• Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Interpretive Dance in church?

OldRegular

Well-Known Member
The Apostle Paul gives some advice on what a worship service should be:

1 Corinthians 14:26-33
26. How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
27. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.


mont974x4 has some appropriate remarks in his post #65 regarding the above Scripture as well as reminders of the problems the Children of Israel had because of what they called worship.

It is the simple truth: Just because we call something worship does not make it so. Jesus Christ said: true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. We must not emphasize "worship in spirit" and ignore the "worship in truth". There may be a lot of "spirit" in some of the things that are practiced in churches today but I believe there is very little "truth".

In the above Scripture the Apostle Paul states that if tongues are spoken in a worship service someone must interpret. If some person is twisting and gyrating as a part of the worship must someone interpret for usens who are unlearned and ignorant. {I realize that is redundant!}
 

saturneptune

New Member
In the above Scripture the Apostle Paul states that if tongues are spoken in a worship service someone must interpret. If some person is twisting and gyrating as a part of the worship must someone interpret for usens who are unlearned and ignorant. {I realize that is redundant!}
Three things are required for tongues.
A person to receive the message
A person to interpret the message
A message that is edifying to the congregation

Anyone who claims to have been a part of the gift of tongues, ask them how they did each of the three elements, and it will fail every time.
 

OldRegular

Well-Known Member
Three things are required for tongues.
A person to receive the message
A person to interpret the message
A message that is edifying to the congregation

Anyone who claims to have been a part of the gift of tongues, ask them how they did each of the three elements, and it will fail every time.

How would you characterize the requirements for "interpretative" dancing as part of worship?
 

USN2Pulpit

New Member
Since we have the completed canon, there is no further interpretive dance. That was for apostles and believers at the start but not now.
There were a lot of things done in the Bible and its times, but from your statement there are a lot of things we should cease doing.

If I'm in prison, maybe I will not sing and praise at midnight.

Since we are beyond the completed canon, maybe we should not "sing a new song" unto the Lord, or even "play skillfully" for that matter.

Since Paul's letter was strictly to the church at Ephesus, maybe we shouldn't speak to each other in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

How far can this reasoning be taken? I'm not sure we should take snippets from scripture or "systematic theology" to back up our own opinions.
 

Tom Butler

New Member
To dance or not to dance is an outgrowth of our culture. I grew up in a southern Southern Baptist culture, where dancing of any kind was considered wrong. We Baptists were sorta jealous of the Catholics and Methodists, who had no such prohibitions.

For example, in the 1930s in my church, during a business meeting, a member stood and accused a brother of dancing. He rose and said, "yes, I did dance, with my own wife, and I'm not sorry." The minutes of that meeting record that the church voted to withdraw fellowship.

His wife also said, yes, she had danced with her husband she was sorry, whereupon the church voted to forgive her.

Thirty years later, when I went to that church as minister of music, I met that old gentlemen and his wife. He was the oldest deacon in the church and his wife was a lovely woman. At some point he had been restored to fellowship, obviously.

Thirty years ago, we had a young pastor, 30-something, who said that dancing was basically a sexual exercise, and told our married members. "roll back the rug in your own home and have at it."

Today, dancing is a small issue or no issue at all in many Baptist churches, even the most conservative ones. We older folks are still the product of our cultures, and find little value in interpretive dance. To our younger believers, who've grown up with little or no such prohibitions, it's no big deal.

I've seen the same thing with the use of alcohol. There's an old joke which says that under our new liberal society, Catholics and eat meat on Friday, Jews can eat pork, and Baptists can drink in front of each other.

Apparently, we can dance in front of each other, too.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

OldRegular

Well-Known Member
I once had a pastor who said that Baptists thought the four cardinal sins were: Drinkin, Dancin, Smokin, and Cussin! [However, being strongly against imbibing he cautioned against the use of wine vinegar.] Whether the above are cardinal sins or not is open to discussion but they should not be done as a part of the worship service, and that includes dancin, interpretative or not!

As an exception to the above I personally believe that wine was used in the first Lord's Supper!
 

saturneptune

New Member
I once had a pastor who said that Baptists thought the four cardinal sins were: Drinkin, Dancin, Smokin, and Cussin! [However, being strongly against imbibing he cautioned against the use of wine vinegar.] Whether the above are cardinal sins or not is open to discussion but they should not be done as a part of the worship service, and that includes dancin, interpretative or not!

As an exception to the above I personally believe that wine was used in the first Lord's Supper!
If you would walk up to the front of the church doing the Funky Chicken during invitation time, that could be interpreted that a church pot luck with fried chicken is just a few minutes away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYt_l6LZ5Kc&feature=related
 
Last edited by a moderator:

mont974x4

New Member
Whats Invitation Time?

Many pastors have a time at the end of the service, prior to dismissal, that they welcome people to go forward for prayer or to make a profession of faith....that kind of thing. I know some who do not think you have preached unless you have this specific invitation given.
 

Earth Wind and Fire

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Many pastors have a time at the end of the service, prior to dismissal, that they welcome people to go forward for prayer or to make a profession of faith....that kind of thing. I know some who do not think you have preached unless you have this specific invitation given.

Yea Arminians!
 

ktn4eg

New Member
Let's see now. It's taken up to 95 postings (and 10 pages of BB!!), and yet NO ONE has yet come up with THE solution to this MAJOR DOCTRINAL issue??!!??

Whatsamadderyou??!!??

Okay, boys & girls, lads & lassies, HERE IT IS:

1) We take a bunch of 65YO+ bi-sexual sumo-rasslers (R U payin' attention, John of Japan??!!??)

2) Larn 'em how tah do that thar sine lingo

3) Get AliveInChrist PLUS his very own banjo simphoney orchestra to sorta fill in wid dah musick

4) While TammyFae and Joyce Meyer explain to y'all nucullheaded, aret-hatin' whatever's what those there #1's are a fixin' tah tell y'all's what they's a doin' afore dat thar' platform goes tah 'bustin tah smithereens and gets dem thar folks dah are a' sittin' on that thar a morners bench up front all bum-a-fuster'd and takes tah a-leevin' lickity split out the back door a fore dem thar sumo rasslers starts tah jumpin' on 'em!!!!

Thar y'all have it!!!

Took me just a 1 single post to settle dah issue rat smart!!!!!

(....Not really any of dat der "rocket science' tah it at awe, now wart it??!!??):smilewinkgrin::thumbsup::tongue3:
 
Last edited by a moderator:

mont974x4

New Member
I don't remember her teaching on corporate worship in the DVD series....and I know that wasn't part of the series. LOL
 

Tom Butler

New Member
If you would walk up to the front of the church doing the Funky Chicken during invitation time, that could be interpreted that a church pot luck with fried chicken is just a few minutes away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYt_l6LZ5Kc&feature=related

Do you suppose that there actually are some people who think that if they consider the Funky Chicken an act of worship, it must be?

And, would it require somebody to have the gift of interpreting the dance with a spiritual application?
 
Top