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).

     I have made a stupid mistake that has been haunting me for the past few months; I have trouble sleeping and eating a full meal.  It happened when I was working out in our field during planting season.  One of the fertilizer cylinders wasn't working; I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought, "I'd give my soul to make this stupid thing work," and within five seconds, it worked.

Is there no hope for me?  Is my soul damned to hell?

Sincerely,
Petrified

Dear Petrified,

Saying that you would give up your soul to make the fertilizer cylinder work doesn’t guarantee your eternal destiny any more than saying, “I’ll go to heaven if I fix the fertilizer cylinder.”  We aren’t the final judge of our eternal home – Christ is (2 Tim 4:1).  If you have done what Christ teaches you must do to be saved, you will go to heaven (read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for specifics on the steps of salvation), and if you turn away from Christ, you will be lost (Acts 4:12).  Everyone deserves to go to hell because of their sins (Rom 6:23), but Christ offers to save us if we love and obey Him (Jhn 14:15).  What you did in the past doesn’t matter; what you do now is what counts (2 Cor 6:1-2).

Having said that, in the future, it would be best to refrain from that sort of language.

      I have a friend at work that has raised a thought to ponder I have never heard of:

1. If Jesus Christ wrote any part of the New Testament, my friend speculated that those writings were destroyed.
2. If Jesus Christ did not write down any part of the New Testament (other than in the sand), then my friend’s question was: "Why not?" and are there any passages that answer that question?

Sincerely,
Caught Off Guard

Dear Caught Off Guard,

What your friend is doing is bringing up a hypothetical assertion and expecting you to disprove it.  That is the exact opposite of how the Bible works.  If someone wants to assert that Jesus wrote a part of the New Testament and that Jesus' writings were later destroyed, he must come with evidence to back up such a claim.  The responsibility is on him to prove that point.

As far as why Jesus never wrote part of the New Testament, anything we say would be purely speculation.

     Did the Bible come after Adam and Eve, or did they have a Bible?

Sincerely,
Early Reader

Dear Early Reader,

The Bible took roughly sixteen hundred years to write, and the first five books were written around 1425 BC by Moses.  Moses lived thousands of years after Adam and Eve, and that means that Adam and Eve didn’t have a copy of the Bible.  The reason for this is simple – the Old Testament is a law for Jewish people (Deu 5:1-3), and the New Testament is a law for christians (1 Cor 9:21)… Adam and Eve weren’t Jews or christians.  Adam and Eve had a law from God, and it can be found in Gen 2:15-17.  Adam and Eve’s law was to care for the Garden of Eden and to never eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God has always had laws for people to live by, but Adam and Eve’s laws were different than ours.

     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).