Dancing
I've been thinking about why Christians should dance. I always told my boys (they were, mostly, reluctant and needed persuading!) that there were many good reasons for dancing. One, you can practice good manners: two, you can practice not banging into anyone while you are moving about; three, girls like dancing and it is much more pleasant for them if you consider THEIR enjoyment of the process (rather than mechanically going through the motions with a grim face on!).
Anyway, I just got a really good package from the EFSDS which has a DVD, Book and CD. Many of the dances on here I haven't come across before AND some of them are filmed at the Chichester folk dancing club - it shows people of all ages having great fun together. I thought of some other things about dancing as a consequence.. It must not be an opportunity for one person to 'pose' for the entertainment of others (or to show off because they feel their superiority), nor must it be an opportunity for girls or boys to use their bodies in such a way as to be enticing. I wish it were not so readily an opportunity for brothers to shout out in angry voices when their brothers have AGAIN ended up in the wrong place or paused long enough to throw things out of sync!
so, now for the profound bit. If marriage is a unifying element of society (whether any given marriage experience is 'good' or 'bad') then the essence of Country Dancing has to be an excellent picture of the community at large. God sets the lonely in families, He it was who said 'it is not good for man to be alone. The different components of folk dancing are playing out the fact that people work together harmoniously in society, sometimes the girls do things together, sometimes the chaps, sometimes, in a social setting, we have exchanges with those of the opposite sex, and that has it's place (so long as we know where we are going back to!!).
and a daring bit... There have been those who have suggested that dancing (as a picture of community life, including women) is a necessary 'civilising' component for men. Think about it - boys get to 14 and want to go about fighting, arguing, shooting things, eating pigeons, sleeping in the mud, walking through the house with boots covered with peat because they need to go to the bathroom and don't want to make the effort of removing footwear... Where would this 'decline' (I jest of course, boys need to do this kind of stuff!) STOP? I think it was Robert E. Lee who was praised for his expertise on the dance floor - and that wasn't 'disco' dancing - which, incidentally, is a reflection of the outworking of French-Revolutionary thinking. (The individualism.) or 'ballroom dancing' which is only a stepping stone from the large group dancing together to the pernicious individualism of the 20th century. (this is an obsession with 'me and you' which is most unhealthy).
Well, that's my two-penn'orth for now. I have another set of thoughts waiting to be worked out on a blog but will spare you for now.