This so called "jazzercise" or other dancing that forms the excuse or justification for exercise is still dancing with sexual, sensuous movements to rock music. The excuse will be made that it's just a group of women, or even a mixed group foe exercise purposes only.
But those activities just reinforce the mind to dwell in like manner which always leads away from Christ. In one local SDA church here, the leaders brought in a toybox VBS program that has theatrics, and dancing to a hymn that is turned into a hip-hop song, all under the guise of "teaching children the Bible. They are not able to judge whats good for them or what is not, feelings and emotions rule the moment.
The parents and leaders think they are doing such a good thing, while serving to keep the kids in the church at a later age. Instead, the minds of the children, whom Jesus loves, are turned away from Him, and into worldly avenues. The parents and leaders have not been faithful teachers of God's Word. Mat But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
It is true this verse more properly applies to harsh, cruel attitudes and actions taken be some that drive the little ones away from the Saviour. But I also see that worldliness presented to the kids also drives them away, while seemingly making them happy.
God is not pleased with our inattention and trifling with His blessings placed within our reach. Neither is He pleased to have us place our children in worldly society, because this best suits their tastes and inclinations. If the souls of your children are saved, you must do your work with fidelity. God has not been wholly pleased with your course in regard to worldly associations, and now the peril is revealed. You have also encouraged the reading of storybooks; these, and papers with continued stories, lying upon your table, have educated the taste of your daughter until she is a mental inebriate and needs a stronger power, a firmer will than her own, to control her.
Gabriel, one thing that you might want to consider is that the specific dances that you mentioned are and are designed to be very sexual in nature. As Christians we should be aware that we are to represent Jesus in all that we do. We should not put ourselves in the path of temptation neither should we cause temptation to fall on others. Not quite sure exactly what the "groove thang" is that you are intending to shake but if it is anything like the "groove thang" that I used to watch being shaken and the one that I used to shake myself you will need to be especially careful not to compromise your Christianity.
The plea of "I just want to have fun" isn't quite the ethic that Christians ought to be keeping at the forefront of their mind. As far as your Hispanic upbringing is concerned, there is neither Hispanic nor Negro, nor Asian, nor Caucasian for all are one in Christ. Good Point John.
And there is neither male nor female. I guess that doesn't help much here. Praise God we are judged by The Blood. You seem to be in a different world Gabe, working out our salvation is the most important.
No one will be "shaking anything" in hellfire. I'm not saying you or anyone in particular is going there, we want to all to be in the kingdom including you and me. Sadly, millions upon millions who put the world first over Christ, will wake up a thousand years too late. There was shouting and dancing on Mount Carmel by the prophets of Baal 1 Kings The worship of Baal and other idols commonly took place on a hill with dancing.
Thus, the Lord appealed to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah: "Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding. Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception" Jer , 23 NIV. Another important consideration which discredits the attempt to use the Bible to justify dancing as a component of divine worship and as a form of social entertainment is the nature of dancing in the Bible itself.
A survey of the Bible's twenty-eight references to dance indicates that dance was essentially a social celebration of special events, such as a military victory, a religious festival, or a family reunion. The dances were either processional, encircling, or ecstatic. They were done mostly by women and children. The Bible never depicts men and women dancing together romantically as couples.
Wolf observed, "While the mode of dancing 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. The dances mentioned in the Bible were social events with religious overtones, because they often took place within the context of religious events, such as the celebration of annual festivals.
They could be compared to the annual carnival celebrations that take place today in many Catholic countries, with colorful dancing. No Catholic would consider such dances to be part of the worship services.
Men and women danced in Bible times, not romantically as couples but separately in processional or encircling dances. In view of the religious orientation of the Jewish society, such folk-type dances are often characterized as religious dances.
But there is no indication in the Bible that any form of dance was ever associated with the worship service in God's house. Those who appeal to the biblical references to dance in order to justify modern romantic dancing inside or outside the church ignore the fundamental difference between the two. There is no indication in the Bible that any form of dance was ever associated with the worship service in God's house. Few people today would want to participate in the folk dance mentioned in the Bible, simply because there was no physical contact between men and women.
Each group of men, women, and children did its own "show," which in most cases was a kind of march with a rhythmic cadence. Frankly, I could not understand why they called it "dance," since it was merely a procession by the priests who marched in a circular fashion around the ark with a certain rhythmic cadence.
