In a story that must seem pretty wacky to the rest of the world, I noted with amusement and some satisfaction that conservative evangelical Wheaton College will be lifting its 143-year old ban on dancing. It may seem stupid and narrowminded to most, but these sort of rules have been in place for many years. They’re mostly left over from the days when going to dances, movies, pool halls, and even bowling alleys was considered flirting with the dark side.
I experienced this firsthand about ten years ago at a friend’s wedding. This fairly conservative Christian couple had hired a DJ and later in the evening I noticed the mother of one of the bridesmaids sitting with a wistful look in her eye. Almost tearfully, she told me how glad she was that people were dancing. It was painful for her to realize that she herself had been denied the chance to express herself in this way. It seems silly, but for several generations of people of faith, it was deadly serious.
Bravo to Wheaton for pulling their head out of the sand. Now somebody’s got to teach those kids to dance!
feeling a little footloose, are we?
please forgive this joke overheard in my youth at a mormon dance:
“Why can’t Baptists have sex standing up?”
“Because God will think they’re dancing.”
*groan*