Dancing in praise of God: Reinterpretation of theology in worship

Abstract

In many religions, worshipping God whilst moving the body is part of worship. This article aims to explain and defend the position that worshipping God by moving the body in liturgy is biblical and has a theological foundation. The discussion is divided into three. Firstly, the writer traces the origins of objections to bodily movements in liturgy and analyses them. Secondly, it is explained that body movement is a language to God. A biblical argument about body movements, which should not be trapped in appearance and drama, is the third part. The article concludes that worship by gestures is biblically substantiated. The research contribution suggests that the church should be accommodating in its orthodoxy to accept this as truth. The church should deem it important to teach the congregation the concept of true worship and not worship that is trapped in appearances. The key finding is that the meaning of worship lies not in the direction but in the worshippers’ hearts. Each church should have a unique way in their respective cultures. This article performs a theological reconstruction of worship theology and analyses it briefly through a literature review of several literature works such as books, articles and research findings.