Nazarenes and Dancing

[Plan 9]

You know, It sounds like I may be very lucky indeed that my parents were UMC, if just in this one case (I think Nazarenes are terrific!). My father used providing a recording of Glen Miller's In the Mood for a youth dance, so that he could introduce himself to my mother, who was asssigned to gather the dance music. His memory isn't so good now, and so I regret not asking him how he got the money together to buy a copy after saying he had one. This was during the Great Depression, and my father's family was quite poor; the price of that record must been a fortune to him. He raised it though.
Later he raised me and my brother.

 

[Plan 9]

Our church had no issues with us (hubby and me) going square dancing.

Square dancing is special, isn't it? I may be wrong, because I'm having a bad memory day, but I believe it's one of the frontier social dances designed to be truly social (e.g. you change partners, every young person in the community went to them, etc.), without an inordinate amount of physical contact.
I square danced my heart out when I was a child and loved every minute of it, but wouldn't have wanted any boy to get me in a clinch; boys had cooties, you know.
Seriously, square dancing was special to me, and I'm thankful my parents were able to get me involved with other children in that wholesome way, because I was a painfully shy child, and was terrible at sports.

What do you think, TCapp? I've never really talked to anyone who square dances as an adult, although I love to watch people square dance.

 

[TCapp]

It was GCapp who introduced me to square dancing. I find it to be very fun and challenging too. Most physical contact involves hands, and there is never anything suggestive. I would love to get back to it, but we kinda stopped after the first baby arrived. Now with three kids, it would be challenging. But I still want to go back to it.

The local club is kind of petering out, too, as not as many folks dance anymore.

I sure dig wearing that crinoline and earning my dancing badges. Ever tried it with paper bags on your feet?

 

[Plan 9]

It was GCapp who introduced me to square dancing. I find it to be very fun and challenging too. Most physical contact involves hands, and there is never anything suggestive. I would love to get back to it, but we kinda stopped after the first baby arrived. Now with three kids, it would be challenging. But I still want to go back to it.

Yes, I think it's a wholesome from of dancing and was intended to be so.
Hey, when your kids are old enough to learn it, you may have time to go back to it.

The local club is kind of petering out, too, as not as many folks dance anymore.

Ours seems to be doing fine, our ballroom dancing clubs are healthy, and swing (my father's romantic opportunity so many years ago) seems to be making a comeback here. These all seem to me to be harmless and enjoyable forms of dancing to me, and not suggestive. Believe you me, my mother and father would never have danced any dance with suggestive overtones, nor would their church have allowed their teenagers to do so there.

However, I couldn't agree more that the kinds in which the goal appears to be to plaster your body to your partner's so that you must have yourself sugically removed afterward isn't in the least Godly. (Where's a rolleyes smiley when you need one?)

I sure dig wearing that crinoline and earning my dancing badges. Ever tried it with paper bags on your feet?

The crinolines are so beautiful! Paper bags???

No, you're mistaking me for someone who was good at square dancing! Plus, I was a little girl; what was the chance that the boys would dance with us if they were told they had do it with paper bags on their feet? In my day, girls had cooties, you know.

 

[TCapp]

I guess we wore the paper bags on our feet (had to shuffle instead of step) in order to earn our "Boots and Bags" badge.

Yeah, cooties were still in full force when I was a kid, too.

 

[ChiRho]

This is one of the silliest threads I have ever read...

The whole matter about adding laws that God did not command, is not only vain attempts at false peity ( ) or sinful efforts to deny or displace the true source of evil (man)...but sometimes it's just simply strange (forbidding dancing )!!

Pax Christi,

ChiRho

 

[TCapp]

I agree a little bit, but I have a question: would you find "grinding" and some of those other dances to be "good clean Godly fun?"

 

[Plan 9]

This is one of the silliest threads I have ever read...

The whole matter about adding laws that God did not command, is not only vain attempts at false peity ( ) or sinful efforts to deny or displace the true source of evil (man)...but sometimes it's just simply strange (forbidding dancing )!!

Pax Christi,

ChiRho

You know, ChiRho, I can't agree with your wholesale dismissal of this thread, and the opinions of the members expressed here as "silly", as examples of "false piety" or as "sinful efforts".
If God has given you the freedom from temptation so that you are able to spend an evening assuming a vertical form of the missionary position with no untoward consequences likely to result from doing so, then just be thankful, because he hasn't given that freedom to me.

 

[Plan 9]

I agree a little bit, but I have a question: would you find "grinding" and some of those other dances to be "good clean Godly fun?"

If I knew what "grinding" is, I'd be happy to answer that question for you. LOL

I certainly wouldn't in headbanging, even if I were physically capable of doing so, if that helps?

If there's no one to call the dance moves (do I have that right? I swear senility is setting in already) or the dancing style isn't old fashioned enough that the gentleman leads (and I do mean gentleman), then it's not dancing to me.
I like watching country and western line dancing, but I couldn't take part. I actually need my partner to lead in order to dance without coming to grief because I'm disabled.

But, if that weren't true, I still wouldn't engage in a great many forms of dancing for the reason I outlined to ChiRho, and also because the few I've seen simply don't seem like dancing at all to me.

 

[Plan 9]

I guess we wore the paper bags on our feet (had to shuffle instead of step) in order to earn our "Boots and Bags" badge.

And anyone who can pull that off deserves a badge, in my opinion.

