America and Dancing A Topical Sermon MEETING THE MORAL CHALLENGES OF OUR TIMES by David Roper Dance, dance, dance. Dance your way to health and happiness. Aw, Mom, I ve just got to go to the dance tonight. A-one and a-two and a-three and everybody dance. And Cinderella danced all night until midnight. For just $10.95, you can learn to dance like John Travolta. On and on we could go. There was once a time when most good folk looked down on the dance, but those days are apparently long gone. Today dancing saturates the fabric of our society, from the latest movie to most school functions. I will, therefore, be placing myself on the side of a small minority when I suggest at this time that dancing is not the most uplifting recreation in which one can engage and that, in fact, it is a form of recreation that the Christian should leave strictly alone. Again I remind you that being in the minority is not automatically bad. Sometimes we have to be in the minority to be on the Lord s side (Matthew 7:13, 14). Of course, as we begin to talk about dancing, we automatically have a problem. The word dance can be used in a general fashion. My desk dictionary says the word can mean to move rhythmically to music or it can just mean to leap, skip, etc., as from excitement. We speak of a horse dancing around when it is nervous. We speak of a little girl dancing up and down in excitement when she sees her daddy coming home from work. And then, even when we get into the definition of moving rhythmically to music, we have so many varieties from the symbolic performances of the savage to the native folk dances to ballroom dancing to dancing as a form of art and/ or entertainment to modern dances, where the two partners often seem to do their own thing totally ignoring the other partner, to the popular disco dances of today. It is important then to know what we are talking about when we discuss dancing. Let me say that in this presentation I will primarily be talking about two types of dancing: (1) what used to be called ballroom dancing, which some young people call slow dancing, and (2) various types of modern dances, including disco dancing. I plan to also touch on several other varieties before I finish. Another problem in discussing this matter is that the two types of dancing on which I will concentrate did not exist in Bible times at least not in their present forms. The English word dance is found several times in the more common translations of the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, it is mainly used as an expression of happiness (Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:6; 21:11; 29:5; 2 Samuel 6:14, 16; 1 Chronicles 15:29; Jeremiah 31:4, 13; Lamentations 5:15). In fact, a direct contrast is often made between mourning and dancing (Psalms 30:11; Ecclesiastes 3:4). Once it is used to attract attention (Judges 21:21, 23), twice it is mentioned as some type of expression of worship (Psalms 149:3; 150:4), and once it is used in connection with children (Job 21:11). A variety of Hebrew words is used in the Old Testament to express the idea of dancing: one means to turn (Judges 21:21, 23); another, to move round (2 Samuel 6:14); another, a chorus (Psalms 149:3; etc.) One of the more interesting is raqad, which Young says means literally to skip. 1 This is the word used in Ecclesiastes 3:4, which says there is a time to dance. This word is also used in connection with David dancing before the ark in 1 Chronicles 15:29. The general nature of this word is seen in Isaiah 13:21, which speaks of the destruction of Babylon. Isaiah stresses that in the future only wild animals shall live there. In the KJV, Isaiah says: And satyrs shall dance there. The word satyr is from sair, which means 1
hairy one, kid, goat. 2 The reference is to goats skipping over the rocks. It should probably also be mentioned that at least twice in the Old Testament, the word is found in a bad context in connection with rioting and licentiousness (Exodus 32:19: 1 Samuel 30:16). In the New Testament, the word is found only a few times. It is used once as an expression of happiness (Luke 15:25), twice to refer to children s games (Matthew 11:17; Luke 7:32), and twice to refer to the seductive dance of the daughter of Herodias (Matthew 14:6; Mark 6:22), Some of this the relationship of dancing with licentiousness in the Old Testament and the seductive dance of Herodias daughter in the New Testament applies to the two types of dancing I want to discuss. But by and large, it is a subject that must be discussed and settled on the basis of principles found in the New Testament. I am calling this presentation America and Dancing because there is a need for such a study and because that will be the main emphasis of the presentation. But this could also be called a study on America and Recreation because (1) it is in understanding the general principles governing Christian recreation that dancing is found lacking and (2) while we cannot present lesson on every moral challenge of our times, there is a need to touch on other general principles that will help to determine the right or wrong of topics on which we do not have an entire study. Every Christian should consider seriously how he or she spends his or her recreational time. The Bible teaches the need for recreation (Mark 6:31), but many of us abuse it. I do not have the exact figures at hand, but I have read of the multiplied billions of dollars America spends each year to have fun far more than is spent to help and encourage those genuinely in need. What are some of the