Dictionary Of Christian Words, Copyright, all rights reserved.

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Pantomime: (panto), (mime)

An ancient Greek-Roman theatrical performance in which one or several speechless actors played all the parts of a story by means of hand and body movements, accompanied with singing or music.

Latin

Latin pantommus, a pantomimic actor, from Greek pantommos : panto-, all (from ps, pant-; see pan-) + mmos, mime.

Greek
From Gk. pantomimos "actor," lit. "imitator of all," from panto- (gen. of pan) "all" + mimos "imitator." Meaning "drama or play without voice.

Pantomime from "panto" and "mime"

Pan"to*mime\, n. [F., fr. L. pantomimus, Gr. ?, lit., all-imitating; ?, ?, all + ? to imitate: cf. It. pantomimo. See Mimic.

1. A universal mimic; an actor who assumes many parts; also, any actor. [Obs.]

2. One who mimics religious, political, comedy, or tragedy themes, by speechless hand or body movements, a pantomimist.

3. A dramatic representation by one or more actors who use speechless methods to transfer their story.

4. Was used anciently in all pagan cultures for vulgar shows such as speechless burlesque where clothing is removed ending in sexual acts, while in the back ground music is played. Used also to mock the gods and political figues such as kings and their consorts. Contained buffoonery, slapstick, jokes on others, and audience participation. Usually contained bodily movements with innuendo of sexual conduct.  The origin of clowns. In the first century AD it was condemned by Aelius Aristes because pantomime always contained vulgar erotic content and performed with effeminate dancing by males.

Modern Uses

Pantomime remains a part of the career for professional actors, who must act out a lot of their scenes where there is no speech.  A lot of the bodily movements in these scenes involve fornication and adultery just as they did before the time of Christ.  There are comedy theaters in nearly every major city throughout the world.  The Chinese may have mastered pantomime as they seem to use it more so now then the ancient nations from which it came down to the western world.

What we are seeing today is pantomime finding its way into Christian churches of all denominations. There are many different themes to these religious pantomime shows.  Apostolic Pentecostal Churches have now accepted pantomime as a means of evangelism in efforts to find ways to win converts that does not include preaching of the Gospel.  Following non-denominational patterns of opening up the church doors to the ways of the world, Pentecostals see no evil in using ancient heathen methods to entertain their members.

Israel, the source of Christian beliefs and practices, did not participate in the ways of the heathens whose use of pantomime can be traced all the way back to Egypt and Babylon.  It is well accepted by scholars that the dance before Herod given by the daughter of Herodios, was a vulgar pantomime performance.  The king was so arroused by her scantly-dressed speechless bodily movements he offered her half of the kingdom: which in effect meant he would dump her mother and take her if she wished to be his wife. The result of this pantomime dance was the death of John the Baptist.

Pantomime performances were not accepted among the first Christians even as this Hellenistic debauchery had been rejected previoulsy by the Jews.

Conclusion

Pantomime may be a practice of the world but the Church of Jesus Christ has no office or place for actors by any name or description. Therefore, the speechless skits or plays by church actors with white gloves, performing a religious theme, should not be found in any Apostolic or Pentecostal Church throughout the world.

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1Cor 11:1). There are no actors within the New Testament Church. It is time to remove the stages and platform as a holy place, then restore the altar to its place before the congregation where the sacrifices of holiness can be offered one again before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.