/essay, The Open Theological College/
Intro
The relations between the
Protestant churches in Bulgaria and the surrounding secular culture are far
from perfect. On the one hand, Bulgarian society hasn’t still overcome its
hostility towards evangelicals, fanned by media and the Eastern Orthodox Church in early 90-ties of the 20th
century. We are still regarded by society as national traitors since to most
Bulgarians “we are Christians because we are Bulgarians”. On the other hand,
the evangelical minority is often too quick to criticise or downplay our own
culture as pagan or anti-Christian, refusing to see in it anything positive and
good. It is true that many of the traditions and customs, handed down to us,
and shape people’s thinking about God and the created world, are nothing but
pagan in their essence. These traditions are so much now part of the
Eastern-Orthodox Church services and church life, that they are regarded by the
majority as Christian. And yet, it seems to me that future generations (and
God!) will hold us accountable for having the same attitude of hostility to His
lost sheep in this nation. We need to be reminded that God is not only
transcendent, but also immanent (and thus, present in Bulgarian culture, too!)
if we want to win people’s hearts and minds for the gospel.
Partly because of the
atheistic propaganda of the communists rule, but mostly due to the doctrine of
the Orthodox Church, stating that tradition is more important than Scripture
(and thus, you cannot read the Bible on your own, but only listen to the priest’s interpretation of its text), modern day
Bulgarians don’t know the Bible. To them it is rather an exotic book full of
fancy stories, having nothing in common with real life. And, worse still, it is
a book that urges people to give up their common sense and become religious
fanatics. Nevertheless, in relation to evangelism, the Bible must be our
strongest weapon.[1]
The problem is, how to use something that is not only unfamiliar, but also
threatening to the average Bulgarian. Are there any common ground, any
similarities between Bulgarian culture and some of the books of the Bible that
could be used as a bridge from the Bible into that culture? Is there an aspect
of Bulgarian culture that is directly or indirectly connected to the Bible?
The answer to this
question is “Yes”. Bulgarian folklore tradition has preserved many sayings that
not only raise similar topics to those of the Book of Proverbs, but also are
similar in content. So, in the present essay I shall argue that the Book of
Proverbs can be used as a bridge from the Bible into Bulgarian culture and
hence that a comparative study of both should become a prerequisite for working
out an effective strategy for evangelism.
Where the common ground
lies
Like any other nation’s
folklore, Bulgarian language has such a big collection of sayings that we
cannot explore all its characteristics and richness. If the Book of Proverbs
contains altogether 560 sayings[2],
there are more than 5 000 Bulgarian proverbs or sayings, including some known
phrases and words, like blessings, curses, epithets[3],
etc. Yet, in spite of this inequality in number, both collections are rich
enough on themselves to be able to touch so many themes and aspects of life
representing a complete picture of both societies, that of the early Israel and
the Bulgaria of the Middle Ages.
God, wisdom, folly,
family, adultery, work, wealth, relationships in the community, and the use of
words – these are the central themes in the Book of Proverbs[4].
Bulgarian wise men have something to say on all the above-mentioned, and add to
them topics such as freedom, honour, perseverance, hypocricy, stubborness,
anger, indifference, patience, greediness, conscience, pride, generosity,
obedience and many others. But, for the sake of clarity and space, here I will
divide both collections into two major parts: man and his neighbour (horizontal
dimension) and second, man and his God (vertical dimension).
At first sight the reader
of any Bulgarian selection of proverbs might be tempted to think that there is
nothing in common between the godly teachings of Proverbs and the sayings
created by a semi-pagan nation, such as Bulgaria. Because, even though Proverbs
is “godliness put into working clothes”[5]
it does ultimately bring “the firstfruits of its labour” to God, pointing to
Him as our Creator and Judge of all human affairs. On the other hand, how can
sayings such as, for example May God keep us from pretending saints and In
the daytime - a saint, in the night time a thieve, Closer to church,
farther from God, and If you want to know where they serve good wine,
ask for the place where priests go to - be taken as teaching morality, or
at least a primitive form of piety, in those ancient Bulgarian times? This will
be treated more thoroughly further on, but we may now only answer that God’s
common grace is accessible even by pagan nations, and he can instill his
absolute truths even in the minds of people without revelation[6].
Furthermore, even though most of ancient Bulgarians’ were illiterate, they were
more familiar with the central Biblical doctrines than modern Bulgarians and
this should have impacted their folklore, too.
But, let us consider in
brief some of the above-mentioned topics.
Man and his neighbour
Horizontal relationships
form the bulk of Bulgarian folklore. Within that, as it might be expected of a
patriarchial society, family is the central theme. It has been the
smallest and yet the most important ingredient of Bulgarian society in the
past. Bridal fidelity has been the norm, illustrated by the saying Cook for
many, make up a bed for two (meaning, bring up many children, have just one
husband). Compare with Drink water from your own cistern, running water from
your own well[7].
