The Book of Proverbs: a Bridge from the Bible into Bulgarian Culture

How to Use the Book of Proverbs as a Bridge from the Bible into Bulgarian Culture
by Trif Trifonov
2003, 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 shaping 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.  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 , there are more than 5 000 Bulgarian proverbs or sayings, including some known phrases and words, like blessings, curses, epithets , 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. 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”  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. 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. 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.

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 ). Much more straightforward is Whoever doesn’t work will not eat, either. 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 .

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. 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. 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. Such negative statements are balanced by other affirmations, referring to such characteristics as honour, dignity, perseverance, peace making, meekness, humility, patience, generosity, etc.

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. 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, 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.

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. Striped 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; others put in different words the same or similar message. 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.

Conclusion

After all is said and done, we come to the conclusion that, unlike the Book of Proverbs , 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 existence; ultimately it is a rehearsal for one’s relationships with God. In other words, physical survival is important, but it is not pursued at the expense of loosing one’s good name, family and ultimately, soul. 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 , Наука и изкуство, 1986.
Еленков, Ив и Даскалов, Р., Защо сме такива? , Светлоструй, 1994.
Carson, D.A., France, R.T., Motyer, J.A., Wenham, G.J., New Bible Commentary, IVP, 1994.

What are the main characteristics of a culture that is influenced by a secular worldview?

/I wrote this essay a couple of years ago to submit to my tutor in "Mission Theology in Context". Hope you find it interesting./

1. Introduction: the myth of secular society.
2. Defining the terms ‘culture’, ‘worldview’ and ‘secular worldview’.
3. Main Characteristics of a culture that is influenced by a secular worldview.
a. Faith in man, progress and science.
b. Faith as private not public truth.
c. Individualism.
d. Materialism and hedonism.
e. Nominalism.
f. Religious pluralism and relativism.
g. Tolerance.
4. Questions posed by a secular culture and their relevance for mission.
a. Doing incarnational evangelism.
b. Speaking the truth relevantly.
5. Conclusion



What are the main characteristics of a culture that is influenced by a secular worldview? In what ways are the questions posed by a secular culture important for mission?


1. Introduction: the myth of secular society.

A few decades ago Max Weber expressed the belief that ‘modern society is on a steady and irreversible course toward increasing secularisation’. It was maintained that this process ‘would inevitably lead to the gradual disappearance of religious belief and … religion will have a receding role in that society’(1). This, as Newbigin points out, has turned out to be a myth (2) since the process of secularisation, instead of leading to the gradual disappearance of religious belief, demonstrates 'the continuing and often greatly increased vigor of religious belief in that society'. It is so because a view which excludes the belief systems of other religions is also a worldview, even a religion (3).

Second, Newbigin states that the effort to separate public life from private behaviour and morals is impossible in the long terms, because the way a society behaves is a function of the personal values and beliefs of its individuals. He goes to say that ‘the unprecedented crop of new religions’ in the west also proves this myth (4).

Still, secularism is still prominent in our culture. So, it is important for us to consider in what way culture is being influenced by it and in what way are the questions posed by a secular culture important for mission today.

2. Defining the terms ‘culture’, ‘worldview’ and ‘secular worldview’.

Before we consider the main characteristics of a culture, influenced by a secular worldview, we need to define what the terms ‘culture’, ‘worldview’ and secular worldview’ mean.

There are many definitions of culture but for the present work we shall use the following one: culture is ‘an integrated system of beliefs, of values, of customs, and of institutions which express these beliefs, values and customs, which binds a society together and gives it a sense of identity, dignity, security and continuity’(5). ‘Put simply, it refers to the way that a group of people do things together(6).

Culture is not the same as worldview. Peter Cotterell defines the latter as ‘the individual’s understanding of the world and his relationship to it, his behaviour in it’(7). It is ‘determined by that individual’s religion’ to a great extent(8). So, we may say that secular(9) worldview is an individual’s naturalistic understanding of the world and his relationship to it based on that understanding. The secular worldview’s ‘plausibility structure’(10) excludes the possibility of any religious explanation of the world.

