IS IT CHRISTIAN TO DANCE? |
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There are many people who call themselves Christians who spend an evening, at least occasionally, participating in a popular activity called dancing. Other people who call themselves Christians emphatically condemn such behavior and even relegate those who do dance to various extents of "righteous" punishment. Which is correct? Is dancing a sin that God looks upon with great wrath? Or does God instead direct His displeasure toward those who preach this philosophy? What does the Bible have to say about it? The most difficult position to defend is the one opposed to dancing. There is no explicit directive against it anywhere from Genesis to Revelation. The only possible argument against dancing capable of biblical substantiation is "context" and attempts to correlate the activity with other obviously sinful activities -- in other words, guilt by association. Such instances are found in Exodus 32:19-29 and Matthew 14:6-12 (and the parallel account in Mark 6:22-29), with possible extreme stretches like this in Judges 11:34 and 21:19-21. A close look at each of these passages will assist in determining if the dancing itself is wrong and portrayed as such. The account in Exodus 32 is a very sickening one and certainly displays a sinful and idolatrous attitude and atmosphere. But is the dancing involved a material part of the sinning, or just an "innocent bystander?" One key element of the answer is in verse 25 where we witness the sort of dancing taking place and the nature of the celebration. "And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) . . . ." This, then, is obviously a sensual, sex-related, lustful scene. But was the dancing itself considered sinful? Or was it something else? Look down to verses 30-31. Moses mentions that sin was involved and then specifies what the sin was. Notice that he did not pray, "Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have danced." No, the sin was idolatry with no mention made at all of the dancing. The only thing wrong, then, was the attitude and type of dancing rather than mere dancing. Salome's dance before Herod has been described as also being very sensual and designed to be very stimulating in a sexual way. The lustful Herod, being aroused sufficiently to be extremely pleased, let his entertainer require the head of John the Baptist. But is there any mention whatsoever about this event that displays dancing itself as sinful? NO! None at all! It is certainly easy to see that this particular use of dancing and this particular aim and type of dancing were wrong, but that is not enough to condemn dancing entirely. Some will point to such accounts, of course, and claim that because these wicked people danced, that shows that it is therefore wrong. This argument cannot possibly apply, for if it did, that would make everything they did sinful. To show just how ridiculous this position is, every one of the most wicked individuals mentioned in the Bible ate, drank, wore clothes, walked, talked, slept, and went to the bathroom. Does that make it sinful for Christians to do those things? Of course not! And just because they may have danced also does not make dancing automatically sinful either. The two remaining events are even less indicative of having any sinful tones regarding the dancing involved and again do not describe the dancing as sinful activity. Look them up for yourself to confirm this evaluation. On the other hand, there are several other accounts involving dancing which shed a neutral or positive light upon dancing. In Exodus 15:50, Miriam and all the women dance in thanks and praise to God for His deliverance and nothing here or elsewhere indicates any displeasure on God's part over it. This dancing as a display of happiness and joy is an integral part of the human makeup. Even small children will spontaneously dance when happy. Adults likewise use dance-like activities when expressing similar sentiments and often use formalized dancing as a recreational vehicle and to fellowship with others. The use of dancing is found extensively for expressing happiness on appropriate occasions by the Israelite people and examples appear in 1 Samuel 18:6, 21:11, 30:16; 2 Samuel 6:14-16; and future times of dancing in God's Kingdom are prophesied in Psalms 30:11 and Jeremiah 31:4,13. In fact, Jesus Himself made two statements that very strongly imply His belief that dancing was quite acceptable to God. These are found in Matthew 11:17 (with parallel account in Luke 7:32) and Luke 15:23-25. These all appear to support the position that dancing can be quite acceptable in God's sight and is not sinful at all of and by itself. But some will require that something more definite really needs to be found to have unquestionable support for a final decision on the question. Does any exist? Indeed it does! First, in Ecclesiastes 3:4, the Bible plainly states that there is "a time to dance." So God's Word makes it plain that dancing does have a place in the Christian's life. Furthermore,in Psalms 149:3 and 150:4 there are definite commands to include dances in the praising of God! One can hardly get any more definite than that! The Bible, then, plainly shows dancing to be acceptable to God. This does not mean, of course, that all dancing of any manner at any time pleases Him. It should be obvious that dancing which is of a sensual and lustful nature is not acceptable, whether it is intended for the stimulation of the one(s) doing the dancing, for the one(s) observing the dancing, or both. When used to exercise, fellowship, praise, and/or otherwise uplift oneself and bring credit to God, dancing is not only acceptable, but even requested by God. As often happens with so many other things, it is not the thing or action itself which is wrong, but certain uses to which it is put that can become sinful. Is it Christian to dance? Yes! Provided it is done with a Christian attitude and for constructive and uplifting purposes.
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