Harlem Shake ... lewd suggestive dancing ... becoming popular amongst "Christians"

Christian colleges and churches “shaken” by pagan craze
By now you’re probably seen the viral “Harlem Shake” videos that are sweeping the nation with new versions uploaded to YouTube daily. If you haven’t, here’s how they work: First you see a subdued, well-behaved group or crowd. Suddenly you hear music audio declaring, “Con Los Terroristas!” A sole individual is then seen dancing while wearing a helmet or mask, while the others seem oblivious to the gyrations in their midst. When the song breaks into “Do the Harlem Shake!” the video cuts and shows the room filled with people in costumes dancing wildly and seductively. It is reminiscent of the Golden Calf scene in the Ten Commandments movie.

Here are students at The Cape Coral Vineyard Ministry:

Everyone’s doing it, including Christian colleges, and church youth groups. Christian News Network has gathered video from Rick Warren’s Saddleback high school ministry, the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, Providence Christian College, Kentucky Christian University, St. Louis Christian College, Northwest University and Cedarville University have all uploaded footage online of their youth breaking out dancing — sometimes with sensual and suggestive moves, and little clothing.

“It would seem that these institutions are in full sync with this culture rather than a witness to the lost,” stated Pastor David Whitney of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Pasadena, Maryland.

A video uploaded by a student at Cedarville University video shows male students dancing in their underwear, with two of the men making sexual poses at each other. One Liberty University video captures a student sporting a yellow shirt with the words “I pee in pools” as he gyrates on top of a couch with his shirtless friends. Another video from Liberty, entitled, “Two Men, One Dorm,” shows two men dancing sexually with one male wearing only a pair of spandex.

“Weird that these are the same kind of LU kids that say homosexuality is a sin,” wrote one commenter.

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Read more ... I wouldn't advise even clicking on the "Christian" videos (I didn't):

http://standupforthetruth.com/2013/03/christian-colleges-and-churches-shaken-by-pagan-craze/

This is just a silly dance. Personally, I think it is something dumb but it is just a silly dance. Those who are doing it in the church and recording are not using it to say it is God doing this. They are just joining in the craze of the dance itself.

Greg, that link you posted about Jesus and the devil and those youth doing that stupid dance. Although it is just a stupid dance I found that video very tasteless. What are youth leaders thinking in making these videos? Are they crazy?? If they are going to do this nonsense dance they really should take it outside and doing it in the parking and not in the church.

DEADn wrote:

This is just a silly dance. Personally, I think it is something dumb but it is just a silly dance.

Personally I can't seen anything silly about it.
Proverbs says:
Pro 14:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

If it can be a laughable (silly) matter to you, you may not have ever felt the horror of the guilt of sin and godly sorrow that accompanies true repentance (II Corinthians 7:10-11).

DEADn wrote:

They are just joining in the craze of the dance itself.

By "joining in the craze of the dance" they are making it obvious that they belong to the satanic spirit that is driving the dance. They should in no way decieve themselves into thinking that they are children of God.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Somehow these poor deceived souls need to be informed that the wrath of God is going to fall upon their "Christian" souls and they will burn in hell forever unless they truly repent of such evil deeds by trusting in the finished work of Christ.

THANK GOD for house churches and gospel fellowships that are getting away from the abominations that are going on in the official "churches" all across America!

not sure all the calls for hellfire 2 consume these dancers is necessary or even accurate, but the 'harlem shake' is no doubt foolishness and in poor taste. many people who are in2 doing this sort of thing are not interested in the deeper things of god and therefore are most likely unregenerate and lost and so not surprisingly they act like they are unregenerate and lost. u people get upset as these people as if they are brethren. they are not. they are unsaved, and as such we should pray for them. all the righteous indignation in the world never saved a soul.

When I was a child back in the 50's/60's just the name Jesus brought me into the church, I was interested in that name, and all I had heard about him. Today, it's open season, anything goes to draw people into the building, but when some Churches have a budget of a small city, I can see why. If the name Jesus is not enough to draw you in, and sustain your interest, something has gone terribly wrong in the building.

by SkepticGuy on 2013/3/12 2:44:51

not sure all the calls for hellfire 2 consume these dancers is necessary or even accurate, but the 'harlem shake' is no doubt foolishness and in poor taste. people who are in2 doing this sort of thing are not interested in the deeper things of god and therefore are most likely unregenerate and lost and so not surprisingly they act like they are unregenerate and lost. u people get upset as these people as if they are brethren. they are not. they are unsaved, and as such we should pray for them. all the righteous indignation in the world never saved a soul.

_______________

Greetings S.G.