3. Main Characteristics of a culture that is influenced by a secular worldview.

a. Faith in man, progress and science.
Premodern time was defined by faith in God and was best captured in Anselm’s phrase ‘I believe in order that I may understand’(11). What people knew about the world was preconditioned by their belief in the Bible. By the late 1400s, due to the geographical discoveries and scientific and theological developments, the belief in the ‘divinely constituted world’(12) began slowly disintegrating and ushered in the Enlightenment or the beginning of modernity(13). The ultimate authority of knowledge and behaviour shifted from God to reason(14). In order to prove to him and to other sceptics that God really existed Descartes developed the principle of doubt, namely, cogito ergo sum(15). Yet, instead of giving a firmer basis of the Christian faith, this principle led to a major shift in epistemology as finally reason ousted God(16) and turned itself into the only legitimate source and foundation of all knowledge.

This is the first and most important characteristic of a culture influenced by the secular worldview. As a result, God was declared dead and humanity took its place as the centre of the universe. Rousseau’s ‘noble savage’ led to the belief that human beings are naturally good and as such were doomed to progress(17). By reason people could boldly launch into a process of scientific discovery. At the same time, this new anthropocentric worldview led to a shift of interest in science from the metaphysical to man and the physical world. It was characterised by the optimistic belief that science could bring heaven on earth. Humanity did not need God anymore since through reason and scientific progress it could eliminate evil and suffering and bring universal happiness(18).

b. Faith as private not public truth.
Descartes’ principle cogito ergo sum ‘drew a distinction between ‘“the observer” and the “object”, and thus between “mind” and “matter”’. It created a dualism between the material universe and the metaphysical world. The former was to be researched by scientists, and the latter, by philosophers and theologians(19). This

separation of reality into the objective and the subjective has produced a situation in which the objective, or public sphere, has been seen as the important area in which the real world operates. The subjective has come to be seen as the world of opinion which, by implication, is less important(20).

In other words, personal beliefs have ‘gradually become equated (21) with the word “opinion” and the concept of “values”’(22).

c. Individualism.
Since man, and not God, is in the centre of attention in a secular culture, it is the individual and not society which now matters. Society now is merely ‘the product of individual choice’(23) and not something which individuals should respect and try to accommodate to. Whereas in the premodern the emphasis was on the individual’s ‘place and duty within society’(24), in secular cultures the focus is on the individual’s rights(25). Furthermore, the improving standard of living, social benefits and health service in secular states leads to greater independence of individuals from their immediate friends and neighbours, and thus to alienation and individualism.

d. Materialism and hedonism.
If humanity is the only agent of progress in the universe, it follows by implication that its sole driving force for existence would be the ‘pursuit of happiness’. The last decades have witnessed ‘a dramatic upsurge in scientific studies aimed at discovering … what makes happy people happy’(26). The technological progress and the factors mentioned above inescapably led to surplus in production in Western countries. This in turn led to an economic growth and bigger opportunities for individuals to achieve a better standard of living. Mass media and ads brought about the belief that materialism and hedonism are something to be desired and strived for.

e. Nominalism.
As pointed in the introduction above, instead of leading to the disappearance of belief, secularism itself has become a worldview and even a religion in many secular cultures of the West(27). As Robinson points out, put in this context of religious pressure, the Church has tried to come to terms with it, often at the expense of sacrificing its loyalty to Christ. Many churches have ‘accommodated secular thought to such an extent that the dominant problem of the Church in the West has become that of nominalism(28). This has rendered them unable to ‘resist the advance of other faith commitments’, let alone to ‘become a missionary or converting force itself’(29).

f. Religious pluralism and relativism.
Another characteristic of a culture influenced by a secular worldview is religious pluralism and relativism. Religious pluralism is ‘the belief that the differences between the religions are not a matter of truth and falsehood, but of different perceptions of the one truth’(30). Similarly, relativism states that ‘all points of view are equally valid and that all truth is relative to the individual(31). If there is only matter and no god, then all values are relative. This loss of confidence in truth can be directly related to the collapse of the modernity’s metanarrative of optimism and belief in progress after the two world wars and other traumatic events in the twentieth century. So, religious pluralism and relativism are a natural outcome of the ‘disintegration of the traditional western concept of truth’(32) in the pluralist secular cultures. Since there is no ultimate reality as a criteria of truth and falsehood it follows that everything is subjective. In religion this statement translates in the famous phrase ‘all religions are equally valid roads to the truth’(33).

g. Tolerance.
Finally, tolerance is a boundary drawn by the architects of the secular society, ‘in order to insure tolerance for a wide variety of private life-styles(34). Since belief in a culture influenced by a secular worldview is a matter of private opinion, it is easy to see why any ‘claims to truth are to be censured as imperialist and divisive’(35). So, Christians are often accused of being arrogant and intolerant as they claim that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Ironically, the commitment to religious pluralism of a culture influenced by the secular worldview, leads to it being intolerant to some of the members of its society. As Newbigin points out, ‘in regard to what are called “facts” the secular society is not pluralist’(36).

