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                 "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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