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Is It a Sin to Dance?

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 16, 1915

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 46.

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Is It a Sin to Dance?

By C. P. WHITFORD

C. P. WHITFORD
In answer to the question, “Is it a sin to dance?” listen to the following scriptures: “Praise ye the Lord. . . . Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people.” Ps. 149: 1-4. “Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary. . . . Praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.” Ps. 150: 1-4.
In these scriptures we are exhorted to praise the Lord with the dance. In the time of David, dancing was a form of religious worship. The question is frequently asked, Cannot we dance to the praise of the Lord now? I would answer, Certainly. But is it not a fact that but very few people who are anxious to dance, and who do dance, are found at the weekly prayer meeting? I read in 1 Cor. 10: 31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” In our day do those who dance engage in the exercise in a way that will glorify God? Before going to the dance hall, do they bow down and reverently ask God to send the holy angels with them, and bless them in all that they do during the time theyare engaged in dancing? Are they dancing to the praise of the name of the Lord, or for their own amusement? Can one dance for his own amusement or for the entertainment of the public, and thereby praise the Lord? When David danced to the praise of the Lord, his worldly-minded wife looked through a window and saw him as he danced before the ark of God, and the Bible says that “she despised him in her heart.” 2 Sam. 6: 12-16. One cannot dance in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord and thereby please worldly-minded people; neither can one dance in a manner that is pleasing to the world, and thereby please the Lord.
But to return to the question, “Is it a sin to dance?” From what we have learned we conclude that the sin of dancing depends upon where one dances. Anciently the people danced in the sanctuary, or the house of God. The sin of dancing depends also upon how one dances, and the object had in view in dancing. In olden times the sexes danced separately. Ex. 15: 20. They danced at proper seasons. They danced in moderation, instead of excess. They danced to the glory of God. If you want to dance to the glory of God, be sure that you do not rather gratify the flesh, and thus please the adversary of all righteousness.