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Date Posted: 21:18:44 11/06/04 Sat
Author: Anonymous
Subject: John 5 - "Pick up your mat and walk"
In reply to: Nick T. 's message, "New thread on doctrine" on 10:27:55 10/22/04 Fri

I wanted to mention the UBF frequent misapplication of the story of the curing of the man who had been sick for 38 years. The account goes (CEV):

Beside the pool was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be healed?" The man answered, "Lord, I don't have anyone to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up. I try to get in, but someone else always gets there first."
Jesus told him, "Pick up your mat and walk!" Right then the man was healed. He picked up his mat and started walking around. The day on which this happened was a Sabbath.

Now, when UBF "studies" this passage, the thrust is "what is your mat?" Typical answers are "humanism," "materialism," "calculating mind," "no thanksgiving mind," "pleasure-seeking desire," etc. It may force the "sheep" to confess their deepest darkest secrets to their "shepherds." Or if they don't have any deep dark secrets, they are forced to invent one. Then comes about the usual guilt-tripping, and feeling that one must repent by being more "spiritual" - "feeding" more "sheep," engaging in "early morning prayer," etc.

What do you think about this teaching? It strikes me that UBF takes here what is merely a factual account of Jesus' healing of a sick man, and twists it to fit their motives.

Matthew Henry's comments on this passage can be found at http://www.gospelcom.net/eword/comments/john/mhc/john5.htm and seem to stick to the scripture. UBF just comes out of nowhere with this "what is your mat" idea to try to force people under their control using guilt manipulation. I'm sure that's the last thing John meant when he wrote that scripture.

-- Anonymous ex-UBFer

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