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New podcast brings a light touch to faith, life, and “being Asian”

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Awkward Asian theologians logo. Photo: Supplied.

Daniel Ang, the director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation has launched new podcast with Dr Matthew Tan, dean of Studies at Vianney College, Wagga’s diocesan seminary.

Light-hearted in tone, the podcast about faith labels itself as “academic theology to lived life as seen through the eyes of two Australian Catholic laymen and doing so Asianly [sic]”.

Tan said he had intended to add an audio component to his blog named Awkward Asian Theologian, but the idea did not come to fruition “until a spontaneous conversation” with co-host Ang.

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The Awkward Asian Theologian podcast, which releases a new episode every fortnight, combines Tan’s background in academic theology with Ang’s work in parish renewal and aims to fill a gap in the podcast market.

Tan’s academic qualifications include a Licentiate in Sacred Theology with a focus in Ecumenical Theology from the Angelicum in Rome and a Doctorate in Theology from ACU.

Ang holds a Bachelor of Arts/Commerce from the University of Sydney and a Master of Divinity from the Sydney College of Divinity, undertaken at the Catholic Institute of Sydney.

Tan told The Catholic Weekly that given Ang’s involvement in the parish renewal space, it “made a lot of sense to have him as a concrete counterpoint to my often abstract-sounding academic commentary.”

Matt Tan. Photo: Supplied.

“Despite the differences, we are united in our commitment that the Christian intellectual tradition has something to say to the everyday life of the faithful,” he said.

Tan says his heritage informed his faith and being a migrant “only made sense in light of my being Catholic.”

“One the one hand, what it means to be Catholic, that is, universal, encompassed a much bigger reality than what I realised, while on the other hand, the many threads that make up my migrant experience could only find cohesion in Christ’s church,” he said.

In the first episode, the pair discuss their respective upbringings, their Asian heritage, and how they came to be engrossed in the faith, as Tan says he wants to make the podcast “theological.”

“Nothing is an accident, all these little details, something as simple as where we each have worked, they are all bound up in the workings of grace,” he said.

Tan says this idea will “shape the general orientation of the podcast” as grace guides and ties together “everything that we experience” as Christians.

Daniel Ang. Photo: Supplied.

“One of the things that we want to do in this podcast is actually try and make the operations of grace not just understandable but concrete and applicable,” he said.

“And in so doing, give some real traction to what it means to actually believe and live out the Christian faith.”

Ang said he hopes the show might function as a “virtual coffee break” without any “didactic preaching” involved.

“Just some good conversation that might spark a thought or two and reach people who are open to learning more about the concrete gifts and challenges of discipleship,” he explained.

“It’s also a small and undemanding outlet for me to share the grace and joy of faith in a more personal way, a different way of sharing the same Gospel I serve in archdiocesan ministry.”

Awkward Asian Theologians is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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