4. Questions posed by a secular culture and their relevance for mission.

As a result, all these features of a secular culture, namely, individualism, the dualism between the public sphere and the private beliefs, religious pluralism and the collapse of confidence in reason, have brought about much fragmentation, alienation and hopelessness. Many have experienced disillusionment with the gods of a culture influenced by a secular worldview and wonder how they can overcome their loneliness and brokenness, and find happiness. Others, like for example those personally affected by terrorist attacks, ask how a loving God could allow so much suffering in this world. Still others, having found no satisfying answers in atheism or other religions, are wondering whether there is any meaning in this life.

Living in a secular culture has urged many to give up their quest for meaning in the eastern religions or secularism and become more open to traditional monotheistic metanarratives, including Christianity. The in-built awareness and need of the absolute truth, in spite of the relativistic agenda of the secular culture, also opens new possibilities before the mission of the Church. What then would be those approaches in mission that would be relevant for the people in a secular culture? How could the Church best respond to these questions?

a. Doing incarnational evangelism.
As we have seen, a common aspect in a secular worldview is the belief that we exist in order to be happy. It is often stated that the main ingredient to personal happiness are healthy relationships. In a world of individualism and alienation, a caring attitude would make a huge difference for non-Christians. In this we need to turn to Jesus’ example. He associated with all, especially with the outcasts of society. So, before we know how to tell them about God’s love, we need to know how to show it to them. This incarnational witness is counter-cultural as it demands many sacrifices on part of the Church but in the long run it can turn out to be the most effective evangelistic tool(37).

b. Speaking the truth relevantly.
Yet, acts of love on themselves are not enough for an effective mission of the church. We need to also learn to speak out the truth of the gospel in the vernacular language of people. We need to present Jesus as an attractive person rather than as a system of beliefs and make His metanarrative meaningful and convincing. This may involve becoming ‘technologically savvy’ and start using a lot of multimedia, art and music in our evangelistic preaching and missions. It involves also knowing both our text (the Bible) and context (culture and its prevailing worldview).

An important aspect of learning to speak the language of a culture influenced by a secular worldview is to learn to use humor in our preaching, evangelism and friendships. In Robinson’s words, it connects non-Christians with the transcendent, as it ‘speaks of love’, and ‘of the triumph of good over evil’, and ‘brings a sense of wonder rather than despair’ as to the mystery of life(38).

5. Conclusion

Finally, we need to recognise and relate to the features of a culture that is influenced by a secular worldview in our mission. We have seen that these characteristics are either modern, or postmodern, or shared by both modernity and postmodernity, in their nature. Modernistic separation of public facts from private beliefs, confidence in reason, science and progress, and the essential goodness of man have led to individualism and materialism. Further, they have bred religious pluralism, relativism and the myth of tolerance. Ironically, a culture influenced by a secular worldview has erected and worships its own god, the autonomous self.

The result of this worldview is that many have experienced personal fragmentation and alienation both from God and the others in their culture. They ask important questions which the Church needs to hear and respond to: these are questions of meaning, of the relevance of absolute truth to life, why there is suffering and how one can find personal happiness. The implication of these questions is that people in a culture impacted by secular worldview long for wholeness and satisfaction, and these can be offered only when the Church incorporates in her mission not only an oral proclamation but also presence, not only words but also works. In a sea of religious commitments, and in a culture invaded by the secular worldview, this can be the best way for the church to respond meaningfully and adequately to the seekers.

