Every year I see signs and advertisements encouraging
young people to take "The Prom Promise." The
essence of the promise is that they will not drink and drive. I
hope that young people will promise not to drink at all, whether they
intend on driving or not. But there is another Prom Promise that
young people need to make, and that is the promise not to attend the
prom at all. I realize that some young people already have
attended. I hope they will read this article and promise never to
go again. I pray that those young people who have never attended
the prom will promise that they never will. The reasons for such a
prayer are explained in this article, which is a compilation of notes I
have taken across the years.
Of course, dancing has been a very popular amusement
for many years. In fact, anyone who dares to speak out against the
modern dance (and its associated evils) is definitely not pursuing the
pathway of popularity with young people who dance, or parents who
condone such. The opponent of the modern dance is considered an
old fogy or an ancient fossil.
Look around and you will see a growing laxity in
society. Standards of conduct have been lowered. Many things
that were formerly considered wrong by almost everyone are being engaged
in freely. One of these things is dancing. The majority of
parents, teachers and preachers used to oppose dancing. The evils,
dangers and sin of dancing were fully recognized and exposed, both at
home and in the pulpit. Many schools that used to oppose dancing
are not sponsoring it. The purpose of this article is to examine
dancing in light of the scriptures. It may be that you've never
thought dancing to be wrong, and you may not be fully convinced when you
have completed this article. However, I sincerely ask you to
consider honestly what is written, not according to your desires, but
according to the light of Divine Truth.
WHAT THE ISSUE IS NOT
In the first place, I do not question the
need and value of recreation. Second, I am not speaking of dancing
that takes place between a husband and a wife alone in the privacy of
their own home. Third, I am not speaking of "dancing"
that takes place among members of the same sex. For example, women
doing aerobics together alone, in a private place, would not necessarily
be sinful. Moving to the rhythm of the music is not, in and of
itself, a sin. However, it can become wrong depending on whom you
dance with and where you dance. Some dancing in some forms may be
acceptable, BUT NOT THE MODERN DANCING of MIXED SEXES COMMON TODAY.
Let it be clear that the mixed dancing condemned in this article would
include the cheek-to-cheek waltz between unmarried partners. Such
close proximity of the bodies moving together is certainly capable of
arousing unholy desires.
WHAT
THE ISSUE IS
The question is
this: Is lustful dancing between mixed sexes an acceptable form of
recreation in God's sight? Does the Bible condemn mixed
dancing? (Exodus
32:6, 9,
18;
Matthew 14:6-7) In reply, we would point out that:
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DANCING IS VIEWED AS QUESTIONABLE EVEN
BY THE WORLD. If it weren't we wouldn't be dealing with it in
this article (Romans
14:23). Many worldly people, even many who dance, see the
evils of it and confess that it is wrong and they know what it can
lead to. "The difference between wrestling and dancing
is that some holds in wrestling are barred." That
statement wasn't made by a preacher. It was made by Arthur
Murray, a popular dance teacher as quoted by Readers' Digest.
-
DANCING IS LASCIVIOUSNESS. Galatians
5:19-21 reads, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God." One of the words in
this passage includes dancing as a part of its meaning. The word
is lasciviousness. The following definitions are given of lasciviousness:
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Having wanton desires; lustful;
lewd.
-
Tending to produce sensual
desires. (Funk & Wagnall's Standard Dictionary)
-
Characterized by or expressing lust
or lewdness; wanton. Tending to excite lustful
desires. (Webster's New World Dictionary)
-
Wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy
words; indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and
females. (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament).
From these definitions, it is obvious that
anything that tends to produce lewd emotions, create evil thoughts, or
excite unlawful sexual desire is lasciviousness. Does dancing do such
things? In a study in which 44 boys who danced were interviewed, 41
of them admitted that dancing caused them to have immoral thoughts and
desires!!! This word strikes at the very root of the dance, because
dancing does create lustful desire. The testimony of thousands who
have gone astray make this plain (Galatians
5:16-17).
