Matt and Dan go meta, like two lost dumplings floating in a bowl of hot broth, trying to figure out what it means to do things “Asianly.”

They untangle the knots of representation and the elusive “Asian standpoint”, confess to using a smorgasbord of labels - the made-up tags that others love to slap on them - and wonder: could we swap these out for something purely Asian? Maybe a porcelain teapot? Or a bamboo shoot?

Somewhere in the chaos, they explore the theological weight of navigating these sticky, pre-packaged labels and how it all messes with Christian identity when divine revelation insists on being bigger than any box we try to squeeze it into.

Resources

Peter C Phan: Asian Christianities

Matt and Dan kick off the new season by going full ying-yang – back to the basics. And by basics, we mean Jesus.

That’s right: before we talk Resurrection, redemption, or rewatching Wong Kar-wai films for spiritual insight, we’re starting at the source.

Who is Jesus? What’s up with his name? And why does it matter that he’s both God and human, king and servant, fully divine and yet creating awkwardness at first century dinner parties?

Related to this, the Asians grapple with the beautiful, frustrating paradox at the heart of Christian faith: the coexistence of objective truth with subjective experience and culture. Should the Gospel come with a side of hot pot?

Along the way, Matt has a spiritual flashback to his younger, more foolish theology days where he found unexpected Christological wisdom in reruns of The Golden Girls. Dan, as always, keeps things grounded, wielding paradox like a wok and frying up some tasty insights on Jesus, the Asian Way.

Resources

John Paul II: Salvifici Doloris

Graham Ward: Christ & Culture

Henri de Lubac: The Church

In this second instalment of the two-part meditation on faith, Matt and Dan move from Asia’s unique spiritual terrain toward a more universal grammar of belief.

Defying the expectations of tiger mums, they explore faith not as a possession or passport, but as a living rhythm—more pilgrimage than property.

Along the way, they challenge some sticky assumptions: that faith is an identity badge, a doctrinal treasure chest, or a battleground of truth claims.

They also sit with the Church’s role as a kind of guardian - both temple gatekeeper and maternal presence - preserving the sacred ember of faith amid the flux of ages, East and West.

Alain Badiou: St Paul - The Foundations of Universalism

Avery Dulles: The Ecclesial Dimension of Faith