Oct 10
30
Atheism’s most influential Bulgarian Christian
American Vision – August 27, 2010
The Power of Giving a Book
By Joel McDurmon
It all started with one book. When Bojidar’s missionary pastor left his Bulgarian town, all he left behind was a couple audio tapes and a copy of one book, Ken Gentry’s He Shall Have Dominion. Ken’s book is still, perhaps, the best one-stop exposition of the postmillennial, optimistic, dominion-oriented biblical worldview available. It has changed many lives, including Bojidar’s. After this, he wanted to hear more about optimism and biblical law.
So, after finishing the 550 pages, Bo (as we affectionately call him) flipped back to that all important page, the copyright page, where he was able to find an address for the American publisher, The Institute for Christian Economics (ICE). Bo did what any sensible person before the proliferation of email would do—he wrote ICE a letter. ICE’s president, Gary North, received the letter and instantly recognized the significance of what was happening.
You see, Bojidar was trained to be an atheist, raised by atheistic parents, sent to atheistic schools, trained in an atheistic military by an officially atheistic government. He grew up, after all, when Bulgaria lay in the grip of the iron fist, Soviet Communism. Recognizing his intellectual potential, his mother had him reading Marx’s Das Kapital when he was eleven years old. Within time he had read everything Marx wrote. He was trained as a mathematician and likely destined to be a scientist or engineer. Above all, he was taught by every authority from every perspective of his environment that there is no God and Christianity is a fable.
It was the missionary that changed that, bringing him the Gospel. But just as importantly, that missionary had something closer than most Christians to a biblical worldview, for why else would he have even brought a copy of Gentry’s book to Bulgaria? It was only that worldview that could help Bulgarian Christians raise their beautiful country out of the ashes of atheistic dictatorship.
Gary North knew this. It would be one thing to have a European proponent of biblical worldview, but having a motivated proponent in the former Eastern Bloc meant something extra special. Gary invested in the cause—he sent a box of a few dozen ICE books to his new Bulgarian contact.
Bo quickly developed a vision for his native country. He wanted to see Bulgaria have a Reformation. So he started Bulgarian Reformation Ministries (BRM). Not only did he read great works of reformed theology as well as the great books Gary North sent him, he began translating them into Bulgarian.
A small Christian publisher in Sofia, Nov Chovek (“New Man”), has published a few of these in print format, including Bojidar’s first-ever Bulgarian translation of Calvin’s Institutes, Luther’s Commentary on Galatians, the Westminster Confession of Faith, three of Gary North’s books, one of Gary DeMar’s, and even one by Greg Bahnsen. But even beyond this, Bo has posted all of his translations online for free. So far they have completed work on about 30,000 pages. They have yet another 15,000 pages that need editing for publication.
With his translations he has reached thousands of Bulgarian Christians. Many have converted to a dominion worldview. At least one small church exists largely due to Bojidar’s work. The owner of Nov Chovek, Rumen Parpratilov, is on board with the vision. His two sons, Philip and Vassil, have added some tech-savvy to the work and have started a Bulgarian blog, www.sanitybits.com, translating articles from us American theonomists, home-school advocates, American Vision, Rushdoony, Bojidar, etc. They have also translated some books. These guys are talented and relentless. I have watched them work fourteen hours a day to advance the kingdom.
All together, Bojidar’s efforts have had a huge impact in a country once dominated by darkness. Make no mistake, there is still a long uphill climb ahead, but they have taken great strides. Communication is cheap and easy, thousands of people read the online translations every day. Information is advancing, homeschooling is advancing, Christ is advancing. I love being a small part of that advance, and helping Bojidar when I can.
That’s why I wrote this article. I asked Bo about the biggest needs BRM faces in addition to the two main things all ministries need, prayer and money (by all means, send those, too). He told me how homeschooling is taking off rapidly despite the opposition from the government (homeschooling in Bulgaria is technically illegal, though with a few tiny loopholes). Yet the many families getting involved have very little in the way of good curricula and books. And they have very little money to buy them to begin with.
I immediately had a plan. I asked if American Vision published any specific books we could send via a donation campaign. “God and Government” was the immediate answer. So, I got Gary DeMar to agree to a drastically reduced price on sets—all three volumes—of his God and Government series to be sent to Bulgaria: $10 per set. That’s right, only $10 per set. This is barely above the bare printing cost among other things, but I believe strongly it can make a dramatic difference in the lives of many Bulgarian families.
So, here’s all I’m asking of you: for only $10, no tax and no shipping, you can send three of the most important biblical worldview books to motivated Bulgarian homeschooling families—Gary DeMar’s God and Government series, three volumes. Simply click on the link and then select the red button “add to cart.” Check out, and American Vision will designate one set for every $10 order. Once we reach a certain point, we will send Bulgarian Reformation Ministries the whole shipment of all the sets ordered, and they will arrange for them to reach their contacts in Bulgaria and be distributed to Bulgarian homeschooling families for free.
The G&G series normally costs almost $50 to buy, so this $10 donation offer is a once-in-a-lifetime bargain. I urged Gary DeMar to set up this deal because I believe in what Bojidar is doing in Bulgaria. I have been there, and I have seen the difference he has made. I have seen the young families dedicated to biblical worldview, to homeschooling, and I have seen the hunger they have for good teaching.
Please consider donating one set today. And by all means, buy as much stuff in our online store as you can handle! You can help Bojidar also by donating to BRM directly via paypal. Or you can contact them here.
Between 1993 and 2000, Bojidar told me that Gary North would send him a box of thirty to fifty books, once or twice per year. These acts of charity led one man to inspire and is changing the lives of thousands of others. I am asking you to help do the same now on an even larger scale. Thousands can become millions.
It all started with one book. For $10 you can give not only one but three books today.