This goes so far beyond foolishness or just bad taste. To see this happen among a group of people who claim to know JESUS, this is so heart breaking and sad, these are not young people of the world doing these things...these are young people who claim the name of JESUS doing these things. It should make us stop and take notice because something is very very wrong when young people that believe they are right with the LORD behave in such a way. You are right they are lost and deceived but they do not even realize this. Seeing something like this does make me want to pray for these lost ones. It moves me to pray that they would see through the deception they are in and repent. But it also makes me shudder to think what must be being taught in these places that these kinds of things can go on...I do think Paul and Peter would have had much to say and it would have begun with those in charge.

God bless
mj

Excellent point MrBill. Good post.

I would assume that the facilities were built for the purpose of a group of believers gathering to worship our Creator and Savior.

I have heard that in some these videos of this dance the people end up removing some of their clothing and doing sexually suggestive moves and such.

This does not belong in the Church or in the buildings built for worshipping Him.

What ever happen to Holy reverence for God?

thank u butters. glad sum1 said this very strongly. i was trying 2 be nice and diplomatic, but i think u said exactly what needs 2 be said. the judgementalism on this forum can be very thick sumtimes, and u sliced right through it. well done.

I think prayer is still the answer for these young ones. When those in the church behave like the world there is cause for alarm. Of course I will probably be called judgmental but I am honestly beginning to think that is a complement. I imagine that Paul, Peter, and John would have been called judgmental also because they called for those claiming to follow JESUS to "live" as HE did, holy and righteous lives.

I think its sad that so many are deceived into thinking that we can still hang out with the world and behave like the world and at the same time walk with JESUS.

For those who see this as "no big deal" I ask sincerely if your son or daughter was in one of these videos, moving and making the motions with their bodies as some are in these videos would you be fine with it? Would it cause you to pause for a moment if you saw your son or daughter dancing so inappropriately?

God bless
maryjane

I have never seen the Harlem shake, but I have had it explained to me. I don't think that the craze is problematic, but rather symptomatic.

I recall a church camp at which I volunteered to cook breakfast and do all of the handyman projects around the grounds and buildings. The director of the camp had structured the camp's theme around "The Hunger Games". It was a bit of a play on words as the hunger he was trying to get across was a hunger for the Lord. The problem was that the youth were intimately familiar with the movie. (I have never seen this one either, but I have heard of its themes and content.)

These things are symptoms of a church that is firmly plugged into the spirit of this age. This intimacy with the world, its entertainments, and its philosophies is the problem. The craze over the Harlem shake is only the natural and logical symptom or outworking of this problem.

It is not that we as believers should be unaware of what is happening in our society. We are not to be monastic and hide ourselves away. But we are to be careful that we are not active participants in the ways of this age and that we are not adopting as our own the philosophies of this age. We are to be in the world, but not of the world.

I think we as the church at large are too often unaware of the impact that this world is having upon us. We don't realize that there is a huge battle of philosophies being waged. Paul tells us that we need to be sure that we are not robbed of what is really of value by philosophies and vain deceits.

Being plugged into the life of God, into the Word, and into God's way of thinking will produce in us the evidence of intimacy with God, which will be peace, love, joy, holiness, the power of God, grace, etc. It will naturally cause us to bear the fruit of the Spirit as we have our roots in the Spirit. Being plugged into the world will produce in us the works of the flesh and the trappings of dead religious exercise, self-righteousness, worry, doubt, licentiousness, compromise, fleshliness, etc. The two philosophies are diametrically opposed to one another.

It is difficult, sometimes, to bring someone to realize how important this is. Deception has, bound up in its very definition, the fact that the deceived does not know he is deceived. I know many who, if I said, "You had not ought to be doing that.", would revolt against me and proclaim me to be self-righteous, judgmental, and unloving. In fact, they would proclaim me to be very un-Christ-like. I have found it best to simply proclaim clearly the truth of the word of God, and allow the Holy Spirit to use that word to divide between soul and spirit in their own lives. For a few that I know of, the light has begun to dawn and God is leading them into some significant changes in their habits.

there is a "the sky is falling" mentality here. the harlem shake is a fad just like gangum style was. gangum style is out of date already and its not even a year old yet. there will be sumthing else to draw the ire of all those who find demons behind every shrub. not saying the concerns are not legitimate, just saying it is becoming increasingly difficult to stomache the judgementalism among sum of u. a while ago after i signed up 4 this forum i cruised some of the older threads still available here. i read sum where people here were questioning the salvation of christians who celebrate christmas. i am thankful that father god is my judge.

