Daily Bible Verse
Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able
to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and
having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having
shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace;
besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you
can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God.
Ephesians 6:13-17 Click Here to find out Edie's discovery of how the World Wide Web, and the book of Revelation are connected....how it will impact us very soon... The Book of Revelation spells it all out!  Dancing Salsa - Is it sinful???? A Biblical Perspective...
By my Dear Friends, and Brother Sister in the Lord, Stacey and Francisco
Is it sinful to dance salsa? No! (But there is a disclaimer to add to it)
We can go to the Bible to understand God’s view on it. Francisco and Stacey Martinez FRANCISCOANDSTACEY@prodigy.net Sooooo......... - He (God) turns our mourning into dancing! (Ps 30:11)
- Praise His name with dancing! (Ps 149:3)
- Praise Him with timbral and dancing! (Ps 150:4) ~ should be timbale, eh?
- There is a time to mourn ... a time to dance! (Eccles 3:4)
David was dancing before the Lord! (2 Sam 6:14) (Hah! - and David was called "a man after God’s own heart!" In addition, Jesus himself hailed that he was a direct descendant of you guessed it –David’s!) So those Scriptures tell us the following: God loves to see us dancing! When we are sad, He can turn it into dancing! We are told to worship Him with dancing! There is a time in life we SHOULD dance! So YES! Dance, dance, dance!!!!! However, I hear your heart, and maybe the further explanations would help calm your mind about other aspects of salsa dancing: First of all, men groping women while dancing or getting sexual pleasure out of it... THAT’S NOT DANCING! That is a cheap feel. So, we always want to consider our motives. After all, God looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7; Jer 17:10). That’s where you might want to ask yourself, "why am I here?" Is it to dance, or because it kinda turns me on to be touchy-feeley with men? It has been my personal experience that most everyone out there dances while maintaining common decency and respect. However, I know Edie, I, and many other women have walked off the dance floor when a guy has done something disgusting (it doesn’t matter how many people are watching). In fact, many guys you might have seen are known for their "crotch sniffing" or getting too close so you feel the "broomstick between their legs" (as Edie puts it). Therefore, if you’re a Christian, then what looks to be having sex on the dance floor could fall into what you mention "sinful" category. I think we’d all agree on that one – right? (I don’t need to list all the Scripture references on that one, do I?) Bottom line, getting sexual pleasure is not what many men or women are out there for. Most of us are out there to dance. Just dance. Not get a cheap feel. And I recognize we can’t always know the motives of others. We can only responsible for our own motives. So, if you ever get into a bad spot, and you need the courage to walk off the floor when a guy has pulled a cheap one, just take courage knowing you’re in good company! There are many of us women who have done it before you ~ so YOU GO GIRL!!! Secondly, it has been argued (even in areas on Salsaweb) that the origins of Salsa are spiritualistic dances that ultimately were to pagan gods – which God hates (Ex 20:3; Jer 22:9). In addition, Paul warns in 1 Thes 5:12-28 to "abstain from every form of evil." Personally, I don’t necessarily buy that today’s salsa would even fall into that classification. However, either way, if you are a Christian, God says, "He who is in you is greater than he (pagan gods, whatever) that is in the world". So, even if there were funky spiritualistic origins– I don’t know anyone today who is dancing salsa as a form of worship to pagan gods. But even if it was cultic or full of curses (which I’ve never heard it is, but just considering the worst case scenario)... you would still be protected by He who lives in you (the Holy Spirit) which is greater than any power on earth (or hell for that matter). "Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil." It all boils down to what are you submitting to. Are you submitting yourself and handing over the controls of your life to yourself, your own desires, or to God. If your life is in God’s hands, and you’ve truly handed over the controls of your life to Christ, NO WORRIES! He knows your heart, and you are protected.
A great example of what dance can mean to a person is my friend’s poem (who is both a strong Christian and professional dancer): Spirit Dance ~ By Francisco The leather of his shoes, sharply, caresses the
wooden floor as energy speeds his feet through a
moment in time. Whoa is he when such electricity
hits the air. Mighty eyes watch from above with pleasing
compassion, as the worshipping dancer displays
his celebration to his Father.