The End
_________________________________________

Endnotes

(1) Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, (London: SPCK, 1989), p. 211-2.
(2) ibid.
(3) Irving Kristol also witnessed against this view when he remarked that two major events in recent years represent turning points in the history of the twentieth century: ‘The first is the death of socialism... The second is the collapse of secular humanism . . . as an ideal’. Secular humanism with its optimism in progress and science has also led to immorality since it raised personal autonomy as the criteria for good and evil. When our moral choices depend on our own preferences than it is easy to see how in the long run secularism has led to relativism and postmodernism. Kristol goes on to say that ‘since 2001, the prominent German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has also been announcing “the post-secular age”. Habermas is not about to give up atheism—or even secularism—but his main point can be summarized this way: Secularism has been pushed into a new position in world history; it now appears to be the persuasion of a fairly small minority in a sea of rising religious commitment.’ See Michael Novak, ‘Remembering the Secular Age’, in First Things, 2009, http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=5922, [March 12, 2009].
(4)Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p.220.
(5)This is the abreviated version of the complete definition: There are many definitions of culture but for the present work we shall use the following one: culture is ‘an integrated system of beliefs (about God or reality or ultimate meaning), of values (about what is true, good, beautiful and normative), of customs (how to behave, relate to others, talk, pray, dress, work, play, trade, farm, eat, etc.), and of institutions which express these beliefs, values and customs (government, law courts, temples or churches, family, schools, hospitals, factories, shops, unions, clubs, etc.), which binds a society together and gives it a sense of identity, dignity, security and continuity’. See The Willowbank Report, section 2, in Richard Tiplady, History of Christian Mission, (London: Oak Hill College, 1997).
(6)I.e., it refers to the language, ways of thinking, worldview, beliefs, customs and practices, institutions, religion, festivals, habits and morals of a particular people’. See Richard Tiplady, History of Christian Mission, (London: Oak Hill College, 1997), p. 317.
(7)According to Lesslie Newbigin, worldview is ‘what we think about the world when we are not really thinking’. In other words, it is ‘an in-built set of assumptions that we make about reality which for most practical purposes we just do not question’ - see Martin Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, (London: Monarch Books, 2001), p. 33. Worldviews constitute ‘the most fundamental level of culture’ and ask the question ‘what is real?’ - see Richard Tiplady, History of Christian Mission, (London: Oak Hill College, 1997), p. 321. So, we may conclude that worldview is just one segment of culture.
(8)Peter Cotterell, Mission and Meaningness: The Good News In a World of Suffering and Disorder, (London: SPCK, 1990), p.25.
(9)‘Secular’ is an adjective meaning ‘of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal’. See Dictionary.com, LLC, 2009, [accessed 15 March 2009].
(10)See Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 25.
(11)Jimmy Long, Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Postmodern Generation, (Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity Press, 1997), p. 61.
(12)Albert Borgmann, Crossing the Postmodern Divide, (Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press, 1992), p. 25.
(13)Long, Generating Hope, p. 61-62.
(14)ibid, p. 63.
(15)‘I believe, therefore I am’.
(16)Thus Descartes introduced, perhaps unwillingly, a dualism between mind and matter, religion and science. See Burnett, D., Clash of Worlds: What Christians Can Do In a World of Cultures In Conflict, (London: Monarch Books, 2002), p. 39.
(17)Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, p.47.
(18)As Burnett observes, all these changes were not appreciated by the majority of the population of the Western society. ‘The success of technology and science seemed to provide proof of the effectiveness of the ideas which were being propounded’ – see David Burnett, Clash of Worlds, (London: Monarch Books, 2002), p. 131.
(19)ibid., pp. 39,40.
(20)Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, pp. VIII, IX.
(21)Newbigin illustrates the impact on our culture of this dualism by pointing to the fact that evolution is taught as ‘fact’ whereas ‘God’s dealings with man through the history of Israel and then of the church’ is taught in terms of values - seeMartin Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, p.45. In Bulgaria media coverages of Eastern-Orthodox festivals refer to the Biblical stories behind those festivals as ‘myths’ or ‘legends’ whereas the claims of all sciences, including ‘social sciences’, are not questioned at all.
(22)Martin Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, p. 45.
(23)ibid, p.47.
(24)ibid.
(25)Interestingly, the attitude to one’s rights and duties within society differ markedly in different age groups in Bulgaria. Young people, who were born and have lived in a culture highly impacted by the European Union agenda of secular humanism, would more willingly stand up for their rights. Older people, who have lived in a totalitarian, though secular, state, would feel more comfortable when asked whether they know their duties rather than their rights.
(26)Science of Happiness: Introduction to the Science of Happiness, in ‘Pursuit-of-happiness.org’, 2008, [accessed 17 March, 2009]
(27)Some of secular culture’s main tenets of belief are, namely, that man is essentially good, that humanity can achieve happiness through faith in reason, science and progress, that faith is a matter of subjective opinion, and that the individual is more important than society – see above.
(28)Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, p.20.
(29)ibid, p.21.
(30)Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p.14.
(31)Matthew Slick, ‘What is Relativism?’, in Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, 2008,
[accessed March 19, 2009].
(32)Peter Hicks, ‘Mission, Meaning and Truth’, in Mission and Meaning, ed. By A. Billington, et al. (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995), pp.306-7.
(33)Чавдар Хаджиев, ‘Разрушаване на крепости’, in Сантасе: приятелско благовестие, (София: БХСС, 2002), p.3.7.
(34)Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p.218.
(35)Alister MacGrath, Bridge-Building, (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1992), p. 148.
(36)Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p.218.
(37)Consider the example of Christ in John 1.
(38)Robinson, The Faith of the Unbeliever, p.169-70.