Yeah, cooties were still in full force when I was a kid, too.

This must be an important tradition to boys, and it's great to know that some things haven't changed. Just think, cooties may always be with us. Isn't that reassuring?

 

[ChiRho]

You know, ChiRho, I can't agree with your wholesale dismissal of this thread, and the opinions of the members expressed here as "silly", as examples of "false piety" or as "sinful efforts".
If God has given you the freedom from temptation so that you are able to spend an evening assuming a vertical form of the missionary position with no untoward consequences likely to result from doing so, then just be thankful, because he hasn't given that freedom to me.

assuming a vertical form of the missionary position

"dirty" dancing? or foreplay?

First of all, I do not dance. It never has interested me. Secondly, the action (inappropriate or sexual dancing) is a result of the inward sin, lust. The fault lies within the dancer not with dancing. This whole misconception of 'sin' and man's ability to avoid 'sinning' is probably the source of our division. Under Wesley's method system, man can avoid sin (somehow 'unintentional' or 'human error' doesnt really count! ). In the Lutheran Church (and I believe in Scripture), sin is not limited to just thoughts, words, or actions. Certainly all of our thoughts, words, and actions are tainted as they are a product of sinners. But we believe sin is a bit more...it is the actual condition of this diseased and dying world in which we live. We are inclined to evil, and that continually, until we part with this mortal world. Christ, our Savior, proves to accomplish the impossible with every claim of a lost and death-deserving sinner. Power is not found in our ability to avoid sin. That is an inflated idea of man. True power is found in the Mercy of God...to save a wretched lot such as us. God repeatedly demonstrates His power in that which seems foolish and unappealing. Everything hinges upon that fundamental point in history...Jesus Christ, a poor carpenter hung on a cross (an act of pitiful weakness in the eyes of the scoffers and mockers). Christians know that this is the redemptive act of God, sacrificing Himself for the forgiveness of all and conquering Death for all of His wicked and disobedient children. In the vain glory of human reason, this event is deemed utterly deficient and the epitome of foolishness. God forever places Himself in that which man declares absurd. Completely fallen sinner, yet completely righteous saint...Foolishness! We are righteous on account of His Righteousness. We are cloaked in the Purity of the Perfect One. It is true that God sanctifies His children...but this is never to be understood as being less sinful. What are we saying when we restrict (forbid) any "Christians" from dancing, or alcohol, or rated "R" movies? Certainly we may be able to act on our perverted nature through these things, but it is our perverted nature that is to blame, not the action. What we are doing is attempting to make the "law of god" easier to fulfill. If anyone locked themselves in an empty room, with no "sinful" distractions, we would be guilty of violating God's Laws. We would still despise our God. We are sinners, and ALWAYS in a desperate and complete need of our Savior. He is not mere inspiration, but Rescuer and Redeemer. Our Father knows us on account of His Son, not on our futile account. Our account would damn us to Hell. On His account, we are Reconciled. So if one must avoid dancing (which may be wise) than please refrain from "gettin' jiggy wit it" (I hope I spelled that correctly), but never assume that by this, one is "more holy." Regardless if you are arriving home, drenched in sweat from the trendiest dance club- or massaging the blisters on your hand caused by a competitive night on the putt-putt course, trust that Christ died for the entire world and for you. For my sins and for yours.

Pax Christi,

ChiRho

 

[WesleyJohn]

.

 

[Plan 9]

From The Manual: Church of the Nazarene,

paragraph 34: We hold specifically that the following practices should be avoided:;

paragraph 34.4: All forms of dancing that detract from spiritual growth and break down proper moral inhibitions and reserve.

Grace and Peace,

WJ

Following the advice given in paragraph 34:4 is highly unlikely to make a sinner like myself any more holy than I am now, and Wesley never taught that it would, to my knowledge. However, I do know with absolute certainty that it's an extremely bad idea for me to crawl out on a limb and then proceed to saw it off myself.

 

[TCapp]

The dictionary defines grinding as an erotic rotation of the pelvis. I guess it's similar to "assuming a vertical form of the missionary position."

 

[Plan 9]

The dictionary defines grinding as an erotic rotation of the pelvis. I guess it's similar to "assuming a vertical form of the missionary position."

Thank you, TCapp! I find these definitions so very similar that any practical distinction between the two escapes me.

 

[WesleyJohn]

.

 

[Celticflower]

Only time I "get jiggy with it" is when I'm watching the Ducks play hockey. (Jiggy is the goalie's nickname, for those who don't know)

 

[Plan 9]

Ah, yes. But...ignoring the advice in 34.4 seems like it might very well cause someone to be "less holy then they are now," doesn't it? Particularly teenagers?

I grew up in a Baptist church which frowned upon dancing. And so, I never went. It was never an issue for me. I suppose that I never understood why. But, now that I am an adult and have close interaction with teens, it seems to me that there is wisdom in advising people to "avoid forms of dancing which break down proper moral inhibition." Don't you think?

Grace and Peace,

WJ

I agree completely, WJ, especially since I was one of those teenagers
who showed no discernment whatsoever when choosing my social activities.
I exhibited few inhibitions of any kind, and before my conversion at eighteen, could not have found my own nether extremity with a map and a flashlight.
It's only through God's grace that I survived, and the temptations which unhappy teenagers experience today are far more dangerous than they were in my day.