by Michael Pickford<\/p>\n
There is considerable confusion and even some debate over the idea of dancing. Some believe dancing is a sin simply because it is dancing. However, the Bible does not condemn dancing in itself. It never says, “Thou shalt not dance.” To the contrary, the Bible says that there is “a time to dance<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).\u00a0The problem comes when the type of dance being done involves indecent bodily movements. God does condemn certain types of dancing by way of principle.<\/p>\n I was reading an article in the paper about rules and regulations that certain schools had imposed on their proms. Some of the rules were printed in the article, and the wording was rather descriptive. The reality, however, was that the rules were only describing exactly what was taking place on the dance floor. Any dance in which the “sex act” was simulated was forbidden. The fact is, most of our modern dances involve movements of the body that can serve to trigger sexual thoughts in the minds of the viewers and the participants. The multi-million dollar business of strippers, lap dancers, private dancers, etc., is based solely on this premise. Any dance in which two people closely move their bodies against one another, especially in which the hands are used to caress and “pet,” is forbidden. These school rules would never have become so explicit if such things weren’t already happening.<\/p>\n The Bible is even more restrictive than the rules that I read in the paper. One of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19 is “lewdness.” This Greek word is translated into several different English words. KJV: “lasciviousness.” NKJV: “lewdness.” NIV: “debauchery.” NRSV: “licentiousness.”\u00a0The Greek word is\u00a0aselgeia,<\/em> which Thayer defines as “wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females.” Notice the mention of “indecent bodily movements” and “unchaste handling of males and females.” This is precisely what takes place on the dance floors of our modern-day proms and other public dances. It’s the same kind of ungodly activity that precedes sexual immorality in the back seats of our teens’ cars. Putting this sin to music on a dance floor under the supervision of “chaperones” does not make it acceptable. Whether there is music and organization or not, it is still lewdness, lasciviousness, debauchery, and licentiousness. It is still sin, and those who practice it will still “not inherit the kingdom of God<\/em>” (Galatians 5:21).<\/p>\n Young people, stay away from modern dances. Parents, you are not robbing your children of the right to “be young” by forbidding them from going to these dances; you’re helping them to avoid sin and to avoid the temptation of being involved in sexual immorality. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it all right.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Michael Pickford There is considerable confusion and even some debate over the idea of dancing. Some believe dancing is a sin simply because it is dancing. However, the Bible does not condemn dancing in itself. It never says, “Thou shalt not dance.” To the contrary, the Bible says that there is “a time to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[155],"class_list":["post-88309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-dancing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53933,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-moral-danger-of-the-modern-dance\/","url_meta":{"origin":88309,"position":0},"title":"The Moral Danger of the Modern Dance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Frank Walton Biblical Insights, Vol. 6, No. 6, June 2006. \"Dancing\" can be defined simply as \"the rhythmic movement of the body to music\" (II Samuel 6:16; Luke 15:25; Ecclesiastes 3:4). The\u00a0Ryrie Study Bible\u00a0notes on religious dancing in Psalms 149:3: \"In the Old Testament, whirling motion done by a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/ModernDancing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27660,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-street-dancing-or-salsa-dancing-biblically-acceptable\/","url_meta":{"origin":88309,"position":1},"title":"Is street dancing or salsa dancing biblically acceptable?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please can you tell me (so that I may pass onto my son who will not listen to me) if you think street dancing is biblical? \u00a0I said it is of the world, but he needs a biblical answer before he listens. \u00a0Also salsa dancing. Answer: It is very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":737,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dancing-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":88309,"position":2},"title":"Dancing in the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton We will divide the discussion of dancing in the Bible into two sections. The first section will include those Scriptures where dancing is spoken of in a favorable setting. The second section is where dancing is associated with wickedness. We will note the things that are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9192,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-dances-at-a-wedding-reception-be-bad\/","url_meta":{"origin":88309,"position":3},"title":"How can dances at a wedding reception be bad?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a young man who is going to be getting married. I would have loved to use the preacher at my congregation (a church of Christ) but he gave me a pamphlet of his \"Do's and Don'ts.\"\u00a0 Two things that he made clear of were no alcohol\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9085,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/shall-we-dance\/","url_meta":{"origin":88309,"position":4},"title":"Shall We Dance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Romans 6:1-2 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dancing covers a broad range of action \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It can be rhythmic movement in time to music \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It can be movement that expresses feelings, such as joy or enthusiasm \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It can be complex movements designed to create emotions in another person II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dancing in the Bible \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27897,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-dance-with-my-wife-at-home-can-i-have-naked-pictures-of-my-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":88309,"position":5},"title":"Can I dance with my wife at home? Can I have naked pictures of my wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day sir. May God continue to bless you for the good work you are doing. Please kindly help me out with these questions: As a Christian, is it wrong to ask my wife to send me naked photos of her when I am not nearby? I know that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}