_______________________________________________

Bibliography

Borgmann, Albert, Crossing the Postmodern Divide, (Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
Burnett, David, Clash of Worlds: What Christians Can Do In a World of Cultures In Conflict, (London: Monarch Books, 2002).
Cotterell, Peter, Mission and Meaningness: The good news in a world of suffering and disorder, (London: SPCK, 1990)
Dictionary.com, LLC, 2009, [accessed 15 March 2009]
Hicks, Peter, ‘Mission, Meaning and Truth’, in Mission and Meaning, ed. By A. Billington, et al. (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995)
Long, Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Postmodern Generation, (Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity Press, 1997)
MacGrath, Alister, Bridge-Building, (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1992)
Newbigin, Lesslie, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, (London: SPCK, 1989)
Novak, Michael, ‘Remembering the Secular Age’, in First Things, 2009, [March 12, 2009]
Robinson, Martin, The Faith of the Unbeliever, (Grand Rapids, MI: Monarch Books, 2001)
Science of Happiness: Introduction to the Science of Happiness, in ‘Pursuit-of-happiness.org’, 2008, [accessed 17 March, 2009]
Slick, Matthew, ‘What is Relativism?’, in Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, 2008, [accessed 19 March, 2009]
Tiplady, Richard, History of Christian Mission, (London: Oak Hill College, 1997)
Хаджиев, Чавдар, ‘Разрушаване на крепости’, in Сантасе: приятелско благовестие, (София: БХСС, 2002)

Text an Easter Cake

April 17 (Palm Sunday) 2011
Varna, Bulgaria


After my return from the mission week in England I shared with our students about the UCCF idea to provoke the interest of non-Christian students to Christianity by the ‘text a toastie’ initiative (the CU invited non-Christian students to text a question about God or Christianity to a phone number, and then went to answer and bring a free toasted sandwich).

Some of our students got enthused and we decided to give it a try but contextualising it first: we decided to bring an ivy branch and an Easter cake to students instead. Traditionally Eastern Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria go to church on Palm Sunday bringing ivy branches with them (there are no palm trees in Bulgaria). The Easter cake (kozunak) is eaten on Easter and symbolises the love of God poured on the cross for us. Since students go home for Easter we decided to treat them with Easter cake the Sunday before.

We put up posters a few days ahead but since some of them were taken down (it happens often with our posters), we decided to go and invite students in person to text us. On Friday and Saturday we visited 3 dorms, knocking on the doors and handing out colourful flyers with the phone number they could text to their questions, and promised to come back, answer and treat them on the occasion of Palm Sunday and Easter. We met many students and even had some interesting chats about faith with some of them. They were astonished that we had made the effort to invite them in person to participate and that we would come again to answer their questions!

On Sunday we presented our initiative at the church most of our students come from and asked the people to pray for us. After the service a lady came to us and gave us money for the Easter cakes – there was more than enough to cover all the expenses.

After church on Palm Sunday 13 students got together in one of the rooms of the student hostel where some Christian students live. We had got 4 questions from 6 students already: “What do we celebrate on Palm Sunday?”, “Is there life after death?”, “Who crucified Christ on the cross?”, “Why do we use ivy branches on Palm Sunday?” After we talked about how we could answer them and everyone shared their insight, we prayed for more texts and for God’s presence with us while we are giving the answers. Then we split into groups of two and each picked a question to answer. Then we got two more texts: “Does Christianity forbid us to eat meat?” and “Is Katya the girl who tends the flock of ducks in front of the gates of heaven?” By the room and hostel number we knew this was a joke since one of us knew her. Nevertheless we decided to answer the question!

