet it inevitably bears communal fruit. Personal and communal dimensions of spirituality are not in tension but mutually constitutive.
Conclusion
Spiritual Theology is a theologically rigorous and pastorally sensitive work that makes a substantial contribution to contemporary discussions of Christian spirituality. Chan successfully re-centers spiritual life within the doctrines of God, salvation, and the Church, offering a compelling alternative to both experiential excess and doctrinal minimalism. The critical observations offered here are not rejections but invitations—to continue the theological conversation Chan has so fruitfully initiated, especially concerning mystery, experience, and the integration of cultural insights under the lordship of Christ.
A Critical Review of Simon Chan’s Spiritual Theology
Simon Chan’s Spiritual Theology represents a significant attempt to re-establish Christian spirituality on firm theological, ecclesial, and doctrinal foundations. Rather than offering another manual of spiritual techniques or devotional practices, Chan seeks to articulate a coherent spiritual theology—one that is biblically grounded, historically informed, ecclesially embodied, and globally contextual. In an era when spirituality is often detached from theology and reduced to individual experience, this project is both timely and necessary.
This review argues that Chan’s work succeeds admirably in correcting several dominant distortions within contemporary Christian spirituality, especially those arising from individualism, experientialism, and Western cultural assumptions. At the same time, it suggests that Chan’s deliberate restraint regarding mystical experience, while understandable, may leave certain theological tensions insufficiently explored. The review proceeds by outlining points of strong agreement with Chan’s framework before offering several critical clarifications and constructive supplements.
1. Spirituality under Theological and Ecclesial Norms
One of Chan’s most valuable contributions lies in his insistence that spirituality must remain normed by doctrine, Scripture, and the life of the Church. Spiritual theology, as he defines it, is not opposed to systematic theology but represents its existential and formative extension. Spiritual practices are not autonomous techniques for self-transformation; they are disciplined responses to divine grace within the economy of salvation.
This emphasis directly challenges the widespread assumption—especially prevalent in contemporary evangelical and charismatic contexts—that spiritual vitality can be sustained apart from theological coherence or ecclesial rootedness. Chan rightly argues that when spirituality is severed from doctrine, it becomes vulnerable to subjectivism, emotionalism, and eventually theological distortion. His critique of extreme charismatic expressions that elevate extraordinary experiences without adequate discernment is therefore both pastorally responsible and theologically sound.
2. A Necessary Critique of Modern Individualism
Chan’s sustained critique of modern individualism constitutes another major strength of the book. He resists the reduction of salvation to a purely private transaction between the individual and God, insisting instead that Christian spirituality is fundamentally ecclesial. The Church, sustained by baptism and Eucharist, is not a voluntary association of spiritually motivated individuals but the sacramental community in which spiritual life is both generated and sustained.
This ecclesial emphasis is particularly important in contexts where churches have increasingly adopted consumerist or therapeutic models of ministry. By recovering the Church’s sacramental and eschatological identity, Chan restores spirituality to its proper communal and teleological horizon. Spiritual formation, in his account, is inseparable from worship, traditioning, and shared practices of discernment.
3. Salvation as a Process: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification
Chan’s treatment of salvation as a dynamic process rather than a static event further reinforces the coherence of his spiritual theology. By framing Christian life in terms of justification, sanctification, and glorification, he provides a theological grammar capable of holding together assurance, growth, and eschatological hope.
Particularly noteworthy is his clarification that Christian “perfection” does not imply sinlessness but rather a perfection of love—a fundamental orientation of the will toward God. This account avoids both moral perfectionism and antinomian complacency, offering instead a realistic and pastorally sensitive vision of spiritual maturity. The believer is already united with Christ through faith, yet remains on a pilgrimage toward the fullness of that union.
4. Mystery and the Question of Mystical Experience
Despite these strengths, Chan’s treatment of divine mystery invites further reflection. Throughout the book, he repeatedly emphasizes God’s transcendence, freedom, and incomprehensibility. God is not subject to human manipulation, nor can divine action be reduced to predictable patterns. Yet while the language of mystery permeates his theological vision, explicit engagement with mystical experience remains notably restrained.
This restraint is understandable. Chan is clearly concerned to guard against an uncritical fascination with extraordinary experiences, particularly in contexts lacking biblical and doctrinal grounding. Nevertheless, a question remains: if God is truly transcendent and personal, can genuine interaction with such a God entirely avoid experiential forms that exceed conceptual articulation?
To affirm the possibility of mystical experience is not to endorse its uncritical pursuit. Rather, it is to acknowledge that encounter with a transcendent God may at times involve dimensions that resist rational domestication. Importantly, such experiences must always be subject to discernment and measured against Scripture. God does not contradict divine revelation; when tension arises, it is more likely a summons to deeper hermeneutical and theological reflection than a dismissal of experience as such.