Discipline in rearing up children was also considered indispensible for their
future success in life: Children suffer because of lack of discipline. Or,
to put it in Proverbs’ terms, He who spares the rod hates his son, but he
who loves him is careful to discipline him[8].
Work for
the daily bread occupies most of the time of man. Although Bulgaria has mostly
been a poor country, attitude to work as reflected in our folklore is not
negative at all. The proverb Work makes man look beautiful, laziness makes
him look ugly celebrates work as the highest virtue in people’s character,
helping them realise their true potential and finding their true self (comp.
with the culmination of the description of the wife of noble character, let
her works bring her praise at the city gate[9]).
Much more straightforward is Whoever doesn’t work will not eat, either[10].
And, there is a lot of wisdom in the warning that there are moments in life
when we must make the most of our time, and we will be rewarded: A day
provides for a year[11].
Yet, not all members of a
society would fit into these discriptions. That’s why among the many
affirmative statements in Bulgarian proverbs, there are also many warnings.
There are people who succumb to the temptation to work out evil schemes. They
should think twice before acting, because Whoever digs a grave for another
man will fall into it[12].
Others who prefer the easy looking ways of lying are warned by the means of a
metaphor: Lie’s legs are short. In other words, A false witness will
not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free[13].
And there are the grumblers and egoists, who constantly envy their neighbours’
skills or possessions: “The neighbour’s hen hatches bigger eggs”, they
say. To this self-irony the Book of Proverbs adds the wisdom of Better a
little with righteousness than much gain with injustice[14].
Such negative statements are balanced by other affirmations, referring to such
characteristics as honour, dignity, perseverance, peace making, meekness, humility,
patience, generosity, etc.[15]
Man and his God
In the array of sayings
there are not many proverbs referring to God. Proverbs such as God gives but
doesn’t bring (sheep) in the pen, or Closer to church, farther from God are
a rarity. By comparison, the Book of Proverbs has 100 verses that
mention God in its total of 915 verses[16].
Most of the Bulgarian sayings concerning religion don’t mention directly God
(who to the popular mind is too holy and too far to be reached; comp. with the
sigh of helplessness when harrassed by the local Turkish princes, The
tsar is far away, God is too high…) but
target His earthly representatives, the clergy. The proverbs If you want to
know where they serve good wine, ask for the place where priests go and The
priest preaches the law but doesn’t keep it are typical sayings,
critisizing the wickedness and greediness of those who are called to serve
humbly the ordinary people. So, if the Book of Proverbs seldom takes us to
church[17],
Bulgarian proverbs advise us bluntly to avoid that place. At the same time, if
we take for granted the fact that the Book of Proverbs was written in the tenth
century and compiled around the 7th century BC, it is clear why
pride and apostacy among religious leaders is not attacked anywhere in the book:
it hadn’t been a massive problem during the time of the united kingdom. To the
Biblical Proverbs it is enough to say: The Lord detests all the proud of
heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished[18].
How to use the Book of
Proverbs as a bridge to Bulgarian culture
First of all, in my
opinion the Book of Proverbs could be used as a bridge from the Bible into any
culture as it speaks about real life. People of all races and languages have
strived to find out the key to successful life in the spheres of family
relationships, business, their citizenship and its responsibilities, etc. And
the Proverbs has much to say on any of these subjects, and many more. Stripped
of any religious attire, it speaks with a down-to-earth language about everyday
life, invisibly instilling in the minds and hearts of its listeners its
Biblical perspective. It is convincing enough for them to say: “This sounds
interesting; I’d like to try it”. And it can provoke further interest to other
books of the Bible.
Second, in the above-given
examples we can see that there are many direct borrowings or elaborations on
verses from the Book of Proverbs in the Bulgarian sayings. Some of them sound
almost identical with the Biblical verses[19];
others put in different words the same or similar message[20].
This can serve as a revelation for many Bulgarian atheists and humanists who
believe in social progress and hold the conviction that our culture is a result
of the mere efforts of our own national genius. Evangelistic or preevangelistic
lectures could be given at universities, tackling all these parallels between
Proverbs and Bulgarian sayings and other pieces of literature or even all sorts
of art, and proving that the Bible has influenced our thinking and
paradoxically governs our collective national behaviour, even though most of us
are not aware of that fact. A conference on the topic of “Christian motifs in
Bulgarian language and literature” could be held at the eve of the biggest
national holiday, the day of Cyrillic alphabet, May 24th.
Furthermore, apologetics nights could be organised in universities and other
institutions, making use of Bulgarian proverbs as their main agenda.
Something to bear in mind
It is necessary to note
here that the fact that Bulgarian proverbs mention only implicitly God and even
advise people to have nothing to do with churches could be used by some
opponents of Christianity to show that even our predecessors have realised that
it is nothing but a “scheme of the rich to control the poor”. To this accusation
we may answer that the proverbs’ criticism is directed not towards God but
towards those who represent Him before lay people. In other words, the proverbs
don’t make the mistake, characteristic of many modern-day Bulgarians, to
exclude any possibility for God’s existance on the dubious grounds of his
wicked representatives. And, actually, whenever they mention the word “God”, it
suggests a personal deity, the holy Agent behind all the
created order and things[21].
