Dancing: The Role Of Dancing In The New Testament

Improved Essays
While it is popular to see religious dance engaged in today by those professing Christ as Lord, this practice did not originate in the New Testament. Though often overlooked, there is a pattern to be followed for New Testament worship, organization, and salvation (Rm. 6:16-17; 2 Tim. 1:13). The New Testament provides no information of dancing being a part of worship in the early church. With the New Testament we have everything that we need for life and godliness and what it takes to please God (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:3). Dancing is found in the New Testament though it has nothing to do with worship to God in the church. Jesus used dancing in a discussion about the hard hearted nature of those John the immerser taught and the fact that it …show more content…
Hollingsworth says dancing affords a partial satisfaction of the sexual impulse. Dancing is said to be such an erotic stimuli that it works on boys and girls as early as age 11 (1928). Dancing has an agenda and we do not need to be blind to this idea. Dancing comes as a result of emotion or is designed to bring out a certain emotion. Forty Four boys were asked about their feelings about girls with whom they danced and 93% of them said they thought about sex (Blackwell 2014). Blackwell cites another study in which 1500 men were asked if they could dance without having evil thoughts, no hands were raised (Blackwell 2014). The truth is this is very difficult if not impossible. The goal of Christianity is to walk in the light and please God, not to get as close to sin as possible without sinning (1 Jn. 1:7-10). The Christian should not gamble on the grace of God, God’s grace teaches ones to live in a certain fashion while living in this world (Tit. 2:11-12). To be in a room where the lights are turned down low and those of the opposite sex are scantily clad, and attempt to keep pure thoughts is unwise (Phil. 4:8). Solomon told readers long ago to guard their hearts, not expose them to sin (Prv.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    History Of Mass Hysteria

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages

    People prayed to St john the Baptist because they believe he was the cause of the dancing. The people that were taking part in the Dancing Mania would be dancing with salacious gestures, stripping, screaming, and crying or laughing to death. Many participants were psychologically disturbed, but it was also believe that some people took part of the dance out of fear or did not want to fill left out. If scientist and philosopher did not thrive to understand the Mass Hysteria we would not have the understanding that we have…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Greek Dance History

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although it is impossible to identify an exact time period that dance evolved, it is estimated that it was approximately 9000 years ago; at around 6000BC, as shown from the Bhimbetka rock shelters throughout India. The paintings depicted tribe members celebrating after a successful hunt. That was later followed with other cave drawings throughout the Western World such as in countries as Spain and France. Modern Indian dance was actually based on a very early manuscript, 'The Natya Shastra', which was written between 200BCE and 200BE.There is also evidence from Egyptian tomb paintings at about 3300 BC which evidently features dancing figures. This in time would heavily influence Greek dance.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The screen goes black. The music has stopped. A slow tapping sound like an ice pick on a window alternates with the sound of footsteps, as a white stage and the legs of a performer come into view. One leg is bare, a conventionally sexy woman’s leg ending in a towering heel-less shoe. The other is less expected: rather than flesh and bone, there is a sleek black blade, a dark stalactite beginning at the knee and ending in a dangerous point.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dancing On The Brain Essay

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Dancing is crucial to combat the emotional trauma and mental health issues that have risen with adolescent in today’s society. Students would be more equipped to handle those difficult years of adolescence with the social pressure and emotional damage, if dance classes were incorporated in the education system. Dancing is exactly what students in need in school to keep them happy and healthy, creating an atmosphere of learning and knowledge instead of a one of fear and…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We used to sing in “irregular rhythms”. Singing and dancing was used to cure those who were sick. Normally, the men danced in a circle, and the women would dance in…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Kinesis dance performance that I decided to analyze was Last Dance. The dance was choreographed by Amanda Steiner, and the music that was used was “Love in the Dark” by Adel. Besides being the choreographer, Amanda was always one of the two dancers. The form of the dance was a narrative, with Amanda as a wife and the second dancer, Christian Vidaure, as her husband. The idea of Last Dance was about how love sometimes changes, and how those changes lead to drifting apart.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How did the African slaves sent to America maintain aspects of their culture? Throughout the years, Africans have undergone a dramatic change in terms of how they are viewed in society (this is a movement still ongoing today in America). During the 1800s, the slave trade brought many millions of Africans, primarily from West Africa, to North and South America, where they were owned by, and forced to work for the wealthy. Despite the tough conditions that the African slaves were forced to work under, they would always do their best to maintain the aspects of their culture, be it socially, religiously or politically, and this was most often through the means of dance.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The course of true love never did run smooth.” words from the once wise Shakespeare. Michael Mack is a professor at CUA who is giving a speech to incoming freshman college students. The speech Mack is giving is on why Shakespeare is important. He does this by using rhetorical devices and evidence to support his details.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Each culture has a number of things that is thought to be exclusively theirs. Dancing specifically is something that makes a culture more easily identified. When you see a particular dance or think of it you, without delay associate it with a specific culture or group of people. For instance, when you hear hip-hop dance you immediately think of African Americans right? Let’s take this same idea and apply it to stepping or step dancing, what group of people or culture do you associate it with?…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Henry Matisse. Dance. 1910. Oil on canvas. Dance by Henry Matisse is a painting created by commission from a Russian merchant.…

    • 75 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dance Chapter 3 Summary

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Training as the medium through which”, chapter 3, written by Melanie Bales is a chapter that is written on the theme of self-discovery and how as dancers we could apply the ideas to ourselves. Melanie Bales is a professor at Ohio State where she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy. Bales also studied at the Joffrey School and was a Harkness Ballet Trainee. Throughout this article, I experienced different things for myself when going through and reading each section. A lot of references that were stated in the book allowed me to see dance through a whole new perspective.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Feminism In The Jazz Age

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to a the book Everybody 's Doin ' It: The Pre-World War I Dance Craze, the Castles, and the Modern American Girl, Lewis A. Erenberg states mayors and chairmen alike called the Jazz dancing and the Charleston a “degeneration of American Womanhood.” And they were not just talking about the popular dance craze but “border transformations in [culture] as a whole.” It was actually a popular belief among strict christians that music which makes feet tap and bodies move is a gateway for the devil. Some believed that The Charleston dance was the devil entering the body and cause some kind of hysteria in…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dance In The Romantic Era

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Introduction Between 1830 and 1850 classical dance has evolved significantly from its early years in French aristocratic court life, but no other period in its history created such monumental change as the Romantic Era. Despite the brevity of this period, it created radical change and helped form ballet into what it is today. Its impact can be seen in simple changes to costuming and theatrical innovations, which made a significant and substantial impression on how the public perceived dance. These technological advances revolutionised the theatre going experience. Iconic themes that were generated by the likes of Marie Taglioni brought depth and emotion to what were previously one-dimensional storylines, along with the development of how the…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dance Observation

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the most incredible video that I watched to complete a Dance Observation assignment for Dance class is the video of: “Wade in the Water from “Revelations” by Alvin Ailey Company. This video was published on YouTube on November 25, 2007 and performed at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. This video is very beautiful and impressive at the first time I saw it. Then I keep watching it again to really focus on the detail of very movement and sections. The dancers presented a movement of an African American slavery era being empowered by drowned in the water but keep standing strong tightly.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dance Across Cultures

    • 1672 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1. When we sing and dance together our brains synchronize. Why is this important? How does this contribute to the development of culture?…

    • 1672 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays