Is danceing a sin??

[MattyJames]

I'm really wanting your opinions here, espescially thoes who are professional dancers, or have danced for some time. Tishri

I was recently talking to a young friend of mine, who is very talented in dance, and I was discouraging her from pursuing a career in dance. She was telling me of all the physical damage that has occured to her, not to mention belimeia, starvation, excessive dieting etc. On top of this, there is the issue of the unatural things they get dancers to do..ie stand on their toes .
I was also disgusted at some of the costumes she had to wear, and the tutu dresses. Its just as bad as pagents.

Also my Auntie was also heavily involved with dance as a teen, ballet more specifically. Because of the unatural positions practiced in ballet she had to have a cesariain (I don't know how to spell it) for all three of my little cousins. ie. she couldn't deliver naturally.

I am trying to find a medium between dancing for the sake of praise from the world, and dancing for the worship of HaShem. How do you moraly justify dancing (as the world defines it).

Finaly. I hope to have kids one day, and I'd like my future girls to dance (like all other normal girls), but if it means ballet and Jazz and all the other normal styles, I'm not going to have a bar of it. Are there any other alternatives??

Before I finnish up, I'd like to return to my friend. She believes that God wants her to dance, in order to reach out to thoes in the dance world. How do you view this?? "Preaching the gosple through ballet" . I'm giving her some really straight talk, but I have no alternative to offer her. Any suggestions??

I'm trying to sort my self out on this issue.

thanks,

Matt James

 

[CovenantRay]

Shalom:

Dance has been used as part of praise and worship, therefore it is not a sin -- in itself. Can dance become sinful? Yes.

I am not a professional dancer, nor involved in dance like one of our MODs [guess who]. So this is all my discernment. This is a "heart" issue. Some questions to ponder:

1) Who is the intended audience?
2) Who is receiving the honor and glory?
3) Would this appeal to the higher nature or the base nature?

To clarify, I offer the following scriptures from Paul's epistle:

(Gal 5:16) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh.
(Gal 5:17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
(Gal 5:18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
(Gal 5:19) Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
(Gal 5:20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
(Gal 5:21) envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(Gal 5:22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, shalom, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
(Gal 5:23) gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Gal 5:24) Those who belong to Messiah have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
(Gal 5:25) If we live by the Spirit, let's also walk by the Spirit.

I hope this is helpful!

Todah,

CovenantRay

 

[Sephania]

Very excellent and insightful post Ray!

I cling to this, 'Abstain from all appearence of evil' and these scriptures:

Yeshua turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

Many otherwise, G-dly women set themselves up as stumbling blocks to their brethern, without even knowing it.

Swirling skirts, flapping bosoms in cleavage revealing tops, skirts being drawn up the leg in certain dances, legs being kicked into the air, revealing what G-d himself calls nakedness, and all done to 'Glorify G-d'

I remember just recently when at Messiah conference, they had a beautiful young woman, who had her hair all done up, woven with pearls ( 1Tim 2:9), in a skin tight fitting top and loose, billowy skirt and a long length of organza ( see through material) which she twisted around herself and swayed within it, doing ballet kicks and such that revealed under her skirt, a tight fitting bodice that left nothing to the imagination of what she looked like underneath that.
I watched for a few seconds, and after looking at the screen they have there for those in the back to view if they can't see what's happening on stage but this is much more up close and larger than life if you know what I mean, I averted my eyes for the rest of the 'performance' . The spirit in me was telling me that I shouldn't be supporting this by watching it and thus deeming it OK to worship the L-rD this way, in PUBLIC and on a HUGE screen. It was a very sensual dance, at one time I did glance up just to be certain I was right in what I saw and she was 'taking off' her see through organza wrapa and kinda emerging from it, and then she was at one point on the floor whcih I didn't even want to see what that was about.

This was all to soft lovely music, with lyrics I think, supposing to glorify G-d.

In private, maybe, but certainly not in public. I spent my time watching the men who had lined up along the wall. I was sitting down front and near the entrance to the backstage where the speakers and rabbis come and go from. And for this performance, all those backstage made sure to come out so they could watch her. And I saw their eyes and their expressions on their faces. and I won't say more.

I am not saying I am against, structured, Davidic dance, but it must be orderly, and not done in front of the congregation as entertainment, if done in front of the congregation, like it or not, it becomes entertainment, not what it is supposed to be, the worship of HaShem.

When done during the worship time in service it should not distract the other worshipperes, and especially to take their minds off G-d and put them from the heavenly realm, back into the physical, fleshly realm.

 

[MattyJames]

Thanks Zayit, I couldn'tve sad it better myself.

Thanks for all the scripture too guys. Its reassuring that the verses I have been useing are in context.

Thanks

Matt James

 

[Febe]

I can't look upon dance as a sin!
King David danced before the arc.
A dance could, and should, be an act of joy - and joy is no sin...
But, of course, dance could be done in a sinful way; most things can be...
I wouldn't think "dirty dancing" to be okey...
But normally - it's just fine with dance...

 

[Andyman_1970]

Sin is always the twisting or corruption of something good, dance can be corrupted just like sex can and turned into something sinful.

I plan on dancing at the marriage feast myself..........

Not to mention my Rabbi danced when He taught in the synagouge..........