5. “Weak God” and “Christus Victor”: Toward an Integrated Vision
Chan’s contrast between the “weak God” emphasized in certain strands of Western theology and the “victorious Christ” (Christus Victor) meaningful in many Asian contexts is one of the book’s more provocative arguments. His point—that theological images must be tested against lived spiritual realities—is well taken, especially in contexts shaped by overt experiences of spiritual conflict.
Yet this contrast risks becoming overly polarized if not carefully integrated. Divine “weakness” in the face of suffering does not necessarily imply impotence; it may reflect a redemptive patience that forms faith and obedience. Conversely, Christ’s victory is not achieved by bypassing the cross but through obedience unto death. The cross itself is the paradoxical site where weakness and victory converge. A more integrated account may therefore better preserve the fullness of the biblical witness.
6. Reciprocity and the Limits of Cultural Analogy
Chan’s engagement with Confucian notions of reciprocity offers a creative attempt at cross-cultural theological dialogue. His use of non-dominative, reciprocal relationality to illuminate Trinitarian and ecclesial relationships is suggestive and fruitful. However, this analogy requires careful theological qualification.
Human reciprocity, especially in pre-Christian cultural systems, often remains conditional and transactional: benevolence is extended in expectation of return. By contrast, the love revealed in Jesus Christ is unilateral, self-giving, and directed toward sinners without precondition. Cultural concepts of reciprocity may serve as analogies, but they cannot function as normative descriptions of divine love without significant transformation by the gospel.
7. Personal and Communal Dimensions of Spiritual Practice
Finally, while Chan rightly emphasizes the communal nature of spirituality in response to individualism, it is important to clarify that many spiritual disciplines—prayer, meditation, self-examination, discernment—are irreducibly personal. This does not undermine their ecclesial character. On the contrary, personal practices find their proper orientation and protection precisely within the life of the Church.
The command to love God with one’s whole heart is addressed to each believer personally, yet it inevitably bears communal fruit. Personal and communal dimensions of spirituality are not in tension but mutually constitutive.
Conclusion
Spiritual Theology is a theologically rigorous and pastorally sensitive work that makes a substantial contribution to contemporary discussions of Christian spirituality. Chan successfully re-centers spiritual life within the doctrines of God, salvation, and the Church, offering a compelling alternative to both experiential excess and doctrinal minimalism. The critical observations offered here are not rejections but invitations—to continue the theological conversation Chan has so fruitfully initiated, especially concerning mystery, experience, and the integration of cultural insights under the lordship of Christ.
May 14, 2022
Reading reflectively the third time. Both theologically sound and thorough, and practical. Love it also because Chan (of course) places ST in the context of Asian Christians as well, and warns Western Christians of unwitting cultural dominance.
May 24, 2015
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.
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.
January 22, 2016
Simon Chan's Spiritual Theology is a theology of Christian spiritual practice for the intellectually inclined. If you want a deep, well researched, theoretical grounding for Christian spiritual practice start with this book. It answers the "what" and "why" questions, rather than the "how" questions of the Christian's spiritual life (ex: "What are the practices, and why do we do them?" Rather than "How do we engage in those practices?).
Chan is a self-described evangelical, and a Singaporean. Working out his Christian walk mostly outside of western societies may have served him well, giving him a keen eye for lack of spiritual health. One of the delights for western evangelicals reading this book will be his stern and sobering assessment of much of evangelical spirituality. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, and I was happy to take that beating. Though one will only get these comments in passing as he does not intend to offer a culture critique.
If the reader does not want at the moment a detailed and well-rounded theoretical understanding of Christian spiritual practices, but wants to get to the practices themselves (a very sensible desire), this book might be more useful as a reference tool. Having a detailed index, and being organized according to various spiritual practices, it serves that purpose very well.
Chan is a self-described evangelical, and a Singaporean. Working out his Christian walk mostly outside of western societies may have served him well, giving him a keen eye for lack of spiritual health. One of the delights for western evangelicals reading this book will be his stern and sobering assessment of much of evangelical spirituality. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, and I was happy to take that beating. Though one will only get these comments in passing as he does not intend to offer a culture critique.
If the reader does not want at the moment a detailed and well-rounded theoretical understanding of Christian spiritual practices, but wants to get to the practices themselves (a very sensible desire), this book might be more useful as a reference tool. Having a detailed index, and being organized according to various spiritual practices, it serves that purpose very well.
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May 15, 2013Spiritual renewal process is depending on what we read and what we listen throughout the day. If you want go far please Read the WORD of GOD!!!!!!!this book of Spiritual theology can help us to develop our reading and meditation capacity of the NT books, rather than others.
