What Does the Bible Say about Dancing?
| Overview | It is important that Christians, parents and young people are honest with themselves about what dancing actually entails. |
The verb “dance” can refer to leaping or skipping about excitedly, and the Bible certainly makes reference to such celebratory dancing (e.g., Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; Ecclesiastes 3:1-4). However, the term is most commonly used in modern society with regard to rhythmically moving according to prescribed or improvised steps and gestures, usually to music. At least in American culture, these steps and gestures typically entail moving or thrusting of the pelvis and torso in ways that approximate sex acts and is often accompanied with close physical embraces. According to scholar Merrill Tenney, while the mode of dancing in Bible times is not known in detail, “it is clear that men and women did not generally dance together, and there is no real evidence that they ever did. Social amusement was hardly a major purpose of dancing, and the modern method of dancing by couples is unknown.”[1]
Some attempt to justify contemporary dancing because, in their words, “the Bible doesn’t say you can’t dance,” but this is a dangerous, and perhaps even a dishonest, approach to the matter. While the Bible contains rules, it is not a rule book. Consequently, it often sets forth principles without listing every specific activity that is forbidden by the principle. For example, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15) does not enumerate every imaginative way a person might conceive to take something that is not his by right or every specific item (some yet to be discovered or invented) that can potentially be stolen. The general injunction against stealing requires that nothing be stolen in any manner. In a similar way, clear biblical precepts address the impropriety of dancing.
The Biblical Principles
The Bible generally condemns “lasciviousness” (e.g., Mark 7:21-23; Galatians 5:19; 1 Peter 4:3). According to Vine, the underlying Greek term, aselgeia, “denotes excess, licentiousness, absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness… The prominent idea is shameless conduct.”[2] The word “licentious” means lacking moral discipline or ignoring legal restraint, especially in sexual conduct, and the word “wanton” means lewd, immoral or unchaste. Shameless conduct is behavior that suggests that there is no need for privacy, that there is no need to cover or “hide” certain parts of one’s physical body from public consumption. Clearly, most of the public, mixed-gender dancing that occurs in our society is lascivious because it involves gyrating, thrusting, swaying the hips, close embraces, erogenous contact, and other conduct that suggests a lack of sexual restraint and discipline.
While the Bible prohibits lasciviousness, which largely emphasizes the message that is communicated by our behavior, it also imposes the affirmative responsibility to avoid things that will incite lust within us. When Paul told Timothy to flee “youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22) and Peter told the churches to “abstain from fleshly lusts” (1 Peter 2:11), they did not list specific lusts to avoid. The principle required that Christians avoid them all. We ought not to watch others engage in lewd conduct (cf. Job 31:1; Matthew 5:28), much less join in it ourselves; and it is unrealistic to believe that males who are attracted to females can watch girls and women rhythmically shake, bounce, bend, and twist without thinking unchaste thoughts. Some have said, and it may be, that females are typically less visually stimulated than males but, even if that were true, it does not mean that females are blind. Girls and women who are attracted to men are also likely to be aroused when they see men dancing. Moreover, it is absolutely unrealistic to believe that men and women can fondle and embrace one another while dancing without being stirred to lust. The attractions are natural for both males and females (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:2-3), particularly for those who have entered puberty, but when they are fostered outside of a lawful marriage relationship, they are sinful.
One must also consider the environment in which dancing usually occurs. Of course, it occurs in health clubs as a form of “exercise” and in various performances as a form of “entertainment” (which does not make it less sinful). However, in America, much dancing occurs in youth social gatherings like school dances and proms or in adult social gatherings like night clubs, bars and parties. Oftentimes, the activities occur at night, with dimmed lighting, and feature alcoholic beverages, unsavory speech in musical lyrics and immodest dress. It is no coincidence that fornication and sexual assaults are often associated with such events. They are properly described as “revelries,” which the Bible condemns as a work of the flesh which Christians are expected to avoid completely (see Galatians 5:21; 1 Peter 4:3; cf. Exodus 32:19).
The Bottom Line
It is natural for some to wonder whether all dancing is wrong. All dancing is not wrong, because dancing is not inherently sinful. It is wrong when it involves the wrong parties or audiences because of the improper attitudes and effects that accompany it. However, it is possible to dance under circumstances that do not encourage unlawful thoughts and feelings. For example, a person might dance alone in the privacy of his or her own home for exercise or entertainment without experiencing lust or encouraging it in others. Also, a married couple could dance together privately and lawfully enjoy the attendant feelings and touching. However, the same conduct would violate several biblical precepts if it occurred publicly, that is before an audience.
It is important that Christians, parents and young people are honest with themselves about what dancing actually entails. It is not harmless behavior. There is a reason that heterosexuals do not typically participate in same-sex dancing: the activity is sexual in nature and designed to stir up lustful feelings in the dancers and the audience. Christians should be too modest and bashful to publicly engage in such behavior (cf. 1 Timothy 2:9; Jeremiah 6:15; 8:12). Remember, we are not to engage in questionable behavior (Romans 14:23) and are to “provide things honest [or morally excellent] in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:17, KJV). These mandates do not diminish when the weekend comes or when prom season rolls around.
In discerning the appropriateness of dancing in a given circumstance, one should consider, among others, the following simple questions: (1) If my potential dance partner is a member of the opposite sex, are we married? (2) Will there be touching? (3) Will others see me? (4) Would others potentially consider the movements I am contemplating indecent? (5) What body parts will I be moving? (6) Will others potentially be aroused by my conduct? (7) Will I potentially be aroused by the activity? (8) Is the atmosphere (e.g., alcohol, music, attire) ungodly? (9) Would I dance this way if Jesus were observing (because He is!)?
References
[1] Tenney, Merrill, ed. (1976), “Dancing,” The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
[2] Vine, W.E. (1997), Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson).
Copyright © 2020 by www.ebglobal.org. Originally published in Christian Family, 3[1]:4-5.