To equate the biblical notion of dance with modern dance is misleading to say the least, because there is a world of difference between them. Moreover, the Bible gives no indication that any form of dance was ever associated with the worship service in God's house. In fact, we shall now see that women appear to have been excluded from the music ministry of the Temple, synagogue, and early church, apparently because their music was associated with dancing and entertainment.
Numerous Bible passages refer to women singing and playing instruments in the social life of ancient Israel Ex , 21; 1 Sam , 7; Judg ; Ezra , 65; Neh , 67 , but no references in the Bible mention women participating in the worship music of God's house.
Curt Sachs has noted that "Almost all musical episodes up to the time of the Temple describe choral singing with group dancing and drum beating. And this kind of singing was to a great extent women's music. This is surprising because, after all, women were the main music makers in the Jewish society.
Scholars who have examined this question suggest two major reasons. One reason is musical in nature and the other sociological. From a musical perspective, the style of music produced by women had a rhythmic beat which was better suited for entertainment than for worship in God's house. Robert Lachmann, an authority on Jewish cantillation, is quoted as saying: "The production of the women's songs is dependent on a small store of typical melodic turns; the various songs reproduce these turns--or some of them--time and again.
The women's songs belong to a species, the forms of which are essentially dependent not on the connection with the text, but on processes of movements. Thus we find here, in place of the rhythm of cantillation and its very intricate line of melody, a periodical up and down movement.
Women's music was largely based on a rhythmic beat produced by tapping with the hand the tabret, toph, or timbrel. These are the only musical instruments mentioned in the Bible as being played by women, and they are believed to be the same or very similar. The tabret or timbrel seems to have been a hand drum made of a wooden frame around which a single skin was stretched. They were somewhat similar to the modern tambourine. There can be little doubt that their music was mostly of a different species than that of the male Levite musicians who performed in the Temple.
The timbrel is also mentioned in connection with strong drink Is , 12; , 9. From a sociological perspective, women did not participate in the ministry of music of the Temple because of the social stigma attached to their entertainment type of music. Usually at its best it was for dancing or funeral mourning, and at its worst to aid in the sensuous appeal of harlots on the street. Significantly, female musicians were used extensively in pagan religious services. Numerous scholars have recognized this theological reason.
In his dissertation on Musical Aspects of the New Testament, William Smith wrote: "A reaction to the extensive employment of female musicians in the religious and secular life of pagan nations was doubtless a very large factor in determining Jewish [and early Christian] opposition to the employment of women in the musical service of the sanctuary. The lesson from Scripture and history is not that women should be excluded from the music service of the church today. The Bible never forbids women to sing or play instruments in the services of worship.
Praising the Lord with music is not a male prerogative, but the privilege of every child of God. It is unfortunate that the music produced by women in Bible times was mostly for entertainment and, consequently, not suitable for the divine worship. There are no indications in the Bible or history that dance was ever a component of divine worship in the Temple, synagogue, or early church.
Furthermore, the Bible offers no support for the kind of romantic or sensual dancing popular today. Nothing in the Bible indicates that men and women ever danced together as couples. Dancing was essentially a social celebration of special events, such as a military victory, a religious festival, or a family reunion. Most of the dancing was done by women who were excluded from the music ministry of God's house, apparently because their entertainment type of music was deemed unsuitable for the worship service.
The lesson that the church today needs to learn from Scripture and history is that secular music associated with entertainment is out of place in God's house. Those who are actively involved in pushing for the adoption of such music in the church need to understand the biblical distinction between secular music used for entertainment and sacred music suitable for the worship of God. People in Bible times understood and respected this distinction, and we must respect it today if the church is to remain a sacred sanctuary for the worship of God rather than becoming a secular place for social entertainment.
At a time when the distinction between sacred and secular music is blurred and many are promoting modified versions of secular dancing music for church use, we need to remember that the Bible calls us to "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" 1 Chron ; cf. Ps ; Rediscovering Christ-Centered Standards, ed. Steve Case Riverside, Calif.
Bill Knott, "Shall We Dance? Garen L. Wolf note 5 , p. Let Go and Let God. Tags Sabbath School. Bible Stories. God's Love. Adventist Youth AY. Ellen White. Bible Study. Valentines Day.
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