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED
-
People danced in Bible times with
God's approval. Answer: Exodus
15:20. This wasn't mixed dancing. It was done by
women. Furthermore, it wasn't modern dancing. This "dancing"
consisted of a whirling and jumping with joy. It was an
expression of religious rejoicing. Also, the dancing of 2
Samuel 6:12-16 was done by David alone. There is no
mention of mixed dancing in this Bible account. What we read
here is nothing like an incident that occurred in Dallas, Texas a
few years ago. After communion had been given, a picture was
made depicting the Methodist Chaplain and an attractive college
co-ed dancing up and down the aisle. The young girl was
wearing shorts that revealed her thighs, not leaving much to the
imagination. In the early 70's a dance was advertised by the
2nd Presbyterian church in Memphis, TN. Girls who wore hot
pants were to get in at 1/2 price. The boys and more modest
girls had to pay full price. The advertisement read, "Come
and enjoy the scenery."
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"But I don't think evil
thoughts when I watch others dance-Some people just have dirty
minds." Even if this was true, what about others who
are watching you or snuggling up close to you? (1
Corinthians 10:32) Don't be a stumbling block (Luke
17:1).
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"Well, I won't dance, I'll
just go to the prom and watch others dance." Answer:
A father finally gave in to his daughter's request to go to the
dance on the condition that he must drive her to the dance. On
the way to the dance he stopped at a coal mine and told her to walk
through before going to the dance. She complained and said,
"But even if I don't touch anything I can't help but get
dirty." It is impossible to participate in worldly
activities without being stained just as it is impossible to journey
into a coal mine without getting a white shirt dirty. A
boat can be in the water and sail safely, but when water gets into
the boat there's going to be trouble. (2
Corinthians 6:7, 1
Peter 2:11, James
1:27, 1
Thessalonians 5:22, 2
Timothy 2:22)
-
"But, if the dance is
supervised, wouldn't that make it all right?" Answer:
Supervising the dance cannot make it right. Supervision cannot
control the minds of the dancers. The close embrace of the
sexes will arouse unholy thoughts (Matthew
5:27-28). "All the police and school teachers in town
cannot control the thoughts and desires of the dancers and keep
dancing from being lascivious. Neither can the surroundings
make it right. Whether in the parlor or in the school
gymnasium, dancing is wrong because the charges herein set forth
against it are true-regardless of where it is done. Sin
cannot be made right by supervision!!" (Tract by A.
G. Hobbs)
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"But I won't be popular if I
don't dance." Answer: It is better to be
tall in the eyes of Jehovah and small in the eyes of man.
Besides, it's not true that you can't be popular unless you
dance. Many young people, and some parents, think dancing is
essential to popularity. But many of the most outstanding,
respected, and popular young people do not dance. Some years
ago, Teenage Christian magazine carried an inspiring story of
a teenage girl who was elected Queen of her high school. The
tradition was for the Queen and King to host a Coronation
Dance. The Christian girl did not believe in dancing.
When she was told she would have to give the dance she refused to
violate her convictions and offered to surrender the
Queenship. Members of the school board did not feel she should
be penalized for refusing to violate her convictions. Thus,
the Coronation took place as planned, but there was no dance
following. Instead, there was a reception at which the Royal
Party received their guests, and it was a tremendous success.
Many honors were bestowed upon this young lady. In addition to
being named Queen, she was named Cutest Girl, President of the
Girl's Recreation Association, P.T.A. Sweetheart, a member of the
Student Council, and a member of Future Teachers. During her
junior year she had been selected as Class Favorite and Junior
Sweetheart. This teenager is very active in church work, and
regularly teaches a Bible class. She has proven that a person
can be a Christian and refuse to participate in questionable
activities with no loss of popularity.
In conclusion, consider the following
questions. Does the dance incite me to unlawful thoughts and
desires? Does it provoke such thoughts in the mind of my
partner? Does the dance serve to arouse emotions that were
intended by God to be aroused only in the marriage relationship?
Does the dance serve as a stepping-stone to baser things? Does the
dance increase the respect which good people have for me? Does the
dance make me delight more in reading the Bible? Does
participating in the dance increase my love for God? Does the
dance lead me to want to pray more to God? ("A dancing foot
and praying knee don't grow on the same leg.") Does the dance
increase my zeal for the spread of the Lord's church? Can I
honestly say that the dance helps me to be a better Christian?
The modern dance as generally practiced
by young people today is sinful in itself and leads to numerous other
sins as well. As such, Christians should have no desire to
participate in nor to view these activities. Parents owe their
children the right to protection from these evil influences, even if the
young people don't want such protection. There are plenty of
things which our young people can do that are not sinful. They may
not want to do them because they would rather DANCE-but God has
seen to it that no one has to engage in sin for entertainment
purposes. Christian parents and young people, ABSTAIN FROM THE
MODERN DANCE AND THE EVILS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.