Praise Dance II (Holiness.com
Response)
I have read your comments a number of times and so many things
pass through my mind as I sit here in my seat that I struggle
with where to begin. As there may be other visitors that feel
as you do about praise dancing, let me address this response
not just to you, but to all my brothers and sisters who hold
your view of "Praise Dancing."
Well, let me start with the Bible. Please help me by providing
biblical passages which support this "Praise Dancing" form of
worship that you make reference to. In God's word I do find
specific instances of musicians/music being used in the
worship service; I find specific instances of shouting praises
unto God; I find even jubilant/expressive & improvised dancing
in praise unto God. I find nothing of men & women grouping
into ballet companies, putting on the skimpy tights and
leotard of a ballet dancer, or ladies practicing
over-head kicks. As I mentioned in the praise dancing article,
one woman I saw actually had a skirt on, but when she would
twirl and perform her "ballet like" moves you could see all
the way up to the pelvic part of her leotard. Some may
sarcastically ask: "What were you doing looking at this
dancer's pelvic area anyway?" Obviously, you have never been
confronted by a flasher; if you had, you would know that the
eye is sometimes quicker than the time it takes to recover
from the shock of what you just saw and to make the
split-second decision to cover your eyes or turn your head.
When you raise the similarity of ballet to praise dancing, I
wonder whether you are aware that a significant part of the
ballet genre has not only to do with the moves one is
physically capable of doing, but has also to do with how
gorgeous one looks in his/her attire (gorgeous according to
ballet standards). You don't believe me? How many national, or
world-class ballet artist can you name that do not have a
physique like the athletically built figurine on the top of so
many music boxes.
Now let's speak of the church. How many adult praise dancers
of say 250 lbs. or more, with protruding plump bellies, do you
know who are asked to perform "prime time" on television
Church programs such as Christmas pageants. Generally, those I
see who are put forth to perform praise dancing in large
public displays are these people with "gorgeous" bodies. And,
yes, I have known quite a number of people in my sinful days
who were limber and agile and portly who could dance to
hip-hop music as well as, or better than, the gorgeous bodies
- but I guess even in the world, some forms of dance are less
discriminating regarding the requirement to have a "gorgeous"
body as opposed to the more stringent requirements placed on
the ballet style of dancing.
One of the "gospel" programs that I witnessed put forth a
ballet company that performed while accompanied by the music
of Handel's Messiah. My wife thinks that I have a good
physique, yet I still would have been ashamed to appear in
public in nothing but a man's leotard and tights - it would
just be showing too
much - if you don't understand what I am saying, ask your
pastor to wear a leotard and tights while he delivers next
Sunday's sermon. Afterward, ask him to describe how he felt
while delivering the sermon. Why, just today I saw a girl
getting reading to go to "Praise Dance" practice. Yes, she was
covered from her neck down to her toes in her costume; but the
thing was so tight (and so shear and transparent in parts)
that her underwear was plainly visible.
Next Page
|