Haven't posted in a while - but been lurking a bit. Had to reply to this as part of my job requires some understanding of internet 'culture' and trends/fads, especially viral and social media and knew of this long before it became 'big'. (Hope I don't sound too hipster there!)

Irrespective of what you may think of my post, I hope that some find it helpful to know something of it's background - the Harlem Shake is historically a drunken dance - quote from the Wiki entry on it: Al B (originator of the dance move) is quoted saying that the dance is "a drunken shake anyway, it's an alcoholic shake, but it's fantastic, everybody appreciates it."

To perform drunken dancing in a church setting seems a little disrespectful to a Holy God.

Then the lyrics, which roughly translated:

With the terrorists
Hey Shake
Hey Shake
Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey
Shake, Ta. Ta
And do the Harlem Shake
Shake Hey, Hey

Shake, Shake
Hey
Shake, Shake, Shake
With the terrorists
Hey, with terrorists
Hey, Hey

Again, probably not something to sing in a church context. And what's with all the terrorist stuff?

Finally, consider that the artist is getting royalties from the lyrical samples he has stolen, if you understand the music industry in any way, uncleared samples are a no-no and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Sure, it's a silly dance, rapidly becoming annoying - but think on this: If people attend a church just because they're doing a fad dance craze, what happens after? I won't personally watch the C3 church video because I consider it utter blasphemy to Jesus Christ.

As much as this is just a stupid craze (which a number of us would wish goes away quickly) the depths to which a church uses the world... I'm lost for words here.

If people attend a church just because they're doing a fad dance craze, what happens after?

good post, brother. thank u.

i maintain that NO ONE who is unsaved attends church because the church is doing a fad dance craze. in fact, i think the world looks on and thinks the church is stupid when it does things like that. i would agree. i just stop short of condemning people to hell as has been done here.

Greetings

After reconsidering my last post I feel that the person I was addressing might misunderstand my meaning and I did not want to cause any ill will so I have decided to remove it. I do not want to cause any strife and feel that I have shard all the LORD has for me to on this topic so I will just say I think praying for those who are lost in the world is the best way to respond at this time.
God bless
mj

by SkepticGuy on 2013/3/12 14:08:00

i just stop short of condemning people to hell as has been done here.

WHO has condemned anyone to hell in this thread???

When someone makes a statement like this:

"Somehow these poor deceived souls need to be informed that the wrath of God is going to fall upon their "Christian" souls and they will burn in hell forever unless they truly repent of such evil deeds by trusting in the finished work of Christ."

you are falsely accusing the person to say that he is "condemning people to hell"

Definition of Condemn: "2.Sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, esp. death: "the rebels had been condemned to death"."

When someone simply repeats what God has already declared in the Bible like:

"except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

or

"Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

or

"Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

That person is simply SOUNDING THE WARNING of what such people will be faced with on the REAL day when God WILL pass the eternal sentence on such people and send them to eternal hell.

God has already declared what He will do on the day of judgment. If I sound His warning (as I should if I am faithful to Him), I am not declaring the final condemnation (it is not over yet ... that person just might repent), I am warning of what THE JUDGE has already declared that He will do!

I really pity the masses of Christian people who have been duped into believing that Christians are not supposed to judge. I recently saw a cartoon (in Spanish) that depicted that situation:

The member is about to enter the church, and the usher has opened his head, and pulled out his brain, and he is politely saying: "Let me have this ... you won't need it here".

When a misinformed religious leader tells you that you are not supposed to judge, he is telling you to NOT USE YOUR BRAIN! "Just accept whatever we tell you ... If we say we are Christians and we act sincere ... don't measure anything that we do by the Bible and form any kind of conclusion that we could be decieved ... you're not supposed to do that ..."

Definition of Judge: to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises

Christians are INSTRUCTED to judge in God's Word!

Go to e-sword. Search the word "judge". You might be shocked at what you find.

Has anyone ever checked to see if they may possibly be letting the cultural mentality of acceptance influence their ability to discern? It is very easy to allow that to happen. I think we should all read Revelation 4 and recognize the glory of God. If Christians are the ambassadors of God, then Christians are called to reflect the glory of God. If you want to compare The Harlmem dance to Revelation 4, you'll see there are only contrasts, not likenesses. Simple reasoning suggests this is not the glory of God. To simplify the matter, Paul says to do all things as unto the Lord. Understanding this will answer the question, "Should I be okay with Christians doing this?"

very good point..Anamosa41..

the glory of GOD should be our prime motivation in all areas of our Life..

And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
(Jer 33:9)

would it not be great if these young people turned off thier music and picked up God's word at service.. and shake at his Goodness and Holiness...\\
what a sight that would be... God please raise a up a generation that would stand for you and your Gospel...

andy

by SkepticGuy on 2013/3/12 14:08:00

i just stop short of condemning people to hell as has been done here.

