"MORAL ISSUES CONFRONTING CHRISTIANS"
Dancing
INTRODUCTION
1. A moral issue that often confronts Christians today is dancing...
a. Especially in its modern and popular forms
b. Involving unmarried couples
2. Increasingly popular is what is called "dirty dancing"...
a. Sexualized dancing, also known as freak dancing or grinding
b. Overly suggestive grinding, rubbing and groping between dance
partners
c. Prompting some public schools to adopt policies against it
3. But is "dirty dancing" the only kind of dance that is wrong? In this
lesson, I wish to...
a. Explain why dancing in general is unbecoming of those who call
themselves Christians
b. Address commonly raised objections by those who seek to approve of
dancing
[Our study begins with a close look at...]
I. THE SIN OF LEWDNESS
A. LEWDNESS CONDEMNED...
1. As a work of the flesh - Ga 5:19 (NKJV)
a. Translated "lasciviousness" in the KJV, ASV
b. Translated "sensuality" in the ESV, NASB
c. Translated "debauchery" in the NIV
d. Translated "licentiousness" in the NRSV
2. As that which defiles a man - Mk 7:21-23 (NKJV)
B. LEWDNESS DEFINED...
1. The Greek word is aselgia, defined by Thayer as "unbridled
lust...wanton acts or manners: filthy words, indecent bodily
movements, unchaste handling of males and females"
2. Anything which excites the lust of the flesh (words, bodily
movements, unchaste handling) is therefore sinful
3. Of course, this applies to the stirring up of sexual desires
outside the bond of marriage
a. The Bible allows sexual expression, but for those who are
married - cf. He 13:4
b. The excitement of lust between those not married is sinful
- Mt 5:28
1) It is wrong to lust for another person
2) It must therefore be wrong to arouse lust in another
person
[Having defined the sin of lewdness, one must now ask: "Does popular
dancing arouse the lusts of the flesh, and therefore qualify as
lewdness?" My reply would be yes...]
II. THE SIN OF DANCING
A. NON-CHRISTIANS RECOGNIZE DANCING AS LUSTFUL...
1. "The popular teen-age dances of the mid 20th century have no
set steps; the dancers respond spontaneously to the beat of the
musicians. The degree of satisfaction attained by young people
'twisting' or 'shaking' to the blare of amplified music in
dance halls, further enlivened by psychedelic lighting, is
different from the pleasure derived by their elders waltzing to
the 'Blue Danube' - but it is only a difference of age and
time. Fundamentally, both age groups are enjoying the pleasure
of dancing in their own way...The end product is doubtless the
same - physical pleasure in the activity of dancing and sexual
awareness of a partner, whether embraced or half-consciously
observed." - Encyclopedia Britannica, "The Art Of Dance", Vol.
5, p. 455-456 (1979 edition)
2. "...The social dance has usually been the result of joint
physical exuberance and sex stimuli..." - Collier's
Encyclopedia, "Dance", Vol. 7, p. 683 (1964 edition)
3. "Another motive for the dance is the sexual motive - the dance
has always been used as a means of expressing sexual desire and
as a means of wooing...We find this same sex motive in the
modern ballroom dance, which has now degenerated into dull and
stupid forms, but it is a legitimate opportunity for contact."
- Dance We Must (1938, reprinted 1950), p. 6 (from a
series of lectures given by Ted Shawn at George Peabody College
For Teachers)
4. "All ballroom dancing in pairs looks toward intercourse. In
this respect the Puritans were dead right....The development of
no-contact dances has come about because one doesn't now need a
social excuse to embrace a girl, but as an excitant it need not
involve contact at all - in fact, dances like flamenco or the
twist are far more erotic than a clinch because you aren't too
close to see one another. At its best this sort of dance is
simply intercourse by remote control." - The Joy Of Sex, Alex
Comfort, p. 162 (1972)
5. The Roman orator Cicero says: "No man who is sober dances,
unless he is out of his mind, either when alone or in any
decent society, for dancing is the companion of wanton
conviviality, dissoluteness, and luxury." - New Unger's Bible
Dictionary (1988)
B. COMMON SENSE TELLS US THAT DANCING IS LUSTFUL...
1. What would be your reaction if you saw an entire dance floor
with people of the same sex dancing together?
a. If dancing was morally neutral, with no sexual overtones,
there would be no reaction
b. But most would be shocked, suspecting they had stumbled into
a "gay" dance
2. Listen to what is simply common sense:
a. If we would expect such a dance to be an expression of "gay"
sensuality...
b. ...how can we deny that people of opposite sex dancing
together is an expression of heterosexual activity?
