Wally Odum

Biblical Dance and Contemporary Worship

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Despite objections, the Scriptures offer a solid foundation for the continuation of dance in the worship of today’s church.

Opponents to dance in the church have sometimes objected that dancing is worldly entertainment and should be avoided by Christians. However, a human being’s inherent rhythm, demonstrated unequivocally by the natural response of a small child to music, is a gift of God, and dance, therefore, belongs to our nature. If the world has taken it over, it must also be admitted that it has invaded the area of music and songwriting as well, but the church continues to make use of both of these in the worship of the Lord. The church should not abdicate its leadership in the use of dance, leaving the only expression of this joyous activity to the corruption of the world. Whatever the enemy has done to make dance a worldly form of amusement does not invalidate the teaching of the Bible on this subject.

Not everyone in the church will dance. Some have argued that the use of dance in worship will put undue pressure on all worshipers to do so and may serve to exclude persons who are not physically able to join in this activity. The logic in this argument is faulty. The church does not cease to sing when the mute is present, nor does it disallow musical instruments and choirs because not everyone can play or sing. Certainly, it does not ban the lifting of hands in praise for the sake of arthritics who may be in the congregation, or the reading of Scripture for the sake of not excluding the blind, or kneeling because the handicapped may be present. Dancing is one of a multitude of ways in which believers can bless God, and it should be made available to church congregations so that they are free to make the choice to dance.

Some say that if dancing is done before the Lord it should take place only in an individual’s private worship. This argument, if carried to its logical conclusion, would do away with public prayer and the congregational singing of hymns directed to God.

Others object to the wearing of special clothing by dancers or the decoration of their tambourines with streamers, assuming that the dancers are attempting to please their audiences. One could as easily say that a minister who wears a nice suit or a clerical robe is doing the same. Dance attire is part of a worshiper’s preparation for worship; not all clothing is suitable for the purpose. Special gowns for worship dance usually ensure modesty and allow for freedom of movement. When dancers wear uniform dress they draw attention to the corporate group rather than to themselves individually.

Should dancing be prohibited in the church because some Christians may be offended by it? While dancing is now accepted by a growing number of churches, obedience should never be determined by a majority vote. Should Christians cease lifting their hands to the Lord because people in some churches are offended by the practice? Should they stop playing musical instruments because a major denomination does not allow it? Must Pentecostals and charismatics no longer speak in tongues because it offends fundamentalists? The Bible instructs us to employ the high praises of God (Ps. 149:6) and not to seek the lowest common denominator of praise in order to avoid offending people.

Those Christians who object to worship dance may be reverting to the first-century heresy known as Gnosticism, in which the spirit is thought to be entirely good, while matter is viewed as totally evil. This unbiblical dualism resulted in the teaching that the human body, which is matter, is evil, and that salvation is the escape from the body. Many who embraced this teaching in the first century either treated the body in an ascetic, harsh way or paradoxically, practiced the error of licentiousness. Both 1 John and the letter to the Colossians are written to correct this error. Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians are still being influenced by Gnosticism. They insist that dancing stirs carnal rather than spiritual responses because it involves body movements. If the body is the expression of the spirit, then its movements should be used in worship to glorify God, as the Bible advocates, since both body and spirit belong to God (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

Some Christians have said that the promotion of dance as a worship form implies immaturity and a lack of desire for unity on the part of its advocates. It should be remembered in this connection that the Christian’s maturity is based on attaining to “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Maturity is measured by a person’s likeness to Christ and unity by “the faith,” the biblical revelation of truth. Being mature and promoting unity does not imply being forced into a nonscriptural position on the issue of praise in order to please all other believers and to satisfy their objections. Rather, both unity and maturity are products of a total commitment to the life-style of Jesus, which was a determined allegiance to Scripture and its patterns of response to God in the face of every human, rational, and religious objection to God’s revelation.

Does the one who dances before the Lord violate Paul’s injunction to the Romans against causing a brother to stumble (Rom. 14:13, 21)? No more so than when a worshiper plays an instrument, kneels, claps his or her hands, or engages in any other worship practice that might cause offense to another Christian. Obedience to the truth always causes offense; the gospel itself is an offense (1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 5:11) but should not be abandoned on that account.

When God asks for a response from his people that requires liberty in praise, the acceptance of the limitation of other believers might satisfy them but could at the same time offend the Lord. Idolatry is the intrusion of any other object between the Christian and God in worship—even if the intruder is the desire for the approval of humans. When a local church relates boldly and unashamedly to God in its praise and worship, God will shine his glory upon it, bringing the greatest possible benefit to other believers as well as to the unconverted.

Dance in the New Testament

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Although dance is not commanded in the New Testament as in the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament confirms its use and place in Christian worship.

Church leaders who oppose dancing in worship frequently say dancing is not mentioned in the New Testament. Such a statement reflects little understanding of the Greek text. Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates explains that the word chairō, frequently translated “rejoice,” “may also be related to the Hebrew word meaning a young sheep or lamb, indicating the skipping or frisking of a lamb for joy” (S. Zodhiates, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985]). Jesus called his people sheep and lambs, and this picture of rejoicing fits with the imagery inherent in chairō. Paul uses this word in its imperative form in his letter to the Philippians when he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). In Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Vol. 9 [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974], pp. 362–363), chairō, which occurs 28 times in the New Testament, is related to the Hebrew words samaḥ, gil, and ‘alatz, discussed earlier. Understanding its Old Testament background, Paul uses the term in commanding the church to participate in a full expression of praise and joy, in the same way, the psalmists instructed God’s people in the Old Testament.