principles that should be considered by every Christian in deciding on his or her recreation? Sometime ago, an unknown writer suggested a list of questions to test any recreational activity. They do not exhaust the subject, but they are thought-provoking. And, if considered honestly and prayerfully, they can be extremely helpful. I. IS IT MORALLY WRONG? Some things are definitely wrong because God says they are wrong. They are wrong be- 2 cause they are included in the specific and general sins that are condemned. Several lists of specific and general sins are in the New Testament. One such list is found in Galatians 5:19-21: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wrath, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. While this list contains specific items fornication, drunkenness, etc. it also contains more general items uncleanness, lasciviousness, etc. It is in the more general area that dancing fits. Let us first look at the word revellings. This is the translation of the Greek word komos and is a term for drinking parties in general and drunken brawls in particular. Most Greek lexicons and word-study books note that dancing was generally a part of such festivities. One writer noted all the definitions from the lexicons of Robinson, Thayer, and Lidel and Scott, and then said, Put them all together, and you have dimmed lights, dancing, and music, drink, celebrating a sporting victory. We call it today, [the] Homecoming Dance. Certainly the very circumstances of most dances today make them qualify for what the Bible calls revellings. The word, however, that more completely takes in the two types of dancing under consideration is lasciviousness. Lasciviousness is condemned in the strongest language in the New Testament (Mark 7:22; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Ephesians 4:19; 1 Peter 4:3; Jude 4). It is a translation of the Greek word aselgeia. In Arndt and Gingrich s definitions of the various forms of the word aselgeia, the following are to be found: licentiousness, debauchery, sensuality... the inclination to sensuality... indecent conduct. 3 (Italics mine.) I believe it can be seen that this word takes in both that which is wrong and that which leads to wrong. Thayer s lexicon uses similar words for aselgeia unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence but then quotes one authority, giving specific examples of the kind of thing involved in the word: wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily move-
ments, unchaste handling of males and females, etc. 4 Let me emphasize these two parts of that quotation: indecent bodily movements and unchaste handling of males and females. I believe that a little honest thought will convince most that by these standards the two types of dancing under consideration are condemned. Let us first of all take the common ballroom or slow dance. It surely involves the unchaste handling of males and females. Some may have read the humorous article in the April, 1974, Reader s Digest, entitled Confessions of a Dance-School Dropout. It was an article written by a man whose wife had signed them up for a night course in social dancing. As the man contemplated this death sentence, his wife said: Remember how you used to practically beg me to dance when we were first dating? If you hate dancing so much, how do you explain that? To this, the man replied: Lust. It was the quickest way to get my arms around you in a fashion acceptable to community standards.... It was a humorous article but like so much humor, it made many smile because it had that basic kernel of truth: It was the quickest way to get my arms around you.... I am reminded of an Archie cartoon in which Archie and Veronica are dancing. Veronica says, But Archie, dancing is just hugging set to music. What is there about it that you don t like? And Archie replies, The music. I think both Archie and the man in the Reader s Digest article were just being honest about the basic appeal of the ballroom, cheek-to-cheek dance. Some don t think that such is lasciviousness or that it does encourage lust, etc. Women in particular have problems seeing this because they are generally not stimulated the same way men are. You may have seen the Ann Landers column of a few years ago. 5 A husband wrote to Miss Landers complaining about his wife dancing with other men. In Ann s reply, she in effect called him a dirty-minded man. But then the fan mail rolled in challenging her reply, and she had to back up. One correspondent from Omaha said, Slow dancing by teenagers had done more to boost the VD rate than the Pill. Another said, Most guys get as close as they can and need to be pushed back a little. A married woman who doesn t reserve the close stuff for her husband is asking for trouble and she usually gets it. One writer from San Jose said, You really bombed out in your answer to the Houston Husband. Dancing close can excite people and anyone who doesn t know it is stupid or naive. Or both! 8 That word naive is probably significant. Certainly not all people engaging in the dance do so with bad motives especially the young ladies who enjoy the rhythm, etc., or the young men who are not yet fully aware of the awakening drive within them. Some young ladies are very naive as to the effect they can have on the young men, and some young men are very naive about the drives they are arousing within themselves. Not too long ago, Fritz Wittels, M.D., wrote the book Sex Habits of American Women. In it, he wrote: The idea of the ballroom dance... is to give two people of opposite