 

[Tishri1]

If I was young again I would join a group like Ballet Magnificat... I did some training with them once but already had a family and couldnt join them

http://www.balletmagnificat.com/
http://www.balletmagnificat.com/A_promo.html

I was never a professional dancer (never got paid to perform or travel) just a professional teacher(I did get paid well for teaching) and mostly for elementary age students thru high school...I ran several worship dance teams in the churches I attended thru the years, and now I am a dancer on a Messianic team....I dont know if I am qualified to answer from a professional standpoint as I'm sure the stakes are higher when you become that Famous but just as a dancer with lots of years of training and teaching I would say that to be a witness for Yeshua in the world of dance is a very rewarding experience. I did that for many years and will never forget the lives I touched....And how they touched my life

 

[pebblesflintstone]

14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [a] before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty.

2 Samuel

Thats all I have to add...

 

[ChazakEmunah]

~snip

 

[Torah]

LOL. I was thinking the same thing ChazakEmunah But then I looked at the date Matt posted it. It’s a bump up.

 

[ChazakEmunah]

LOL. I was thinking the same thing ChazakEmunah But then I looked at the date Matt posted it. It’s a bump up.

LOL! Whoops..... That's a pretty old bump..

 

[simchat_torah]

dancing is the first thing that leads our young people straight to hell!

Oh, and video games.

Oh, and .. .uhh.... bubble gum.

 

[amadeus2]

My grandfather was a tap dancer on vaudeville when he met my grandmother, a sincere and dedicated pentecostal lady. For her and God he stopped dancing on vaudeville and got a in another line. He did not, however, stop tap dancing. He danced so long and frequently at home that he eventually had to replace the wooden floors in his home. He died at age 65 in the year 1950.

 

[Steve Petersen]

As to the OP:

No. Now, enjoy life!

 

[visionary]

LOL! Whoops..... That's a pretty old bump..

Oh... and I was hoping that MattyJames was back too.

 

[ozell]

I'm really wanting your opinions here, espescially thoes who are professional dancers, or have danced for some time. Tishri

I was recently talking to a young friend of mine, who is very talented in dance, and I was discouraging her from pursuing a career in dance. She was telling me of all the physical damage that has occured to her, not to mention belimeia, starvation, excessive dieting etc. On top of this, there is the issue of the unatural things they get dancers to do..ie stand on their toes .
I was also disgusted at some of the costumes she had to wear, and the tutu dresses. Its just as bad as pagents.
Also my Auntie was also heavily involved with dance as a teen, ballet more specifically. Because of the unatural positions practiced in ballet she had to have a cesariain (I don't know how to spell it) for all three of my little cousins. ie. she couldn't deliver naturally.

I am trying to find a medium between dancing for the sake of praise from the world, and dancing for the worship of HaShem. How do you moraly justify dancing (as the world defines it).

Finaly. I hope to have kids one day, and I'd like my future girls to dance (like all other normal girls), but if it means ballet and Jazz and all the other normal styles, I'm not going to have a bar of it. Are there any other alternatives??

Before I finnish up, I'd like to return to my friend. She believes that God wants her to dance, in order to reach out to thoes in the dance world. How do you view this?? "Preaching the gosple through ballet" . I'm giving her some really straight talk, but I have no alternative to offer her. Any suggestions??

I'm trying to sort my self out on this issue.

thanks,

Matt James

Hi

what I can read concerning sin is this which is a bible definition.


1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

The Law is for what I have read in the scriptures is this.

1: And God spake all these words, saying,

3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6: And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9: Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13: Thou shalt not kill.

14: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15: Thou shalt not steal.

16: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.



no mention of dancing as being a sin.

 

[Ivy]

Gee, this was an old one! But still an interesting topic.

Dance is a wonderful way to worship God, but care needs to be taken that it isn't sensual in style and that people are modestly dressed.

 

[simchat_torah]

I think Bubble Gum is the worst sin evar.

 

[ChavaK]

I think Bubble Gum is the worst sin evar.

It was bad, wasn't it??

 

[GeratTzedek]

There is dancing for fun and dancing to seduce. There is dancing to socialize and dancing for art. I don't think we can lump all dancing into one basket. I hardly think that the kind of fully clothed barely touching no real partner SQUARE DANCING can be put into the same category as the practically nude seductive modern dancing I have seen. I am not entirely against couples dancing. In some ways, ballroom dancing CONTROLS the touching -- here but not there -- so that things can't get out of control. It's a way of being romantic without crossing the boundaries.

Mostly, at least for me, dancing is simply a response to music. I don't know how people can listen to music and not move.

I came from a religiously highly strict family. Dancing was a sin. But music was a BIG thing for me. I wanted to be part of an elite song/dance group when I was 16. We did both chamber music and broadway. We were the Knotts Berry Farm Carolers. But I literally had to go before my parents and argue my case and then wait for 20 minutes while they discussed it. My argument was that this was professional dance, for fun and entertainment, and not for socialization. My father finally decided he would allow it. My mother was mortified! LOL As things turned out, my dance partner was a very nice and very handsome young Jewish boy who did give me my first kiss.

Best dance I ever had was at a birthday party with a gentleman about 25 years older than me to "As Time Goes By." He was an absolutely incredible dancer, and sang the song as we danced. When the song ended, all I could think was, "Sigh* How come no men MY AGE can dance like that?????"

I'm just an incurable romantic. If you're gonna have those old love songs, you gotta have the dancing.