From: "David W. Cloud" <dcloud@wayoflife.

org>
To: <fbis@wayoflife.org>
Subject: [FBIS Mailing List] DANCING
Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2001 1:13 AM

DANCING

August 12, 2000 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service,

P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org) --

QUESTION: "David danced before the Lord and Psalm 150:4 says we are to
praise God with dance. Why are you, therefore, against dancing in churches
today?"

ANSWER:

First, there are two types of dancing mentioned in the Bible: worldly
dancing and spiritual dancing. Worldly dancing is practiced by men and
women together and is associated with sin and immorality (Ex. 32:19; Job
21:7,11-12; 1 Sam. 30:16; Mt. 14:6). Spiritual dancing is practiced
privately or with members of the same sex before the Lord (Ex. 15:20-21;
Jud. 11:34; 21:21; 1 Sam. 18:6; 2 Sam. 6:14).

Second, the dancing done by God's people in the Old Testament was
completely different from that of the heathen. There are different Hebrew
words for these types of dancing. The Hebrew word in Psalm 150:4 is
"MACHOWL," which refers to round dancing. The word is translated dance in
reference to Israel's dancing in Psalm 30:11; 149:3; Jer. 31:13 and Lam.
5:15. This Hebrew word is never used for heathen dancing. One word used to
describe the dancing of the heathen is "CHUWL," which means "to twist or
whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), i.e. (specifically) to dance, to
writhe in pain (especially of parturition) or fear." This word is found in
58 verses, but it is only translated dance in Judges 21:21 and 23.
Elsewhere it is translated "anguish" (Deut. 2:25), "wounded" (1 Chron.
10:3), "grieved" (Esther 4:4), "travaileth" (Job 15:20), "shaketh" (Psalm
29:8), "pained" (Psalm 55:4), etc. Thus it is never used to describe
Israel's dancing. Another Hebrew word for dance is "RAQAD." It means "to
stamp, i.e. to spring about (wildly or for joy):--dance, jump, leap, skip."
It is translated dance three times, in 1 Chron. 15:29 (David's dancing),
Job 21:11 (the dancing of the children of the wicked), and Isaiah 13:21
(satyrs dancing). This is the one exception to the rule that different
Hebrew words are used to describe the dancing of Israel and that of the
heathen. Another Hebrew word for dancing is "CHAGAG." It means "to move in
a circle, i.e. (specifically) to march in a sacred procession, to observe a
festival; by implication, to be giddy:--celebrate, dance, (keep, hold) a
(solemn) feast (holiday), reel to and fro." It is used in 14 verses, but it
is usually translated "feast" or "celebrate." It is only translated dance
one time, in 1 Sam. 30:16 (dancing of the Amalekites). A final Hebrew word
translated dance is "KARAR." This is the Hebrew word translated dance in 2
Sam. 6:14 and 16, describing David's dancing before the Lord, and it is not
used in any other passage.

God has strictly commanded Israel that they were not to follow the way of
the heathen. They were to be different from the pagan people around them
who worshipped idols. "And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation,
which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and
therefore I abhorred them. But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their
land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with
milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other
people. . . . And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and
have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine" (Lev. 20:23-26).

To apply this to our day, it means that Christians must be separate from
the world (Romans 12:1-2). We must not conform ourselves to the world's
sensual ways, such as their lascivious styles of dancing. Yet if you go to
a Christian rock concert, the type of dancing that you see is exactly the
same as that of the world. The CCM group Super Chicks is an illustration.
The girls dance in a sensual fashion. Kirk Franklin and MaryMary are two
other examples. They dress inappropriately and dance just like the world.
There is no justification for this in the Bible.

Third, Psalm 150 is not a command that every person dance, any more than
Psalm 69 is a commandment for Christians to curse their enemies. "Add
iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with
the righteous" (Psalm 69:27, 28). Most of the things Israel did, we do not
do today in the church age. This includes circumcision of baby boys,
priests and offerings, temple worship, dietary restrictions, sabbath laws,
religious festivals, multiple tithing, and many other things. We determine
what part of the Old Testament to keep by comparing it with the New
Testament. And there is no instance of dancing in the New Testament.
Jesus didn't dance. The Apostles didn't dance. There was no dancing in the
first churches.

The dancing in the Old Testament was associated with God's kingdom (Ps.
149:3; 150:4; Jer. 31:4,13). We will dance when the king returns (Matt.
9:14,15)!

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