sex a chance to be and to stay for a while closer together than our social habits would otherwise permit.... Syncopated dance music has not been favorable to prolonged maintenance of virginity. The New York Times Magazine of June 18, 1972, mentioned, regarding slow contact dancing at high school proms, that the boys look on it as a legitimate excuse to put their arms around a girl and hold her close. The article stated: Slow dances are five-minute hugs, back-rubs,... pats. Let me, of course, hasten to say that so-called slow dancing is not the only source of the unchaste handling of males and females. Another great area of danger, especially to our young people, is that of parking and petting. How ridiculous it is to see some condemn dancing but apparently condone parking and petting! It is equally ridiculous to hear some mothers opting for dancing as the lesser of two evils. Who wants their children exposed to any kind of evil whether greater or lesser? As a matter of fact, many young people say that one often serves as a prelude to the other. But let me move on to the second kind of dance, which includes disco dancing. Someone says, There is not as much contact in this type of dance. So it must be all right. Let us go back to the other part of the statement from Thayer s lexicon: indecent bodily movements. Such can also stimulate wrong desires and as such are lascivious and as such are sin. 3
Here again I have the problem of being plain enough where all can understand what I am talking about while still remaining within the boundaries of good taste. Back in the sixties, when modern dances were rapidly replacing traditional dance, Time magazine had several articles that described these dances, their origins, and their appeal. Words like vulgar and risque were used. 7 It was suggested that one popular dance was a replica of some ancient tribal puberty rite. 8 It was noted that the feet did not move a great deal but the rest of the body did particularly in the pelvic and chest area. 9 Since that time, of course, some changes have taken place. Currently, so-called disco dancing does have some contact and movement of the feet generally in prescribed steps. Tomorrow, who knows? But I believe that my basic contention still holds true that the movements involved are lascivious. If you still don t know what I am talking about, sometime when you are home, find a modern dance program on TV, turn off the music, and just watch it for a while. The story is told that when the modern dances began, a deaf father came home one day to find a young man dancing with his daughter. Being unable to hear the music, he reached his own conclusions as to the young man s intentions and just about killed him! If most (if not all) of the modern dances today do not include indecent bodily movements, then there is no such thing! I should also mention, that although I suggested turning the music off to be able to concentrate on the movements, the music does play a big part in the whole process especially where the girl is concerned. A researcher for the President s Commission on Pornography made a study of what arouses erotic feelings in young girls. While boys are more visually oriented and more likely to be affected by the movements of the modern dance, the researcher Mrs. Patricia Schiller found that the music involved in the modern dance was more likely to arouse the girls especially when boys were present. 10 High Fidelity magazine quoted the Rolling Stones manager as saying, Pop music is about sex, and you ve got to hit them in the face with it. 4 We could say more in this general vein, but we must hasten on. I will just conclude our consideration of Galatians 5:19-21 with the old preacher s comment: One thing is for certain if revelling and lasciviousness doesn t take care of dancing, then and such like will! II. DOES IT PRESENT A TEMPTATION TO DO WRONG? A Christian needs to realize that Jesus taught that if a particular thing is wrong, then that which would lead to and/or encourage one to do that thing is also wrong (Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28, etc.) Furthermore, Christians are to pray, And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). If a Christian is deliberately placing himself in a position where he or she will be tempted, then the prayer is somewhat inappropriate, is it not? This question needs to be asked concerning any recreational activity in which we plan to engage. Therefore, it needs to be asked concerning dancing. Surely, from what we have said before, it can be seen that at the very least dancing puts temptation in our way a temptation that most of us can do without. Jesus put it well when He said, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). A few years ago, a book appeared on the market entitled Sex and Your Heart. It was basically a scientific book telling of experiments and case histories. Among other things, it spoke of the emotional impact of various activities on the heart. On page 45, we read: During most exercise, heart-rate acceleration is gradual. It parallels gradually increasing effort. Not so with dancing. The heart rates... quickened to their maximum rates almost at once.... 11 The basic appeal of the dances under consideration is not the opportunity to exercise. Otherwise, men would generally dance with men and women with women. The basic appeal is emotional dealing with the emotions that generally need no artificial stimulus in our young people. Paul said to Timothy: But flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22; italics mine).