Each turn a physical manifestation of praise, each
movement a prayer of thanksgiving to the One
who, unconditionally, loved him first, and each
drumbeat an echo of his passionate heart that
shouts "a time to mourn and a time to dance!" As the crescendo of the music approaches, the
sweat of the warrior blinds his eyes, and he is
reminded that the falling of the rain is in the rhythm
of his life and the mighty wind the force of his dance. He leaps upon each note as he spins about his
canvas; painting his love, frustration and sorrow
with deliberate yet intensely powerful
brushstrokes. His eternal salvation, boldly
stamped upon it, as the signature to his work, by
the grace of his Almighty Father’s own hand. He ends on his knees, humbled by the sight of the
cross, to "fight the good fight." The music,
softly, plays on... only now to an angelical choir of praise. Finally, consider reading Scripture. Even the ones I’ve listed above and below, and consider what God says to you personally when you read. As God says, "For the word of God (the Bible) is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." He will speak to you through reading His word – He promises to ... and I think you might just like what He says! References to dancing in Scripture: Ps 30:11; Ps 149:3; Ps 150:4; Eccles 3:4; 2 Sam 6:14; Matt. 14:6; Ex. 32:19; Judg. 21:23; 1 Sam 18:6; Jer 31:13; Lam 5:15; Mark 6:22; Luke 7:32. All Scriptural references above from the New American Standard Bible Letters: (send letters to edie@salsaweb.com ) What can I say?? I feel so happy to see your site!! I am a Christian and I love the Lord. Music has always been my way of praising Him, but dancing was always seen as "bad." Ever since I can remember, I loved to dance. I felt like if someone had take away a part of me when people would talk about dancing. It wasn't until last year that I decided to go with what I felt inside. God knows that I love to dance and enjoy it very much. I was looking at your page and noticed the Bible verses on dancing. Those same verses were the ones that I would think about when people would tell me I was doing something bad. Unfortunately, I lost a couple of "Christian" friends because I started to go dancing. I understand what you mean when you said about how some men take advantage and do not dance for fun. Just walk away is what I've always said. It feels so good to see that there is someone out there trying to bring others to Christ. It gets hard at times, but someone told me that just being yourself you give your testimony. God gave me the gift of playing the piano and singing, now I can praise Him by dancing! Thank you so much and God Bless,
Lynda C. Recinos
Dear Edie,
Your comment on the Mark of the Beast prompted me to send you the following information that was brought to my attention a few days ago. A man in my home state of Texas applied for and received a United States Patent for a "Method for Verifying Human Identity During Electronic Sale Transactions". I put that in quotes as that is what has been patented. The idea was submitted in 1996 and was awarded this past year (1999). The interesting thing about this method is that it includes using an invisible ink. The patent application explains that: "...social conscience dictates that any permanent marking of humans not be conspicuous, such as a visible numbering on an arm like the holocaust victims." (Boy, is that an understatement!) While many who have read Revelation had pictured a tattoo of visible numbers on the right hand or forehead, it may be that the mark will be invisible in order for it to be socially acceptable (and therefore - in general - it won't have to be forced upon the mass population). This is the paragraph under the heading "Field of the Invention" The present invention relates to the identification of humans. More particularly, the present invention relates to the application of invisible, indelible tattoos on humans for purposes of identification in order to conduct monetary and credit transactions in a secure manner. The Abstract reads as follows:
A method is presented for facilitating sales transactions by electronic media. A bar code or a design is tattooed on an individual. Before the sales transaction can be consummated, the tattoo is scanned with a scanner. Characteristics about the scanned tattoo are compared to characteristics about other tattoos stored on a computer database in order to verify the identity of the buyer. Once verified, the seller may be authorized to debit the buyer's electronic bank account in order to consummate the transaction. The seller's electronic bank account may be similarly updated. To view all of the information on the invention/patent, you may go to the United States Government's Patent Office website at: http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html Then, under "Full-Text Database", click on: Patent Number Search
Then, search on the number: 5,878,155 I hope that you and all those on the e-mail list will find this information useful. May God grant us His Wisdom in these matters. A servant of the Lord Jesus Christ | 