Scott1
Puritanboard Commissioner
Sven
1. In our culture, we have grown accustomed to thinking of dance as a "worldly" thing to do. This idea probably came from the Puritans and the Anabaptists (we should probably consider the Anabaptist influence more when talking about broader evangelicalism). Dance as a pastime was looked down upon by these two groups. However, if we look beyond our British/European roots, dancing is not considered one of the three deadly sins (along with smoking and drinking). The Jews are probably our most prime example of those who do not consider dancing evil. True, like all things, dancing can be used for evil purposes, but evil purposes do not make a thing bad in itself. We have many examples of dancing in the Old and New Testaments. It was a common practice in the Jewish culture. It is not considered a bad thing. It is, in fact, commended by Scripture.
I agree with your overall assessment that dancing can be done and used for many purposes. In and of itself, it is not proscribed by God speaking through Scripture. While there are instances of it being used to evil ends such as Herodias' daughter dancing for the king and resulting in an impulsive response leading to the death of John the Baptist, one cannot say it is biblically automatically evil.
Indeed, there are some artistically gifted Christians who use this ability deliberately for the glory of God, and particularly among the arts community.
Dancing can be done for entertainment, or to provoke lust and the many sins thereof, or for recreation and exercise or even to tell a story with a biblical theme, or even a combination of these purposes.
While it may provide ways to glorify God through right use of talents and abilities for God's people, and provide wholesome recreation, exercise, and entertainment to others, our confessions, summarizing the doctrine of Scripture tell us it is not an ordinance of corporate worship.