Chinese Theology’s Failure to Engage the Spirit World — Society for the Study of Theology

Responding to the conference theme “Theology: A Discipline of Failure?”, I argued that Chinese theology has failed to engage the spirit world—in Scripture and in Chinese religious life alike—and proposed Watchman Nee’s work as a resource for repairing that neglect.

The paper

“Failure of Chinese Theology in Engaging with the Spirit(s): Towards Constructive Pneumatology for the Third Millennium.”

Abstract

Responding to the conference theme “Theology: A Discipline of Failure?”, this paper argues that Chinese theology has failed to engage with the spirit world in both Scripture and Chinese cultural and religious life. Drawing on recent theological critiques by Marika Rose, Emma Ineson, and Linn Marie Tonstad, it attributes this neglect to Chinese theology’s internalization of Western (particularly Reformed) paradigms. The paper critically engages Philip Ziegler’s God’s Adversary and Ours to highlight how Reformed theology’s treatment of evil and the demonic has proven deficient, shaping Chinese theology’s blind spots. As a constructive counter-example, the paper examines Watchman Nee’s work. Nee’s exegesis of biblical encounters with demonic powers (e.g., Mark 1:21–28; 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39) and his teaching on spiritual warfare (Eph 6; Col 2; Rev 12, 20) demonstrate a robust, trinitarian engagement with the spirit world that resonates with Chinese religiosity. Drawing on the author’s recent book Spirit(s) and Chinese Religiosity, the paper argues that Nee’s approach offers a vital resource for reimagining Chinese theology. Finally, it outlines a vision for a third-millennium Chinese theology that re-engages spiritual realities and contributes to global Christian conversations on evil and the demonic.

Event

• Event: Society for the Study of Theology (SST) Annual Conference 2026 — “Theology: A Discipline of Failure?”
• Host: Society for the Study of Theology
• Venue: University of Warwick, UK
• Dates: April 2026