For freedom Christ has set us free;
stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
“At 4 o’clock in
the morning, the doorbell rang, then again and again. There were three
strangers there – two were wearing suits and one a military uniform. “We have a
search warrant”, said their leader, then he pushed me back and intruded into
the sleeping house.
Within three
hours they rummaged everything – books, beds, cabinets, drawers. When at about
7 the sunshine shone through the window, they ordered me to go with them for a ‘little
inquiry’…”
Thank God, this
is not a story of the present. But it is not fiction either. It’s a real story.
This took place in the life of a Bulgarian pastor, Haralan
Popov, in the first years of the communist regime.
But now the situation
is very different, someone would say. Now we live in a democracy, none of these
things happen. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by our Constitution:
“All citizens shall be equal before the law. There shall be no privileges or
restriction of rights on the grounds of race, national or social origin, ethnic
self-identity, sex, religion…” (Article 6); “The practicing of any religion
shall be unrestricted. (2) Religious institutions shall be separate from the
State.” (Article 13)
Yet, in the last
three months our parliament tried hard to violate these fundamental rights. Christians
in Bulgaria had a sad reminder
of a bygone communist past.
It all started
with a parliamentarian bill sponsored by three political parties passed on
first reading in October. The bill supposedly aimed at preventing religious
terrorism but actually violated the freedom of religion, especially of the
smaller denominations.
When I am writing this the bill has
already been passed on second reading. Thanks to the peaceful protests,
hundreds of letters to the MPs, pressure from abroad and the prayers of the
saints, most of these restrictive texts were dropped out. Yet a few of these
clauses remained in the new law. How would this affect the churches?
For now it looks like the evangelical
churches won a victory. The relative freedom we have enjoyed will more or less
continue. Bulgarian evangelicals can take a breath of fresh air. Yet, the fact
that we are taking the win does not mean that we are blind to the fact of the
totalitarian tendencies of the government.
All this is happening against the
backdrop of a new wave of persecution in the Middle East, India, Northern
Africa and China, and resurgence of nationalism in Europe. Would we have
freedom of religion in Bulgaria in the long run? Would new restrictive measures
hinder the spread of the gospel?
Opinions are
split. Many fear that the Church won’t be able to do the Great Commission. Our
wings will be cut off and we won’t be able to fly to the unreached; our legs
will be amputated to go to the needy, our hands will be broken to reach the
hungry.
Indeed, we have
seen this in our history. During communism the Church survived but didn’t
thrive. She was deprived of its best leaders, had no access to the public
arena, and evangelism was a risky business. I myself learned about the
existence of the evangelical churches only after the fall of communism.
On the other
hand, there are other voices saying that the Church needs to be shaken up and
sifted, so that the chaff is separated from the wheat (Matthew 3:12). The
proponents of this view point to communist China where in the last 30 years
Christianity has grown to more than 100 million adherents.
Though
persecuted, the early church, also grew rapidly in number. Persecution caused
many to flee and take the gospel to the ends of the Roman world.
If we believe
that God is our King, no restrictions in secular laws should be able to hinder
the gospel. Yet, are we ready to pay the price?
Personally, I
think that as Christians we should treasure and defend our freedom of religion
because God created us with this “unalienable right”. Religious freedom is
rooted in the Scriptures and is at the heart of the gospel.
This is seen in
the fact that God doesn’t coerce but invites his followers in a relationship
with him. God is love, and love presupposes freedom. Christian commitment to
religious freedom reflects our beliefs about the character of the Creator.
Secondly, the
struggle for religious freedom is part and parcel of the second great
commandment to love our neighbor (Matt. 22:38). God has given each human being
dignity. When the basic human right of religious freedom is not granted, human
dignity is damaged.
And, last,
restrictions on religious freedom hinder people from hearing the gospel and
receiving the greatest gift imaginable, salvation and eternal life.
It is true that
Christianity in China is growing rapidly in spite of restrictions and pressure
from the state. Yet, how can we be sure that it will not grow even faster
provided there is freedom of religion in the vast country. The rapid
evangelization of South Korea is a case in point.
Back to our
situation, if the state continues to exert more control
over the church in Bulgaria it is possible that some Christians would emigrate
to places where they can have their unalienable rights granted. This would
bless their receiving countries but will render Bulgarian society rather
saltless.
At the same
time, many churches would have to go underground. Other churchgoers would just
be happy with state interference in church life. Orthodox propaganda would
increase and state control would also grow. This might lead to a situation
similar to what we had during communism.
Plato said,
"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be
ruled by evil men." Once we paid that penalty and we are still recovering
from that evil. May God give us wisdom and courage to defend our religious
freedom and make sure all Bulgarian citizens have access to the gospel.
