Do Christians Dance?
I spent some of my formative years in the greater WashingtonD.C. area, where most of the kids in my neighborhood attended what we called“cotillion.” Unlike in some places, this cotillion was not the place where youngladies from the wealthiest families came to prepare for coming-outparties. It was where the children ofgovernment workers, from branch chiefs to embassy doorkeepers, learned to waltz,foxtrot, and tango.
Our parents’ logic behind the training was, they said, thatwe all needed to know how to carry ourselves when we got invited to formaloccasions. Not if—but when. In DC, everybody had some connection to power. Casein point: My sister’s best friend had to wait on a decision from the U.S.president one night before confirming whether she would spend the night—itdepended on whether her father needed to accompany a senator (his boss) to CampDavid.
Our youth groups had square dances; we did the Locomotionwith our school peers; and we mastered the foxtrot like we learned to set atable properly. Dancing was part of the DNA.
But when I went to an evangelical college, I heard for thefirst time that “dancing is of the devil.” When I expressed dismay, a few of whatI considered the less legalistic folks (those who sneaked off campus to seeDisney films) mumbled, “Those people don’t believe in sex—it might lead todancing.”
Most Christians I know actually dance or have little problemwith those who do. When my brother-in-law got his grad-school diploma, myparents left us all with our jaws on the floor as they tore up the dance floor.(I believe Dad was 86 at the time.) Every Christian wedding I’ve attended inthe past year has had some form of dancing. My sister, who graduated from Biblecollege, had square dancing at her fiftieth birthday party. My husband, Gary,and I, seminary grads, danced in public on our twenty-fifth anniversary. Andrecently the international organization for which Gary works held a meeting oftheir missionaries from all over the world. The evening’s entertainment? Line dancing, complete with a DJ giving lessons. We have now added a new meaning for "grapevine" to our vocab.
Of course, dancing has always had its nay-sayers. WhenIsrael’s King David danced with all his might before the Lord, his wife,Michal, accused him of making a fool of himself in front of God and everybody. Mydaughter said she felt the same about my dancing at my niece’s wedding.
Looking stupid aside, we all know, don’t we, that linedancing, square dancing, tap dancing, ballroom dancing, Irish dancing, doingthe Locomotion, and simply moving to the music are altogether different animalsfrom pole dancing, booty dancing, and public pantomimes of the sex act. Maybe a lot of dancing isn't of the devil, but some of it sureisn’t of the Lord.
The way I see it, it's not that I'm against some forms of dancing. It's that I'm for something much deeper.