III. WILL THIS HELP OR HINDER MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH? A Christian must be constantly growing spiritually (1 Peter 2:2; Ephesians 4:15). That which helps growth is to be desired; that which hinders growth is to be avoided. Various related questions can be asked in this connection: Will this activity heighten my appreciation of spiritual activities? Or will it dull that appreciation? As I engage in it more and more, do I find myself wanting to study my Bible more? Or less? Do I find myself more eager to come to Bible class and worship? Or less eager? Does it make me more desirous of teaching my friends about Jesus? Or less desirous? One very important question to ask is this: What kind of crowd will it generally put me inone that will encourage me to be a better Christian or one that will drag me down? Paul said, Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). How does this apply to dancing? It has been my experience in twenty-nine years of preaching that those who get really involved in dancing, whether young or old, lose practically all, if not all, of their spiritual interest. They become practically worthless as far as the Lord s church is concerned. And interestingly enough, this applies to all forms of dancing (even square dancing), not just the two principal ones under consideration. Once Burton Coffman was asked by a group of young people why he thought dancing was wrong for Christians. Here is his answer: I told them one of Aesop s fables about the sick lion who invited all his friends to come and see him, whereupon he promptly pounced on them one by one and ate them all up. He had struck upon a good easy way to get his dinner without working for it. The fox came and inquired solicitously after the old lion s health, and the lion said, Oh, Brother Fox, come on in to see me. The fox said, Oh, no, I ll just stay out here in the sunlight. The lion urged him and said, All my friends have come in to see me; why don t you come in too? The fox said, I notice that all the tracks lead into your den, and none lead out. Tell me, how do your friends get out again, after they have gone in to see you? The question of the fox is pertinent. There are many tracks that lead from our churches to dance halls... but there are no tracks leading again to the church from those places where honor is so frequently lost. Please consider it: Will dancing help or hinder your spiritual growth? IV. WILL IT HURT MY INFLUENCE? Every Christian should be concerned about his influence. We are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:14-16), and we are not to put a stumblingblock in anyone s way (1 Corinthians 8:9). Surely every growing Christian must be aware of this responsibility. Again this question needs to be asked of every recreational activity including dancing. Will engaging in dancing really convince your friends that you are an all-out Christian? Or might it do the opposite? Let us assume for the moment that you can dance without impure motives or feelings. But if your dancing encourages someone to dance who is wrongly affected, are you really guiltless? The Bible says no. In this connection, let me briefly mention other types of dancing besides the two types primarily under consideration. To me, the matter of influence dictates that I avoid all forms of dancing. I may be able to distinguish between different forms, but, in general, the world does not. The world lumps them all together. I remember one school function where folk dancing was to be the primary activity. I was asked to provide a program for the non-dancers. I had a good-sized group that seemed to have a good time. And the rest of the crowd? They folk danced for about five minutes and then moved on into the modern dances already discussed. The world just doesn t make a distinction. As a father, I have also been concerned about the way I reared my girls. When the girls were small and their classes had their little dancing activities, my daughters did not dance, not because I thought they would be sinning at that early age, but because I thought I would be if I did not try to bring them up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Many of the activities were little more than exercising to music, but I had a simple rule of thumb: If it was called dancing, it was out. I always took the time to explain this to the teachers. With two exceptions, I never had any trouble. And, as far as I know, the girls had little or no trouble. I am sometimes asked, What about dancing where the couples are married? Again influence is a key word. Why do something publicly that you are going to tell your children they shouldn t do? Lovemaking should not be a spectator sport. 5