WHO has condemned anyone to hell in this thread???

When someone makes a statement like this:

"Somehow these poor deceived souls need to be informed that the wrath of God is going to fall upon their "Christian" souls and they will burn in hell forever unless they truly repent of such evil deeds by trusting in the finished work of Christ."

you are falsely accusing the person to say that he is "condemning people to hell"

Definition of Condemn: "2.Sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, esp. death: "the rebels had been condemned to death"."

When someone simply repeats what God has already declared in the Bible like:

"except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

or

"Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

or

"Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

That person is simply SOUNDING THE WARNING of what such people will be faced with on the REAL day when God WILL pass the eternal sentence on such people and send them to eternal hell.

God has already declared what He will do on the day of judgment. If I sound His warning (as I should if I am faithful to Him), I am not declaring the final condemnation (it is not over yet ... that person just might repent), I am warning of what THE JUDGE has already declared that He will do!

Good post. A person with worldly wisdom cannot understand the difference you have quoted here between judgment and carrying the message about God's judgment.

For example - when Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:14 :- Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

Paul is not passing Judgement on Alexander but conveying the judgment that God has told Paul that he is going to bring on Alexander.

If certain SI posters had read this letter during Paul's time, they will go and advice Paul not to say such thing against Alexander!!!

I am not here to judge these dancing men but I can talk to them about God's judgment, to show them how serious it is to be in the household of God.

oh boy, here we go again with the bizarre story of wilkerson at a christian rock concert (mylon lefevre and broken heart) from 30 years ago.

i have 2 bow out of this conversation now. i cant reason with unreasonableness. (is that a word?)

Just a reminder that we are all called as believers to endeavor to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The peace of Christ is to govern (umpire) our hearts. When two teams see a close call differently, the umpire has the final say. Peace should be the final say among believers in Christ Jesus.

We all experience grief over the way things are expressed at times, but even in the expression of our pain, let's be careful that we are not guilty of the same attitude we claim to be troubled by.

If we are truly troubled by what a brother or sister in Christ is not expressing properly, are we not to be gracious towards them as Christ is towards us. He does reprove, but it is always to restore, and His aim is always that we be made perfect in one.

I do not wish to spotlight any particular person, so please do not go looking for the source with a magnifying glass. Let mercy saturate even the consideration of the example I will reference. It does not matter "who" said it, we are all in the same need of mercy. It does matter that we all recognize the enemy's scheme to divide us against one another.

Here is an example of a less than loving and gracious response at what is perceived to be critical and judgmental opinions:

" not saying the concerns are not legitimate, just saying it is becoming increasingly difficult to stomache the judgementalism among sum of u."

Again, it is not important who said this, but please consider if there is not just as much judgment in the above statement as there is in what it attempted to address

makrothumia

i said it. (u didnt desguise it well considering that my spelling and style is unique)

we judge everything. what we do, what people say, what we eat. when i first came to this forum i had a lot of questions about faith and god. i was judged quite harshly by many here. 1 person took the time to answer sum of my questions. a sister on this forum. no one else would, but many were quick to attack me simply becuz of the name i chose for this forum. so i think i am in a good position 2 be able 2 stop judementalism when it rears up, brother.

as time has gone by several brothers here have let their guard down and found out that i am not what they originally thought i was. so i will give credit where credit is due.

I really am more sympathetic to your groaning than you might realize. I am a self-confessed Pharisee, and I know many others like myself. I also know far too many who have been hurt by "judgmentalism" and have seen too many church fellowships splintered through biting and devouring.

What I hope to highlight is that simply "reacting" against
the faults of judmentalism by judging rather than loving intercession only accomplishes the enemy's work - discord among the brethren.

The accuser of the brethren need not fabricate lies, because too many of us are easily gullible to bludgeon one another with the facts.

Seeing a fault through the Spirit of Christ and pleading for light and revelation to be given to set the prisoner free from the blindness is far more productive than expressing our growing disgust towards other brothers.

Even if they be "THE LEAST" of our loving brothers.

points taken under consideration.

This is the point of the other brother above who quoted you. Instead of receiving his gentle rebuke, you chose to react again sarcastically and missed a wonderful opportunity to humble yourself.

i DID accept what mark said. thats what "points are taken under consideration" means. are u looking for sumthing more from me?

i was going to respond 2 the wilkerson thing, but there is no point.

i would have thought this would have died out by now. the shelf life of crazes like the harlem shuffle are extremely short. give it time and it will fade and there will be sumthing else to be upset about. but as solomon said "there is nuthin new under the sun".