10 Facts About Dancing
IN THE MODERN DAY in which we live the pleasure of dancing is taken for
granted. But the Christian (and especially the young man or woman who has
recently received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour), will do well to examine
dancing both in the light of the Scriptures, and also as to the effect it has
upon his testimony.
Following are ten facts about dancing in the light of history and the
Scriptures:
1. Dancing has a disreputable history. The path of the dance is a slimy trail
back through half-civilized people to the very heart of savagery. As to the
modern dance, it originated in the beer gardens of Germany among lustful men
and dissolute women. A man named Gault, a French dancing master, originated
the waltz in 1627. In an attempt to ruin his sister, he strangled her to
death. For this he was beheaded in 1632. The lust of the human heart is the
only reason for the popularity of the steps of the modern dance. Read James
1:14 and 15.
2. The origin of the modern dance was on a low level. Many of the present day
dances originated in the lowest places of this earth . . . among prostitutes,
drunken men, and in gambling dives. The dancer is putting himself or herself
on a level with the scum of the earth. The dance floor is the nursery of the
divorce courts, the training ship of prostitution and the graduate school of
infamy.
3. Dancing has ruined millions of lives. Ex-dancing master T. A. Falker, an
authority on the subject of dancing, said, "80 percent of the denizens of the
underworld once belonged to churches which permitted dancing." There are
800,000 fallen women in houses of correction in the United States. The Chicago
Vice Commission says that 75 percent of these women attribute their downfall
to the dance. The average life of a fallen woman is only five years. This
means that there are hundreds of thousands of new recruits for the underworld
every year.
4. Dancing permits indecent familiarity between the sexes. Such familiarity,
which would not be allowed otherwise, breeds lust which leads to the sins of
adultery and fornication so prevalent among modern dancers. Please read
Proverbs 6:27-32.
5. The dance ruins one's influence for good. The Christian who plays with
dancing or indulges in dancing is always open to reproach, and never fails to
bring down upon himself the censure of good people. Romans 14:22 says: "Happy
is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth."
6. One cannot take Christ with him when he goes to a dance. Who would dare
pray just before entering a dance hall, "Lord Jesus, be with me this evening?
Let Thy blessing rest upon this in which I am about to engage." How would you
like Christ to call for your soul while you are on the dance floor, in
indecent contact with some other man's wife or daughter? Read Philippians 4:8.
7. The dance robs Christ of one's affections. Colossians 3:1-3 should be
enough for the Christian. Can a place where sin, danger and death constantly
lurk be a fit place for any decent person?
8. The best people, and the most spiritually minded people condemn dancing. Mr.
C. P. J. Mooney once wrote editorially in the Commercial Appeal concerning a
dance hall in Memphis: "Why not let the police put a sign in red fire across
the front reading thus: 'This is the beginning of the journey of lost souls.'"
Read Exodus 32:26.
9. The appeal of the dance is altogether to the flesh. God's judgment to those
who sow to the flesh is clearly stated in Galatians 6:7, 8. He who mingles
with the dancing crowd is mingling with those whose hearts are full of lust
and sin and evil desire.
10. The principles laid down in Scripture oppose dancing. No one will deny
that dancing is an amusement of the world. In Romans 12:2 the Christian is
exhorted: "be not conformed to this world." No clearer command is found in
Scripture than is given in II Corinthians 6:14: "Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness." This should
settle the question for all honest Christians.
T. A. J. Basley
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