In this article I will try to answer some of the objections I’ve heard to my position that says Christians should refrain from dancing during our Sunday morning worship services. Admittedly there are possibly other stronger cases to be made, both in support of my position and against it. My purpose for these articles hasn’t been to win an argument but to challenge my brothers and sisters in Nigeria—and like other places around the continent—to evaluate our attitude towards dancing in church, in light of the gospel. Just because something has the word Christian prefixed to it or is practiced in a Christian context does not mean it’s valid.
1. Miriam and David Danced in Worship
A common rejoinder to questions posed about dancing in worship goes something like this: Miriam danced (Exodus 15:20-21); so did David (2 Samuel 6:14); so why can’t we?
David and Miriam weren’t gathered for weekly Sabbath celebrations.
My answer is that the context of their dancing in worship is quite different from the gathered Sunday morning worship. What they did was spontaneous. It was occasional. They were inspired at a peculiar event, having witnessed some great deliverance God worked for them. While we gather to celebrate, what we do in Sunday worship is more akin to weekly Sabbath celebrations in the Old Testament. David and Miriam weren’t gathered for that; what they did was in the heat of the moment. On the other hand, the sons of Aaron—Levitical priests—would never have permitted dancing on the Sabbath.
2. The Psalms Command Dancing
Psalms 149 and 150 are central to this argument. In both of those psalms, the writer commands God’s people to dance. Does this mean that dancing was a regular part of worship for the psalmists? Not so fast. For both mentions of dancing are tied to playing the tambourine (Psalm 149:3; 150:3).
The tambourine isn’t among the instruments used by the priests in temple worship.
Does that really matter? Yes, because the tambourine isn’t among the instruments used by the Levitical priests in temple worship (1 Chronicles 25). Similarly to my previous point, almost every time a tambourine is mentioned in the Old Testament it’s in the context of joyful celebrations, festivals and sacred processions. My point: while the psalmist anticipates occasions when it’s appropriate to play the tambourine and dance, those occasions aren’t part of their regular worship.
3. Don’t Prohibit What God Doesn’t
The greatest question around what we decide to do is whether it glorifies God.
Another common objection I’ve heard is that the Bible doesn’t prohibit dancing, therefore neither should we. This is a fair point. Furthermore, it reminds us that this is not a major issue of faith. However, it doesn’t mean that we can do anything we want because God doesn’t prohibit it in scripture. Christian maturity entails discernment (Hebrews 5:14). Wisdom is more than knowing right from wrong. It means being able to judge when something isn’t explicitly stated but necessary to consider. Linked with this, as I argued in my previous article, the greatest question around what we decide to do is whether it glorifies God. And I simply can’t see how dancing does that.
4. You Can’t Stop Nigerians Dancing
My response to this would be that I also like dancing. Sadly, I’m not very gifted in that department, but that’s besides the point. So let me make something clear: I’m in full support of our people dancing in the contexts that God has created for dancing. God gave us limbs for dancing, rhythms to move with and music to enjoy. So let’s dance and sing to the glory of God in our celebratory moments. What is in contention here isn’t dancing itself, but rather the propriety of dancing when we gather together to worship our God.