Conclusion
After all is said and
done, we come to the conclusion that, unlike the Book of Proverbs[22],
man and not God is in the centre of concern of Bulgarian proverbs. Man with his
economic and social status, family, business, relationships and character is
the subject matter of these proverbs. Yet, the striking thing is that, although
religious terms and overt Christian themes are almost lacking in them, the
prevailing value system behind these sayings is that of the Bible. Their
interest in economic prosperity is subjected to a calling to moral integrity.
Their focus on good relationships within the household and the neighborhood is
more than a concern for healthy existance; ultimately it is a rehearsal for
one’s relationships with God. In other words, physical survival[23]
is important, but it is not pursued at the expense of loosing one’s good name,
family and ultimately, soul[24].
They silently bow down to virtue, ridicule folly and hypocrisy, and solemnly
warn promiscuity and and evil behaviour. And in this they sound almost like
their biblical counterparts. That’s why they can make a wonderful inroad for
evangelism in this culture. If we give it a try.
The End
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NIV Study Bible, Hodder
and Stoughton, 1995
Kidner, D., Proverbs, IVP,
1964.
Kindner, D., The Wisdom
of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes, IVP, 1985.
Green, M., Evangelism
Through the Local Church, Hodder & Stoughton, 1993.
Григоров, М. &
Кацаров, К, Български пословици и поговорки[25], Наука
и изкуство, 1986.
Еленков, Ив и Даскалов,
Р., Защо сме такива?[26],
Светлоструй, 1994.
Carson, D.A., France,
R.T., Motyer, J.A., Wenham, G.J., New Bible Commentary, IVP, 1994.
[1] See Hebrews 4:12.
[2] Hristova, Margarita, Библията в часовете по литература, p. 103.
[3] Григоров, М & Кацаров, К., Български пословици и поговорки, p. 7.
[4] Carson.,D.A., New Bible Commentary, p. 584.
[5] Kidner, Proverbs, p. 35.
[6] See Phil. 4:8.
[7] Prov. 5:15.
[8] Ibid., 13:24.
[9] Ibid., 31:31.
[10] Borrowed from 2 Thes. 3:10, but comp. also with Pr. 20:4.
[12] Almost quoting the first part of Pr. 26:27.
[13] Prov. 19:5.
[14] Ibid. 16:8.
[15] Silence is gold, comp. with Pr. 10:19;
Meek speech opens iron gates, reminding of Pr. 15:1 and Pr. 15:4.
[16] See Huges, Kate, Psalms and Wisdom, 19.2.
[17] See Kidner, D., Proverbs, p. 35.
[18] Prov. 16:5.
[19] For ex., Whoever digs a grave for another man will fall into it
= Pr. 26:27
[20] Comp. Wispering ruins a
household with Gossip separates close friends, Pr. 16:28b. As shown
above, it is striking how biblical is the attitude of these Bulgarian sayings
towards human vices such as gossiping, theft, fraud, envy, greediness,
debauchery, pride, etc., and how affirmative is the opinion of the sayings
towards virtues such as dignity, high moral, truthfulness, bridal fidelity, patience,
perseverance. All these attitudes could be used to point out the fact that
Biblical view on good and evil is at the core of the perspective of all these
sayings.
[21] In most of the
books with compilations of Bulgarian proverbs, issued during the second half of
the 20-th century the original term “God” is decapitalised into “god”. This was
done to show that Christianity and religion are just “an opium for the
peoples”, an archaism, a myth that even doesn’t need debunking. Yet, their
really refer to God as to somebody who exists, is personal and has the
power to maintain and direct human history to its end. For ex., May God keep
us from pretending saints suggests a belief in an Almighty person who could
protect the speaker from hypocricy.
[22] See article “God and Man” in Kidner, D., Proverbs, pp.
31-35.
[23] In comparison with the Book of Proverbs of the Bible, Bulgarian
proverbs markedly differ as long as the subject matter of both is concerned.
The latter reflect Bulgarian national fate: Bulgarians have always strived to
survive, not to achieve (П.
Мутафчиев, България и християнството, quoted in Защо сме такива?, p.
30-31). So, economic survival rather than a drive to succeed is the subject of
many Bulgarian proverbs. Here is why
they are even more absorbed with everyday life and its ups and downs than the
Book of Proverbs, and to such an extent so, that this could be taken to be a
sheer materialism. Yet, their value system refutes that conjecture.
[24] See for ex., Dignity is dearer than money.
[25] Grigorov & Katsarov, Bulgarian proverbs, Nauka i
izkustvo, 1986.
[26] Elenkov & Daskalov, Why Are We What We Are?, Svetlostruy, 1994.
