11/16/14

Dear David,

I think you will agree that the word of God tells us to clean up our own house, not to try to clean up the fallen world & worldly society - all of which is headed for a permanent, cosmic incinerator.

Your comment about a Kerry strategy being a rerun of the devil's 3rd temptation of Christ was insightful.

But if you are a believer, you cannot reconcile proclaiming God's truths to a fallen world, while at the same time promoting what most of partner dancing has unfortunately become: a pride-of-life & lustful vertical enactment of a horizontal activity among the unmarried, and in public (poor witness), and in celebration of ungodly music.

Partner dancing can be an excellent and rather accurate enactment of our God-given and right lead-follow relationship of equal-but-opposite halves, and in ways that could full 10 pages to describe. It is so good for this that I've employed it in ministering reconciliation to marriages.

But even by twisting the bible into a pretzel, we cannot make it appropriate as a social activity for anyone not in a valid lifelong union (married), or headed for one (betrothed). God's word has numerous examples of dancing for the glory of God & Christ, but none of it is partner dancing.

If you are going to claim the faith & walk - which is a narrow road that few will find, to a distant gate where few will enter, and has always been very unpopular & at emnity with this world (as was its Founder), I offer that you must find conviction by the Spirit of this doublemindedness, and turn away from this course, lest you yourself fall into hell while pointing others heavenward.

So, rather than post polemics aimed in other distant directions, you could start with the 10,000 right at hand whom you have helped to snooker into an immoral & fleshly pursuit - and for lucre, no less. Otherwise, your testimony is of no value nor credibility.

His,
Frank

11/16/04 Second Letter

David,

Thank you for your note.

All of that is true, if not moreso. Nowhere in the bible is wine bad (only drunkness is sin), nor is sex bad (adultery & fornication are sin). These things are gifts of God and scripture plainly says so.

Let us take care not to misapply one precept to another. There is no such thing as immorality in moderation for us.

Our Lord always raised the true standards, never lowered any. Under Christ, we are told, a wrongful sexual or romantic desire engaged in is as sinful as the act. We are also commanded to flee temptation - not to test it night after night. Further, we are not to tempt our brother/sister to stumble, no matter what we ourselves may or may not be able to resist.

It is hard to get around the fact that partner dancing is a spiritual & moral can of worms, no matter how we slice it up. I have been involved with it as long as yourself (though I have been more ballroom/performance dancing oriented).

Dance is powerful. I have taken to a sinful club floor with a partner for 15 minutes, and had hardcore straying spouses who beheld true lead/follow beauty leave the place in conviction to return to their spouses - without speaking a word to them.

But it is easy to maximized this to the exclusion of all the rest.

We cannot deny that most of the partner dance world runs on addiction to an emotional fantasy thought to be "safer and cleaner" than going out & getting laid. Even if we could ignore the narcissim & worldliness that often accompanies it, Christ told us that these 2 things are the same to Him.

Sooner or later (sooner is better), we all have to face this, admit that God is always right & we are always wrong, and see our own falleness. Gently, there isn't much point in finding a cleaner, safer way to condemnation.

From a spiritual standpoint, the main difference btw a ballroom and a whorehouse, is that the participants keep their clothes on, and we both know that actual sexual affairs arising from dancing are less common than many like to think. In fact, at least in the BR world, a great many dance addicts are substituting a much easier Cinderella/Prince fantasy for the far more difficult real-world dealing with a life partner, who isn't fun all the time and who actually makes demands to be met. So we are not talking about wrongful sex here for the most part, but it's spiritual equivalent.

It is written: "There is a way that seems right to a man (*not* questionable, suspect or screwy), but it's end is destruction."

So it is not my purpose nor cause to argue the case or even continue to defend it, but only to point it out. Once I have done so, it is no longer my affair, David.

But I will tell you that dance was my life and I struggled with this as a believer for years, so am not talking down to anyone. In years of instructing, social hosting & teaching International with hundreds of women, I never had sex with any of them. But I certainly though of fucking half of them in one way or another, however briefly, and you have too.

I have seen a number of marriages broken because of dancing, numberless people as addicted to it as one could be to drugs & with the same effects, and a lot of what the fire-&-brimstone preachers used to say about it was unfortunately right.

Thx the read.

- f.

11/16/04 Third Letter

In a message dated 11/16/2004 2:10:09 PM Eastern Standard Time, Swingandhustle writes:

i have seen as many marriages broken for lack of dancing, whre women married the guy who slept with them, rather than the guy they had something in common with.

Marriage doesn't rightfully have anything to do with either of these things. Marriage is an irrevocable life committment bound by a miracle & mystery of God. It predates all faiths and even sin, so applies to all people no matter what they believe. Marriage is not a relatiobnship, as implied by your typed comment - it is a union, which is a very different thing, David.

I for one don't make partners out of other people's wives or girl friends.

A dance partner is anyone you dance one dance with during that dance.

Let's be clear in our thinking & terms.

11/16/04 Fourth Letter

Only being accurate, not picky. Don't see how any of this relates meaningfully to the subject of the fleshliness of partner dancing.

;-) 

11/16/04  Fifth Letter

No, dear heart - HOLINESS is what it relates to.

"Let God be true, and every man a liar."

11/16/04  Sixth Letter

David,

How Pharrisaic.

Theology, simply defined, is man's best attempts to understand and explain God in man's terms.

The Christian faith, simply defined, is about getting to know God only on His terms - whether we understand them all or not - and following them, at any cost.

There are at least 20,000 theological divisions claiming the faith today - which is 5,000 times more than when Paul first took on the problem at Corinth, when there were only 4. But there is only one Body.

You heart is in the right place, David - but God put our hearts in the left place. :-)

All believers are called, equipped & commanded to fulltime vocational ministry.

If you do believe that the word of God is absolute truth, then whenever 2 believers disagree over what any part of it may mean, one or both are in error & need further edification.

You may recall that our Lord had a particular disdain for the theologians, and proved them all to be in error. You may recall that Paul was once one himself, prior his conversion.

Spiritual pride, David, was the first & biggest sin in the universe.