[Both common sense and the testimony of people in the world confirm that
dancing is an activity which has the arousal of sexual desires as its
main appeal. Should Christians be making provision for the flesh, to
fulfill its lusts? Not according to Ro 13:14. But almost invariably,
those who desire to dance or allow their children to dance raise
objections...]
III. COMMONLY RAISED OBJECTIONS
A. "DANCING MAY TURN ON OTHER PEOPLE, BUT I DON'T REACT THAT WAY..."
1. For the sake of argument, let's assume that some people either:
a. Do not have strong sexual urges
b. Have grown spiritually(?) to the point they can keep their
urges under control
2. The dancing under consideration involves two persons
a. Even if one is not so affected, the other may be!
b. In which case, the "spiritual" person becomes a stumbling
block to the other person, an instrument for the other
person's indulgence in fleshly lusts
B. "I CAN'T CONTROL WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK..."
1. We can't force a person to think right, but that is no reason
to tempt them to think wrong!
2. We have a responsibility not to contribute to one's moral
delinquency
a. We must not be a stumbling block - Ro 14:13,21; 1Co 8:13;
10:31-32
b. Otherwise we fall into grave condemnation - Mt 18:6-7
C. "HOW CAN ANYTHING WRONG GO ON...IT IS TIGHTLY SUPERVISED...?"
1. Bodily actions may be well-supervised, but no one can supervise
the inward thoughts
2. Chaperons can inhibit only what happens on the dance floor...
a. What about afterwards...on the way home?
b. When there is no one to restrain expressing the desires that
were aroused during the dance?
3. Ann Landers: "When you turn a guy on, he can be awfully hard
to turn off."
D. "DANCING IS GOOD EXERCISE..."
1. There are alternative forms of exercise that do not excite the
lusts of the flesh
2. Are you willing to become a stumbling block to others, just so
you can get some exercise?
3. Isn't that rather selfish?
E. "DANCING IS MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE..."
1. There are four categories of dancing mentioned in the Bible
a. Religious dances of the Old Testament - Exo 15:20-21; 2Sa
6:14
b. Expressions of great rejoicing - 1Sa 18:6
c. The play of children - Job 21:11; Lk 7:32
d. Passionate dances, like that of Salome, before King Herod
- Mt 14:6
2. Do the first three categories justify Christians engaging in
the modern dance today?
a. No, for these are nothing like what is being discussed in
this lesson
b. There is no trace in the Bible that men and women danced as
couples
1) "While the mode of dancing is not known in detail, it is
clear that men and women did not generally dance
together, and there is no real evidence that they ever
did. Social amusement was hardly a major purpose of
dancing, and the modern method of dancing by couples is
unknown." - Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia Of The
Bible, "Dancing", Vol. 2, p. 12 (1977)
2) "Social dancing, as we now understand it, was almost, if
not altogether, unknown in ancient times..." - Hastings
Bible Dictionary, p. 550
3) "Women seemed generally to have danced by themselves...Of
the social dancing of couples in the modern fashion there
is no trace." - International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, "Games", p. 1170
c. In fact, dancing in the form of mixed couples did not exist
before the 12th Century A.D.
- "There is no evidence of couples dancing together,
however; that was to happen much later, probably in Provence
in the 12th Century." - Encyclopedia Britannica, "The Art Of
Dance", Vol. 5, p. 452 (1979)
3. The only thing close to the modern dance today that is
mentioned in the Bible is the dance of Herodias' daughter,
Salome (and look what happened!)
CONCLUSION
1. Shall we dance? There are two things we can be sure of...
a. It is wrong to lust in our hearts after others - Mt 5:28
b. It is wrong to conduct ourselves in any way as to excite the lusts
in others; that is lewdness, which is condemned as a work of the
flesh - Ga 5:19-21
2. That popular dancing involving unmarried couples is condemned, can
only be denied...
a. By those ignorant of the Scriptures
b. By those hardened by the deceitfulness of sin
3. Again, let me read what others have said:
"Because of its physical appeal, dance lends itself to erotic
purposes and has been practiced to these ends by both sexes."
- Encyclopedia Britannica, "The Art Of Dance"
Let us also remember the words of Paul:
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor
of light.
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and
drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for
the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
- Ro 13:12-14
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