Break it Down: Is it A Sin to Dance?

An illustration of couples dancing in the style of "Swing"

Let them praise his name with dancing; you removed my sackloth and clothed me
with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD, my God I
will praise you forever
Psalms 30:11-12

Alfonso Ribeiro performing his famous Carlton Dance

The running man, the cabbage patch and the Roger Rabbit were some of hottest dance crazes of their day. People would swamp the dance floor and bust a move while the music blasted throughout wherever there was room to dance. Dancing has definitely changed over the years though. From Kid N' Play and The Carlton to more complex break dancing (or breaking). As We ventured in the 00's dance truly has turned into an art form. Televised dancing competitions like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars have shown dancing not only to be an art but art that takes time to craft and choreograph. The bible doesn't condemn dancing as a whole but rather discusses dancing in both a negative AND positive light. During the times of Exodus when Moses led the people out Egypt and returned from talking with the Lord, he saw that the people not only crafted a calf but also began to worship it in the form of sacrifices and dance (Exodus 32). We also see handfuls of scripture also speaking of dancing as  a form of worship including the scripture at the top of this blog.

Our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man showing how twerking
works.

So what's "good" dancing and "bad" dancing? Well several dances mentioned in the previous paragraph are harmless, so go ahead and do the Cartlon til' you hearts content. However, there are dances that are sexually provocative and can lead to the stumbling of believers. In the clubs you'd see a lot of people doing a "bump and grind" kind of dance (which some Latinos may refer to "perreo") in which initially the goal is for someones private area (man or woman) is rubbing up against the backside of another. This is an intimate dance that loosely simulates sex for one or both the dancers.
There's variants of that dance whether it's slowed down or done quickly. Also there's the famous twerking dance (if you wanna call it that). If for any bizarre reason you don't know what twerking is; in it's simplest definition twerking is the rhythmic shaking of a persons butt. Many will defend that twerking is not wrong, it's an art form, etc but one thing is absolutely certain and that is that twerking is sexually provocative to if not all, many men and women. These are just two examples of dances that can cause believers to lust and fall.

The "Beautiful Feet" Dance Ministry utilizing their talent to
praise God. 

You may be saying "well that's there fault. I'm not trying to make no one lust when I twerk. I just wanna have fun." Here's the issue. Specifically for twerking or any dance that heavily utilizes a sexual gesture. You are using the body God gave to create a motion that will naturally attract people sexually. We can't forget God created our sex drive and certain parts of the body will sexually drive a person. Example, many are attracted to a person who may have a "healthy" backside so when that person dances and the dance is utilizing the rear, the sex drive of many will sky rocket if they're looking. It may not be your intention, but as believers we shouldn't lead our brothers and sisters to fall (1 Cor 10:32). There are plenty of other dances in all cultures that are fun and won't lead to sinful results. There are church's who have dance ministries as well, so that's even more reason to believe dancing in itself isn't a sin. If you're gonna bust a move be careful how you do so. You're body is God's temple (1 Cor 6:19-20), treat it with respect. What do you think? What's your opinion?

Should believers not dance outside of worship or praise?

If believers shouldn't dance, does this including wedding traditions like the Daughter/Father dance?

Even though there's no documentation, do you believe Jesus may have danced?

- William

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