I know some systematic and Practical theology books. But, like Rev. Chan’s, Spiritual Theology is book is very rare book. Finally, I Thank God about the author of the book Simon Chan. Who is makes a clearly line between Systematic theology and Spiritual theology.
I know some systematic and Practical theology books. But, like Rev. Chan’s, Spiritual Theology is book is very rare book. Finally, I Thank God about the author of the book Simon Chan. Who is makes a clearly line between Systematic theology and Spiritual theology.
November 27, 2007
This one is really good to, but also very difficult to read. It seems that it is so scholarly that and expansive (while remaining under 300 pages) that it can only be suggestive ... so far anyway. I am almost half-way into it, but am now taking a break to read the Liturgical Theology.
February 8, 2020
Simon Chan's book is a very edifying read. A unique book of a kind that marries theology and spirituality almost seamlessly. He sets a good theological basis for our understanding of God, church, salvation and sin before drawing out an 'ascetical'(spiritual disciplines) program, that is accessible even to novices. His discussion on sin is very well distilled. The radical nature of sin is well expounded, which helps one see the genius of such doctrines as 'justification by faith'. He then helps us see how that can be lived out in a way that is both congruent and effective, thus healing what Lovelace calls 'the sanctification gap'(between being declared holy and becoming holy).
His writing is peppered with various quotations, making it easy for me to know where he is coming from and pointing to sources for further reading. In so doing, he does not go over grounds which other writers have trodden and yet stands on the shoulders of such giants of the Church. He focuses his insightful comments on specific issues that confront the church today,especially in the context of Asian churches that are swept by such forces as individualism and globalization. His analysis of differences between Western and Eastern thinking helps one to do theology with greater discernment and sensitivity to the pecularities of one's culture. Much more can be said about the book but it certainly serves as a wonderful resource for anyone committed to 'living unto God'.
His writing is peppered with various quotations, making it easy for me to know where he is coming from and pointing to sources for further reading. In so doing, he does not go over grounds which other writers have trodden and yet stands on the shoulders of such giants of the Church. He focuses his insightful comments on specific issues that confront the church today,especially in the context of Asian churches that are swept by such forces as individualism and globalization. His analysis of differences between Western and Eastern thinking helps one to do theology with greater discernment and sensitivity to the pecularities of one's culture. Much more can be said about the book but it certainly serves as a wonderful resource for anyone committed to 'living unto God'.
January 31, 2021
Came across Chan’s book at a book sale and bought it for $5. An absolute bargain. Clear, sensible, challenging, balanced - he presents a pathway to spiritual maturity seldom heard of today. Drawing on the whole range of Christian traditions from orthodox to Charismatic, he highlights strengths and weaknesses in each in their approach to spiritual growth. Bringing an Asian perspective also highlighted the dominant Western mindset that’s so often assumes the whole world thinks the same. A book to refer back to often as one develops a rule of life.
September 6, 2023
This book started a little slow and I was skeptical. Particularly with Chan's integration of charismatic theology. However, he was fair in the things he discussed. It wasn't the easiest read, though much of the language was similar to much of what I read during my doctoral studies in biblical spirituality. As the book progressed, I began to see the greatest landscape and enjoyed it. The prayer section was great! I appreciated mentions of Edwards "Affections" as well as Calvin. Chan also has the goal of helping Asian Christian culture, which was good for me to learn about.
July 29, 2024
It was fine. Not great, but good enough. I found that the structure of the book and organization wasn’t as high quality as I would’ve expected. He seems to jump around and makes some cultural assumptions that are slightly off… There were some part, though, that I thought were really solid and well written. Those parts just felt a little few and far between for the rest of the book, even though it’s not a very big book. I’d read his other writing for sure, but when comparing it to the other writers I was reading in conjunction with this book, it just fell a little short.
May 26, 2021
Simon Chan brough a great perspective to this topic. This is not an easy book to understand.
His chapter on The Church As The Community of Saints was very eye opening and timely. The western world has become so individual focus, and although many of our church functions and programs could be defined as building church community, they tend to still be individualistic in nature.
His chapter on The Church As The Community of Saints was very eye opening and timely. The western world has become so individual focus, and although many of our church functions and programs could be defined as building church community, they tend to still be individualistic in nature.
May 1, 2023
This was not an easy read for me and not one I would have chosen for myself, but in the end I was glad it was required reading for a class.
June 23, 2010
Chan does a very good job putting in technical terms what "fluff" books have long attempted to do: describe the praxis of the Christian spiritual life.
gave-up
April 9, 2014This book was much more academic a work than I was looking for.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews