On Saturday, May 21, the Asian American Initiative at Fuller Theological Seminary hosted a conference exploring "the intersections between gospel, pop culture, and Asian American identity" where graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang shared his own experiences of exploring his Asian-American identity in light of the gospel.
"Asian American issues of identity sit at the heart of my work," Yang said. His book, "American Born Chinese," follows different characters as they grapple with issues of identity, race, and eventually, self-acceptance. In January 2016, Yang was appointed by the Library of Congress as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.
"A lot of what we struggle with as Asian Americans is that we are foreigners, that we're not American," Yang said.
There is a certain way comics have portrayed Asians historically, Yang explained. The "yellow peril" villain played upon the American people's fears of the perceived threat that Asian people posed to the Western world. It was a "staple in American pop culture," Yang said.
There is also the message that embracing Western faith is turning one's back on Eastern culture, Yang continued, referring to the history of Christianity often being used to colonize other countries.
This tension between Western faith and Eastern culture was particularly prominent during his college years as he tried to answer the question, "What is my calling?"
"For me, it became Western faith versus Eastern culture," Yang described. "One side told me, "Follow your passions. Fulfill your dreams,' while the other said, "Secure your financial future. Fulfill your responsibilities.'"
However, as he meditated on Psalm 139 and the idea of divine intention, he said asked himself a different question.
"There is a universality in the Christian story: in every culture, there is always the value of self-donating love," Yang said. "Now, instead of asking myself, "What is my calling?,' I'm asking, "How can I live out self-donating love?'"
"Authentic Christ is found in the tension," Yang added. "Living in the tension forces you to see both sides in human terms and this points to the need for self-donating love. If you feel tension between two sides of yourself, try to live in that tension."