Our influence is so precious and so powerful. Let us do everything to keep it good! V. IS THE PRACTICE QUESTIONABLE? In recreational activities, there are those things that are absolutely wrong and those things absolutely right and in between there is the area of the questionable. Often people say, Prove to me that suchand-such is absolutely wrong, and I ll stop doing it. They want to eliminate only the absolutely wrong from their lives, leaving the absolutely right and the questionable. This, however, is not the emphasis of the New Testament. Paul said, Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21; italics mine). He also said, Prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2; italics mine). A Christian desires to eliminate both the absolutely wrong and the questionable, retaining the absolutely right. In the area of recreation, there are literally hundreds of activities that one can do, about which there is no question. Why then should one spend his time at questionable movies, reading questionable books, watching questionable TV shows, or listening to questionable music. If one opposes questionable activities such as dancing, he is often called narrow-minded. But often the opposite is true. Did you ever hear someone say, But if we can t dance, we won t have anything to do! How narrow-minded can one get! Too often the frequent arranging of dances is simply a result of laziness on the part of parents and a lack of imagination on the part of young people. Let me repeat that there are literally hundreds of activities that one can do, about which there is no question. There is no possible way that one could ever have the time to do all the fun things possible that are good and wholesome. Why should one then even desire to engage in the questionable? Our time is about gone, but several more questions need to be asked concerning any recreational activity including dancing. VI. WILL IT HURT MY HEALTH? Remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; 6:19, 20). Let us be certain that whatever we do really 6 recreates us and refreshes us instead of tearing us down. VII. DOES IT COST TOO MUCH? We are merely stewards of what we possess, and we must learn to use our possessions in the right way (see Luke 12:21-31). VIII. DOES IT TAKE TOO MUCH OF MY TIME? Even if something is a good activity, if I get so involved in it that I neglect more important matters, then it is wrong (2 Timothy 2:4). Other questions could be asked, such as, Is it against the law? If it is, it is wrong (Romans 13). But let us close with one last question. IX. WOULD JESUS DO IT? I know this is a completely subjective question, but I think it is worth considering. Can you imagine Jesus participating in this particular activity? Of course, you may have trouble imagining Jesus participating in any modern activity. So you may want to rephrase the question: When I engage in this particular activity, do I make Jesus happy? Or sad? Here is another way to ask it: When Jesus returns, is this what I d like for Him to find me doing? If you would find it hard to apply this line of thought to dancing, let me encourage you to try this little experiment: The next time you are dancing, lean over to your partner and say, Let me tell you about Jesus. You will soon find out how Jesus would fit in. CONCLUSION To many, dancing might seem like a mild problem in these days of the Pill, abortion, and rampant sex crimes against females. But this is not so. Dancing is just a part of the total problem of excessive sexual liberty of today. May God help us to be working on the problem, not contributing to the problem. As we close, perhaps Romans 12:1, 2 might be in order: I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. FOOTNOTES 1 Robert Young, Young s Analytical Concordance of the Bible, 22d ed., revised by William B. Stevenson (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdman s Publishing Co., n.d.), p. 220. 2 Ibid., p. 836. 3 Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2d ed., revised by William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 114. 4 C.L. Wilibald Grimm, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 4th ed., trans. and rev. Joseph Henry Thayer (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973), pp. 79-80. 5 Daily Oklahoman, 10 November 1972 6 Daily Oklahoman, 9 February 1973. 7 Modern Living, Time, 25 March 1966, p. 50. 8 Show Business, Time, 20 November 1964, p. 70. 9 Modern Living, Time, 20 March 1964, p. 62. 10 Denver Post, 23 July 1971. 11 This Quotation is from the bulletin of the church of Christ in Savannah, Tennessee, dated 2 March 1969. 12 Burton Coffman, The Gospel in Gotham (Shreveport, La.: Lambert s Book House, 1968), pp. 167-168. Copyright, 1982, 2004 by Truth for Today ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 7