Why can't protestants dance

[Even_So]

When I was in junior high school a long time ago, in some class – I forget which one – they did a couple of class sessions on co-ed Square Dancing where they taught us all to Square Dance. I remember “Swing your Partner” and other calls from the leader. I always tried to line up opposite the girl I secretly liked at the time.

Some of the Pentecostal and Assembly of God kids opted out (their parents opted them out is more accurate) and they went to the school library and read a book and had to do a book report on it or something like that while the rest of us danced. Some of them asked me what it was like when we had other classes together. I was sad they couldn’t join us. It was fun and harmless and there were adults to make sure everyone acted appropriately.

As others have touched on, it is believed by some faith traditions that dancing can lead to promiscuous behavior, kind of like marijuana can lead to harder drugs, especially with bodies pressed together and gyrating back and forth, etc.

Like a lot of stuff, I believe dancing can be abused, but it can also be a fun and harmless activity if done in the right attitude and environment.

Remember the hustle? Pre electric slide.

 

[John_Lazarus]

Dancing, playing cards, alcohol… all forbidden by many conservative churches. My guess is that grape juice was brought in to Communion services because of the evils of alcohol. It reminds me of Puritan culture.

Ecclesiastes 3:4…“A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn,** and a time to dance. **”

 

[Tommy999]

Knowing that I was an evangelical Christian, a jokester at my work who belonged to a Church of the Nazarene congregation once asked me, “Do you know why *Church of the Nazarene *folks can’t have sex standing up?”. “No”, I replied, slightly amused by such an unusual question.

He replied, “Because it might lead to dancing”. I almost fell out of my chair in laughter because I didn’t see it coming.

 

[Phemie]

I grew up listening to Allan Sherman.

youtube.com/watch?v=NVUdNUGgyT0

Jon

Don’t think I’d ever heard this one. LOVE IT!

 

[KjetilK]

Why can’t Europeans drink coffee?

Yeah! Wait, they don’t? How come brown cows don’t give chocolate milk?

I’m sure you took my point. But just in case you, or anyone else, didn’t, here it is: To say that Protestants (in general)* can’t dance because your aunt, who has become some kind of protestant, says that she cannot dance, is like saying that Europeans (in general)* can’t drink coffee because some European man has said that he can’t.

• I don’t identify as a Protestant, since it is no longer used in its original meaning. In fact, going by the original meaning, you couldn’t call Baptists or Pentacasotals Protestants.