There is a little "ditty" that was popular when I was a boy growing up that went, -Same song, second verse, could get better, but it's gonna get worse. " I thought about that little "ditty" when I was given a clipping, by one of our members last Sunday (Feb. 25, 1990). It was taken from the "Entertainment" section of the Dallas Times Herald. It was entitled "Not the same old grind" by Robert Abele and concerned a "new" dance that is being offered to (and urged upon) the public. The article in part is as follows:

Couples on the dance floors around the United States may be getting to know each other sooner than they care to if the lambada catches on. The lambada, a Brazilian dance craze with its own hit European single, is trying to worm its way into the American consciousness as a sexy, snazzy, culturally hip body contact grove - a dirtier dancing. Dallas got its first live sampling of the sensuous dance last weekend at Prizm, a Deep Ellum nightclub. Press and public were treated to a performance of the lambada by, oddly enough, the Arthur Murray dancers - that bastion of the ballroom. It was an appropriately young group of couples, however, that swirled and gyrated to Kaoma's European smash hit "Lambada," the single that ignited lambada-mania. . . . Europeans loved it: In one instance, Frenchauto workers who were on strike told reporters they'd rather lambada than go back to work. The lambada's trademark is constant body contact, and a grinding pelvic motion that keeps the action certifiably steamy (emp. mine - bh). Arthur Murray dancer Michael Hamilton labels it "the safe sex of the '90s. " What does it take to do the lambada, aside from sheer will power?

"It takes rhythm, a kind of looseness and maneuverability," says Hamilton, of Dallas. "It's a new sound and dance that's going to bring partners back together on the dance floor." (What he means is that it will bring back body contact dancing on the dance floor. -bh) . . . The gutsy movement and suggestive interlocking of limbs, however, is what seems to mystify onlookers most. At Prizm, the Arthur Murray dancers performed first as three separate couples, then in two groups of three - lambada "sandwiches" - and finally in one long chain lambada. And not one pelvic grind was lost (emp. mine - bh). "There's definitely more freedom involved in Latin dancing," says Kelly Heisler, another Arthur Murray performer. It's getting to know your partner really close . . . The dancing is so fast, so swift, so torrid. It's more aerobic than "dirty dancing," and more fun.

Whatever our opinion of this style of dancing may be is of little importance. I do not believe that any style of dancing is conducive to Christianity and the saving of souls. (In stating this I am not referring to the dance of praise that was practiced under the Old Testament.) I believe I can prove this to all who would be honest with the word of God and themselves. I realize that the subject of dancing is seldom spoken on by religious leaders and that it (dancing) is readily accepted by society and by most of the modern religions of today. (Its acceptance has even invaded the church of Christ in some places.) To hear preaching on this subject is quite out of the ordinary, and to condemn the dance is to be branded as a radical, religious fanatic. If this be my lot, then so be it. One of the greatest contributing factors of weakness among Christians and churches lies at the feet of spineless, weak, mealy-mouthed, forked-tongued preachers who are more politicians than preachers of the word. Note the admonition of the Holy Spirit to preachers (2 Tim. 4:1-5): "I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."

Those who have chosen to preach need to get busy at the task assigned them by God. Too many are more afraid of losing their popularity or their pay checks than of the judgment of God. I affirm in the beginning of this article that the dance is: the child of the brothel, the sister of drunkenness, lewdness, divorce and murder, the mother of lust, and a road to hell! I shall now endeavor to prove these charges. Take your Bible and read of the shameful acts the Israelites engaged in while Moses was receiving the O.T. law from God (Exod. 32:1-6; 15-28). Note in verse 6 that it declares, ". . . the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. " The "drink" wasn't sweet milk and the "play" wasn't ring-around-the-roses. This is obvious from the reading of verses 19 and 25. Verse 19 said they were dancing and verse 25 says they were naked. Some take exception with the wording found in verse 25 in the K.J.V. that declares they were "naked," but there is strong evidence that upholds that rendering of it. Pulpit Commentary declares it to be correct (p. 340, Vol. 3). Its usage is certainly permitted according to Wilson's O.T. Word Studies (p. 284). Take the Book of God now and turn to the New Testament and look at Mark 6:14-28. In this account of a young woman dancing before Herod and his companions, she "pleased him " so much that he promised her anything she desired, even to the half of his kingdom (vv. 22-23). Now notice some points we have seen so far:

A. Drinking and dancing go hand in hand (Exod. 32:6). The same thing is true today!

B. Dancing and adultery go hand in hand (Exod. 32:6). The same thing is true today!

C. Dancing and nakedness go hand in hand (Exod. 32:6,25). The same thing is true today! Have you noticed that there are stores that sell special "dance clothes"? Why? They are designed to reveal more of the human body through their skimpiness or their tight fit so that the most can be gained. Many times a boy or girl's lust is inflamed for the first time because of either the close contact of the human body, or, seeing the wiggling, twisting, suggestive motions of the opposite sex.

D. Dancing and murder go hand in hand (Mk. 6:14-28). The same thing is true today! Police records are full of evidence that supports this. A man begins to dance with another man's wife, they begin to dance closer together as lusts begin to burn in them, the husband sees what is happening, a fight erupts and a life is taken. Deny it if you please but you know it happens.

We shall continue this study. Please, take your Bible and study these things for your self and take a stand for things that are right! May God help us to that end.

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 12, pp. 353, 375
June 21, 1990