Dance and the Christian Faith


Book Description

This book examines what the bible says about both dance and worship, and relates it to an understanding of what dance is and how it can be used in the church and education today. Martin Bloggs relates his faith to his profession of teaching Dance Drama and his non verbal approach to Christian dance opens new avenues for the expression of the faith. The book is a critical discussion, both theoretical and practical, into the nature and conditions of religious dance seen within the disciplines of Scripture Education and Art.Although centred on dance much of the discussion is directly relevant to the performing arts in general.




The Divine Dance


Book Description

The Divine Dance has become a classic for fans of Richard Rohr and an important book on Christian mysticism, it provides a fresh perspective for anyone studying or teaching the trinity. The Trinity is the central doctrine of Christianity, but it is still widely considered a mystery we won't ever fully understand. Should we still try to understand it, even so? If we could, how would it transform our relationship with God? In this stimulating and thought-provoking book, internationally recognised teacher Richard Rohr explores the nature of God and the paradoxical idea of the Holy Trinity as both three and one. With clear, surefooted wisdom, he encourages us to build on the early Christian understanding of the relationship between Father, Son and Spirit as a flow and dance - a Divine Dance - that we are invited to join in. An engaging, accessible look at the nature of God, The Divine Dance will challenge the way you think about the Trinity and give you a much fuller understanding of the triune relationship that is at the heart of Christian doctrine. It will leave you with a faith that is renewed and strengthened, and show you how you can engage more deeply in your relationship with God and the world through the Trinity.




Encountering God Through Dance


Book Description

Release the Kingdom through Dance! You can experience God’s presence and healing power through dance. Encountering God Through Dance equips believers to worship Jesus in wholehearted devotion—to express love without fear or shame. What people are saying: Encountering God Through Dance is the wonderful journey of a radical lover of God…and a manual for instruction and inspiration. —Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor, Bethel Church This is by far the most refreshing book I have read in a long time. Saara Taina has given her life to a core area of life that is far too marginalized in many churches. —Marc A. Dupont, Mantle of Praise Ministries, Inc. Rarely do you see a book that offers passion, testimonies, and biblical expertise so that others can be fully equipped. —Theresa Dedmon, Director of Prophetic Arts, Bethel Church We have personally experienced the breakthrough power of the dance many, many times in Succat Hallel, our 24/7 worship room that overlooks Mount Zion in Jerusalem. —Rick and Patti Ridings, Succat Hallel The author’s personal journey of devotion through dance has taken her worldwide. She wraps her exciting travels with a solid biblical framework for the importance of dance in the Kingdom of God—on earth, today!




Real Christians Don't Dance!


Book Description

"Free from sarcasm and ridicule, Real Christians Don't Dance challenges the evangelical Church to identify true Christianity from the sub-culture that has developed around it, to discover what is real obedience and love. Readers may discover in their lives more tradition than truth, more Christianity than Christ, more fundamentalism than faith, more law than love." -- Back cover




Dreaming with God


Book Description

The world tells us that the way to make all our dreams come true is to set our own course and strive every day. But when it's all on us, we end up feeling exhausted, frustrated, and, disappointed when things don't turn out as we'd hoped. Have you ever wondered if there was a better way? There is. God knows the desires of our hearts--he put them there. And he calls us to trust, to lean on him, and sometimes . . . to wait. Weaving together her unique perspective as a professional ballerina with profound truths drawn from Scripture and the life of faith, Sarah Beth Marr reminds us that we are not dreaming alone. If God has given us a dream, we can be sure that he will come alongside us as we work toward realizing it. Using her own story as a catalyst, Marr encourages women to surrender their plans to God, to stay in tempo with his Spirit, and to step into a deeper relationship with Christ. When they do, she says, they will be able to move confidently into the future, knowing that their dreams and God's desires are aligned in perfect harmony.




The Great Dance


Book Description

"The Great Dance" is astonishing vision of human life and the mystery of its intersection with the life of the Triune God. Dr. Kruger charts a course from the Trinity to the incarnation to the union of humanity with God in Jesus Christ. In that light he offers a breathtaking interpretation of our human existence as participation in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit. He uncovers the untold dignity of our ordinary humanity--from motherhood to baseball, from relationships and music to golf, gardening and designing lakes. This is a book about who we are and why we are here and what is really happening in our lives. Step by step, Dr. Kruger walks us through the stratagems of evil and the messes we make of our lives. More important, he explains why we hurt, what we are really after and how to get there, and why faith in Jesus Christ is so critical for abundant life. "The Great Dance" is theology at its very best--steeped in tradition, yet unfamiliar and exciting, even revolutionary; deeply personal and honest, yet universally relevant. Written with pace and poetry and winsome grace, "The Great Dance" is the voice of the ancient church speaking to us across the ages through the pen of a Southerner who loves life. C. Baxter Kruger (Ph.D., Kings College, University of Aberdeen) is a theologian, writer, and fishing lure designer. A native of Prentiss, Mississippi, he has worked as a minister to college students, as a lecturer in theology, and as an associate pastor. He is an avid fisherman and golfer, loves coaching little league baseball and has designed a range of fishing lures called "Dr. K's Klones." He and his wife Beth have three children -- Baxter, Laura and Kathryn.




Doctrine That Dances


Book Description

With enthusiasm and intelligence, professor Robert Smith steps up the interest in doctrinal preaching and teaching with Doctrine That Dances.




Introducing Dance in Christian Worship


Book Description

The history of dancing in liturgy ... models for using dance in the eucharist ... and examples of dance consistent with the church year. How to dance. Why to dance. And how dance fits into liturgy. Kane's easy-to-follow format lets you choose the right movement for different parts of worship, much as you would choose the right music. VerEecke shares his personal account as a dancer - a theologian's conception of his art. Gagne provides a historical look at dance in worship and a chronology of the events which have shaped attitudes toward dance. Includes suggested gestures for danced prayer, step-by-step dance movements for use in your church, and many photographs. Inspiring. Informative. Easily reachable. A practical guide - with scholarship to back it up. -- from back cover.




The Universal Christ


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.




Ringleaders of Redemption


Book Description

In popular thought, Christianity is often figured as being opposed to dance. Conventional scholarship traces this controversy back to the Middle Ages. Throughout the medieval era, the Latin Church denounced and prohibited dancing in religious and secular realms, often aligning it with demonic intervention, lust, pride, and sacrilege. Historical sources, however, suggest that medieval dance was a complex and ambivalent phenomenon. During the High and Late Middle Ages, Western theologians, liturgists, and mystics not only tolerated dance; they transformed it into a dynamic component of religious thought and practice. This book investigates how dance became a legitimate form of devotion in Christian culture. Sacred dance functioned to gloss scripture, frame spiritual experience, and imagine the afterlife. Invoking numerous manuscript and visual sources (biblical commentaries, sermons, saints' lives, ecclesiastical statutes, mystical treatises, vernacular literature, and iconography), this book highlights how medieval dance helped shape religious identity and social stratification. Moreover, this book shows the political dimension of dance, which worked in the service of Christendom, conversion, and social cohesion. In Ringleaders of Redemption, Kathryn Dickason reveals a long tradition of sacred dance in Christianity, one that the professionalization and secularization of Renaissance dance obscured, and one that the Reformation silenced and suppressed.