Some other Greek words for dancing are skirtaō (used three times), “leap with joy”; hallomai (used once), “leap”; choros (used once), indicating circle dancing; and agalliaō (used ten times), “leap.” These terms are used to describe dancing that occurred on some forty-three different occasions as recorded in the New Testament. William Morrice discusses the word skirtaō in Luke 6:23, in which Jesus instructs his disciples to rejoice or leap for joy when they are persecuted. He writes, “in the present instance … the ‘dancing for joy is to be done on that day when persecution takes place in anticipation of the reward in heaven” (W. Morrice, Joy in the New Testament [Greenwood, SC: Attic Press, 1982]). The church of the present day is battling opposition and being persecuted by spiritual forces that array themselves against it; therefore, this is the very day in which Jesus taught that Christians are to respond by dancing for joy.

Another significant New Testament use of a word for dancing is found in Luke 15:25 when the Prodigal Son of Jesus’ parable returns home. The text indicates that music and dancing were considered appropriate by the father on this occasion. The Greek word used here is choros, from which the modern word “choir” is derived, and it literally means “circle dancing.” The choir’s original role was to dance in a circle, a practice being restored in some modern churches. One purpose of the parable of the Prodigal Son is to picture the great joy experienced by the heavenly Father when a sinner is restored to fellowship with him. This parable strongly suggests that choros, or circle dancing, takes place in heaven when a prodigal comes home to the Father. As a matter of fact, the Old Testament presents the same picture; Zephaniah says of the Lord, “He will rejoice [gil, “spin around under the influence of violent emotion”] over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

Dance in the Old Testament

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Dance is a regular feature of Israel’s festive worship and is viewed as an act of obedience to the Lord, for his praise and glory.

References to dancing abound in the Old Testament. Actual accounts of dancing reflect thoughtful, deliberate acts of offering praise to God. Several obvious references to dancing occur in the English versions of the Bible. Psalm 150:4 commands us to praise God in dance (Hebrew maḥol). In this same verse, we find justification for using organs and stringed instruments. The word ‘ugav, translated as “organ” (kjv) or “pipe” (nasb), is used only four times in the Bible, whereas there are many references to dance. If one cannot use Psalm 150 to advocate deliberately dancing before God, perhaps the church should also remove organs and other musical instruments from its corporate worship. The fact is that the musical instruments listed in Psalm 150, including organs or pipes, are not mentioned at all in the New Testament. Thus, if dance is forbidden because it is an Old Testament phenomenon, the use of musical instruments, being in the same category, should be forbidden as well. Psalm 150 advocates dancing, along with the use of instruments, as an act of obedience in regular corporate worship, rather than out of a spontaneous response prompted by extraordinary events.

The Hebrew Old Testament uses a number of words for dancing. These include gil, “circle in joy, dance”; maḥol and the related term mƒḥolah, “dancing”; pazaz, “leap”; raqad, “dance, skip about”; ḥagag, “celebrate, dance”; ‘alatz, “rejoice, exult, leap”; karar, “whirl, rotate.” Although the word gil actually indicates twirling, rotating, or dancing in a circle, it is usually translated as “rejoice” in the English versions. The psalmist uses this word in the phrase, “Let the earth rejoice” (Ps. 97:1 nasb). If even the earth as it spins on its axis is obeying the Old Testament command in this New Testament era, God’s redeemed creation should also honor the Creator by spinning in worship.

The verb ḥul can mean travailing in childbirth, which involves a twisting or writhing motion, or “to dance in a circle of joy.” The translators of the King James Version of the Bible chose the first usage for Psalm 96:9: “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before him, all the earth,” and the New American Standard Bible renders the verse, “tremble before Him.” The context of Psalm 96:9 clearly requires the second usage; the verse should read, “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; dance with joy before him, all the earth.” The psalmist is inviting the people of the whole earth to come before God in holy worship, demonstrating their joy through dance.

A final Old Testament term to be considered here is samaḥ. The word appears 150 times in the Old Testament as “rejoice.” According to Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament (Merrill F. Unger and William White, Jr., eds. [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1980]), samaḥ “usually refers to a spontaneous emotion of extreme happiness which is expressed in some visible and/or external manner.… The emotion represented in the verb … is sometimes accompanied by dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments.”

Some teachers contend that since dancing was performed outdoors in the worship of Israel, it is not proper to engage in it within the church building. Old Testament believers worshiped outside because only the priests had access to the tabernacle and temple. Now, however, the veil of the temple has been torn from top to bottom, and all Christians are members of the kingdom of priests who can worship “inside” the Holy of Holies, offering the incense of praise and worship to God. Worshiping indoors would have been physically impossible in ancient Israel since the community numbered some three million and could not have been accommodated in any building. (In addition, the climate in the eastern Mediterranean region makes it possible for many activities to take place outdoors that, in colder and wetter climates, are not usually convenient.) Many churches are now building edifices that accommodate the growing crowds, with areas specifically designed for praise and dance. As a biblical basis for doing so, they cite Psalm 150: “Praise God in his sanctuary; … Praise him with tambourine and dancing” (Ps. 150:1, 4).