Bulgaria keeps coming up in the news and it's clear the
Balkan state has become a fault-line, a stress point in the great geopolitical
game that is Cold War II. I've written about some of the struggles over the
Bulgarian state, the tensions between Europe, Turkey, Russia and the US (via
NATO). It's a story of weapons sales, smuggling and much more. That struggle is
now playing out in this proposed bill that will affect Evangelicals... many of
whom are connected to Western Europe and the United States.
These sorts of legislative moves are always a cause for
concern and Bulgaria's proposed policy seems to target Evangelicals and other
groups with connections outside the country.
In a kind of nativist move, the government seeks to favour
groups like the Orthodox Church. Ironically (as a statistical consequence) the
considerable Muslim majority in Bulgaria will (due to their numbers) also be
exempt from the restrictions laid out in this legislation.
That said, I am almost always troubled when reading about the
mindset and concern of Evangelical leaders and this instance is no exception.
First, if Biblically minded Churches aren't looking for social status and tax
breaks, the idea of being excluded from official government recognition should
not be disturbing. Likewise in the United States if a congregation refuses to
register with the IRS it effectively and legally doesn't exist. Please note I
specifically said 'congregation'. The Biblical polity immediately runs into
trouble when thrown into a denominational framework and all the bureaucracy it
entails. You simply cannot run such an organisation without offices, bank
accounts etc. The paradigm by its very nature generates a host of (what are in
the end) false dilemmas.
Of course this isn't a problem if you stick to the
congregational polity of the New Testament, but unfortunately the required
shift in mindset is something beyond what many career minded men are even able
to grasp.
Additionally there's concern expressed over the lack of
access to subsidies for buildings. I am probably more troubled that
Evangelicals always seem keen to sign up for access to such funds. The Church
has no business taking money from the state and while American Evangelicals
don't usually have access to money to repair their buildings, unless it's a
landmark or something historic, nevertheless they clamour to sign up for any
kind of subsidy to run 'ministries' and 'social welfare' programmes. This is
not only wrong but wrong-headed.
As far as theological schools one can see the real issue here
is that of accreditation. Once again the Evangelical proclivity toward
bourgeois values is put on display. Certifications are about respect and
status. What if the Church quit trying to copy the world and its understanding
of academia and instead ran a simple school which itself could be run out of
the back of a house or some other 'off the radar' site? An institution with facilities
on Main Street along with an illuminated sign and designated parking spaces is
not about the business of the Kingdom. Whatever good they might do, ultimately
they're about worldly status and an attempt to earn the esteem of society.
And as far as 'degrees', who cares? Why does the Church want
that status? The funny part is, for the most part seminary degrees and divinity
degrees mean next to nothing in the eyes of the world. What's the motivation
here, learning Scripture or earning some kind of feather to put in your cap?
As far as studying abroad, that kind of restriction on the
part of the Bulgarian government is indeed draconian. Church activities are not
the province of the state. If someone wants to study abroad, the state doesn't
need to know about it. I would not have any qualms about applying for an
extended tourist visa or some kind of residency/work status. I realise of
course this isn't easy and ultimately because the destination state will want
to know what you're doing, the Bulgarian government will also be privy to that
information. Obviously going abroad on a student visa won't work if such
legislation is passed. Yet, there are ways around this and they're really not
that extreme. It might cost a little more but then again if these institutions
and denominations did not waste so much money, they would find that they have
more than enough.
This is an unfortunate difficulty and one reflective of the
increasing Sacralist turn in the Orthodox world. Not unexpected, it reflects
not so much the Communist era (as suggested in the article) but the historic
nature of Orthodox sacralism. Were these moves made by Evangelicals running a
Western state they would be applauded by many in that camp.
Point four demonstrates this really is about money. It
usually is. Bulgaria (with some reason) is concerned about Western influence
and proxy agents. Bulgaria is currently caught in a tug-of-war between the EU/NATO
and Russia. Though part of NATO, Turkey is also exerting influence in the
Balkans and playing more of a third party role.
Evangelicals working hand-in-glove with the US Deep State
worked to manipulate and subvert Bulgarian and other Eastern European
governments and democratic processes in the 1990's. The contemporary leaders in
Sofia have valid concerns and part of the present struggle is between the state
(and Deep State) structures formed and created by the West and a host of
nationalist (and other) concerns within their social and economic structure.
While I share in Evangelical concerns regarding these
restrictions, I do not share in many of their motivations and desires to be a
conduit for Western money and influence. Notice their admitted interests and
agenda extend far beyond ecclesiastical concerns. They want that money to flow
into institutions, business and more. That's rather telling.
As far as point five, if your congregation doesn't officially
exist, a visiting brother from another country that preaches a 'sermon' before
your group becomes a moot point. Years ago I remember getting off a plane in
the UK and being whisked away to a meeting taking place in a home. I was
invited to speak which I ended up declining but that's not the point. The group
had no status and thus legally speaking, nothing was happening apart from a
group of friends meeting in a home. There was no documentation regarding the
group, a foreign 'unregistered' speaker or anything else. Now in some
countries, like Russia for example and certainly China even these sorts of
in-home meetings are becoming problematic.
That's different. That's persecution and at that point rather
than acquiesce the Church needs to go deep underground and press on. Such
periods are difficult but that's when the real and lasting foundation stones
are being laid.
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