Has God ever approved of dancing?

Sincerely,
Hip To Be Square

Dear Hip To Be Square,

God says there is a time to dance (Eccl 3:4), but the kind of dancing so often encouraged today is not wholesome.  Modern dancing is designed to be sexually provocative, and it puts young men and women in compromising positions that nurture the sort of behavior and attitudes that lead to sexual immorality and unhealthy relationships.  We are told to flee fornication (1 Cor 6:18), to do things that are honorable (Rom 12:17), and to avoid even the appearance of evil (1 Thess 5:21-22).  School dances, at best, put teens in situations that don’t appear godly, and at worst, can lead to things like pre-marital sex.  When people engage in the type of dancing so often seen in today’s culture, they act in a way that appears indecent and gives room for the lust of the flesh to overpower them (Rom 6:12, 1 Jn 2:16).

    Do you know why the medium freaked out after seeing the ghostly Samuel (1 Sam 28:12)?

Sincerely,
Surprise Me

Dear Surprise Me,

One reason she was so scared was because once she realized that the man who had hired her to conjure up a ghost was King Saul, she feared for her life.  Saul had previously cast out all the mediums from the land (1 Sam 28:3).  The other likely reason was that she had never actually seen a ghost!  Mediums and sorcerors were charlatans back then just as much as they are today.

     I thought that when you die in the flesh, you enter into rest.  So how is it that people are visited by spirits or deceased family members?  If the dead are all raised together, and no one sees the Father until Christ’s return, how are these things possible?

Sincerely,
Casper

Dear Casper,

The idea of ghosts cannot be found in the Bible, and they aren’t real, no matter how many stories people come up with, thinking they have been visited by dead ancestors.  Ghosts are supposedly the souls or spirits of those who have died.  These dead souls are presumed to be wandering the Earth, interacting with the living from time to time.  The Bible tells us what happens when we die, and there is no Halloween-ish spiriting involved.  Jesus told the story of a wicked, rich man and a faithful, poor man named Lazarus in Lk 16:19-31.  When these two men died, the rich man immediately woke up in torment, and Lazarus was escorted to Paradise (Lk 16:22-23).  This is what happens when the righteous and the wicked die.  There is no wandering or ghostly haunting.  In fact, the rich man was specifically told that the dead aren’t sent back to the earth to preach or affect the course of events here (Lk 16:27-31).  We die, and then we wait to face the judgment (Heb 9:27).

     Since the printing press wasn't invented until 1440, who was charged with hand copying the Scriptures up until that time?  Do we owe these men a debt of gratitude?

Sincerely,
Writing My Thanks

Dear Writing My Thanks,

The people who copied the New Testament were many and varied, but we know quite a lot about those who copied the Old Testament.  The people who copied the Bible were so accurate and detail-oriented… they would put any OCD accountant to shame.  Those who made copies of the Old Testament were called ‘scribes’.  Ezra, from the book of Ezra, was a scribe (Ezra 7:6).  Scribes are recorded throughout Jewish history, from the time of David (2 Sam 8:17) all the way into the time of Christ (Matt 8:19).  Scribes were so proficient at copying text that they were also employed as lawyers because of their precise knowledge of all things legal.

When scribes copied a biblical text, they had some very stringent rules that they followed.  Secular history tells us that these rules were universal amongst scribes, and the rules were followed very, VERY strictly.  Here are some of those rules:

1. Every word must be verbalized aloud while writing.
2. There must be a review within thirty days, and if more than three pages required corrections, the whole document was destroyed.
3. Letters, words, and paragraphs were counted, and the middle paragraph, word, and letter must correspond to the original document.
4. If two letters touched, the entire manuscript had to be redone.
5. Each column of writing could have no less than forty-eight, and no more than sixty, lines.

As you can tell from the list, scribes were exceptionally meticulous about accuracy.  The proof of this accuracy can be seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, amongst them was uncovered a copy of the Book of Isaiah that had been written by scribes.  This copy of Isaiah was ONE THOUSAND years older than any other previous copy.  Yet, over that thousand-year time span, there was no notable disagreement between the manuscripts.  In fact, the only difference between the Dead Sea Scroll copy and the other copies were punctuation marks and spelling differences.  There is no doubt that God has perfectly preserved the Bible over the centuries.

     Is it biblical to raise your hand(s) during praise and worship songs?  Why do people raise their hand(s) during song?  Is there a right and wrong way to lift your hand(s)?

Sincerely,
Palms Up

Dear Palms Up,

The practice of lifting up your hands during worship is traced to 1 Tim 2:8, but unfortunately, many people misunderstand this verse.  There is nothing wrong with literally lifting up your hands to God, but Paul is telling them to “lift up holy hands, without wrath and disputing”.  The context is about a certain lifestyle that people were to have.  It is similar to the saying, “Put your hand to the plow” in Lk 9:62.  ‘Lifting up holy hands’ refers to working, laboring, and serving in a godly way.  Christians are to serve God faithfully, without arguing and disputing with each other.  ‘Lifting up holy hands’ has nothing to do with how high your arms are raised when you pray; it has to do with the character of the life you live.  Are we living holy lives when our hands serve God (1 Cor 4:12)?  Raising your hands during worship has the impression of godliness, but living faithful lives actually fulfills God’s command to ‘lift up holy hands’ (2 Tim 3:5).