Some conversations were pretty short – after we answered the question and saw there was no further interest we would finish the conversation within 5 minutes. But more often the case was that the first question provoked others and some chats continued for an hour! We talked about the meaning of Palm Sunday and Easter, about heaven and hell, about the meaning of life, is there reincarnation, the person of Jesus Christ and God, about Dunovism (a Bulgarian syncretistic cult founded by Petar Dunov), sin and repentance, etc.

The students would thank us for coming. We also gave most of them the BHSS Breakthrough gospels of John and invited them to come to the student group. A student asked us whether this was a charity campaign and whether we would collect more money provided we got more text messages.  Altogether about 150 students were provoked to think about the meaning of Palm Sunday and Easter.
On the next day we texted them a ‘thank-you’ message for having taken part in our initiative and left a phone number for future contact. One of them texted back: “Thanks, it was a pleasure for me to take part in it”.

Besides the fact that many students heard the good news of Jesus Christ, the second important result was that we contributed for a more positive attitude among students towards the Christian community in Varna. Often our evangelistic campaigns repel people and make them suppress even the slightest interest they might have to Christianity. Just before we went to the dorms they were visited by some Mormons and maybe this made some students never open their door when we knocked. But those who opened the door were pleasantly surprised and will remember this encounter all their lives!

Another result was that now our students are more confident to share their faith. We offered some ‘on the move’ training in answering difficult questions about Christianity. They got some experience in having conversations with strangers and now want to do something similar next semester. They saw that sharing the faith can be a natural and cool experience, without putting people off. They realised that when they come together they can achieve more for God. One of the non-Christian students, after she heard about the idea, said: “Finally someone showed attention to students!” From her perspective we, just a few students from the BHSS group in Varna, were almost like representatives of the state which finally considered them. Our small group had a great impact because we serve a great God!

And finally, the initiative was a striking example of interaction between 1) two student movements and 2) BHSS and a local church. We thought of it after we interacted with UCCF and then were supported by a local church with prayer and giving for running it. Such an cross-cultural and local partnership, realised in a single project, births new ideas, provides more resources, and witnesses of the big potential of local Christian communities to reach out to unbelievers when they are united by a single goal – the cause of the good news in the city.

Please, pray for:
- God to continue working in the hearts of these students and bring them to saving faith
- Our students to keep in touch with their new friends and invite them to the student group meetings
- More initiatives of the kind in the future, contributing to the positive image of Christians in our society

The Day of Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture - 24 May

Last year I missed this eagerly-awaited day by many Bulgarians - the Day of Bulgarian Alphabet and Culture. So, I was happy this time we can all go together downtown. Before that Stefan graduated from first grade and his class had a short program. Afterwards we went downtoan and saw all the schools marching in a line, in their beautiful uniforms, waving flags, carrying their schools' signs, portrets of their patrons, etc. In this picturesque setting I thought that a great thing Cyril and Methodius have passed down to us. At the same time, it's a pity that today most people are unaware about why they did this. Their message to us is that the good news of the God-man Jesus Christ should reach to each person, language and nation. Alas, the nation which gave this great writing and the knowledge of Christ to many other nations today is blind and death to the call of the apostles of national revival.

Summer Project 2009

Summer Project 2009

Before the New Wave we joined the students at SP2009 for the second week in Liaskovets. It was as great as ever! This time there were more new believers rather than non-believers on Bulgarian part. So, the small groups were more for building people up rather than evangelism. Again the most powerful experience for me was the social action day when we went to an elderly people's house, a kindergarten and a school. Vanya, I and the kids came with us to the elderly people's house and we had the opportunity to hold a mini church service, share about our faith and sing Christian songs before about 40 people. Afterwards we chatted with many of them in the court yard. Other than that the program was again very interesting and full of events. Vanya and I helped with the Bulgarian culture event, and with the translation. Next year it will be us who will be in charge of the project as Tania and Craig are leaving for the States. Haven't done that for 4 years so we are looking forward to it!