Unchaste handling of males and females

Lasciviousness is applicable to any form of dance that, outside the bonds of marriage, would involve touching body areas that are sensitive to sexual stimulation. This will include any dancing that brings couples too close or touching in full frontal contact. This condemns the typical popular slow dance that involves a full body embrace for long time with swaying and rubbing the bodies together.

These are basically the very kinds of modern dancing that are typically engaged at many high school proms, sock hops, holiday parties, discotheques, and nightspots. The sin of lasciviousness rules out this kind of dancing, and the faithful Christian will not participate.

Lasciviousness enters into not only popular modern nightclub dancing but can actually enter any of the styles or forms of dancing previously listed. For example, the hokey pokey of childhood games is innocent enough when a foot, elbow, or head-bone is the body part "shaken all about." When the dance calls for the "tail-bone" to be shaken all about, it crosses the line. We may think it's cute and harmless for children to do this, but we are effectively teaching them this kind of bodily movement in dance is okay for them when they get older.

Dancing can send a very powerful message and hold a strong influence upon us. We have seen in scripture where dancing aided the loss of self-control, lowered inhibitions, and resulted in irreverent behavior (Exodus 32:25). Scripture has also shown us that dancing can cloud our thinking and provoke us to do things we would not normally do if we were not otherwise distracted by desires of the flesh (Mark 6:22). It is very easy for young couples struggling to remain pure while unmarried to engage in unlawful sexual activity after being so strongly stimulated with dance.