Posted on 10/22/2018 12:51:44 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Among the contested issues within churches today is what the Bible says and means as it pertains to tattoos, a topic that proves challenging given that they have become normalized in culture.
The most explicit scriptural condemnation of tattoos appears in Leviticus 19:28 which reads: "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
Some read that passage as God expressed a desire for His people to be set apart for Himself, as tattoos were tied to occult practices like sorcery and other pagan religious practices.
The surrounding verses reveal that forbidding tattoos is but one of many things associated with pagan peoples that the God of Israel prohibits such as making daughters into prostitutes, and turning to mediums and necromancers.
"Anyone getting a tattoo really needs to ask themselves, why am I getting this and what is the meaning of this tattoo? Is the tattoo an expression of witchcraft, idolatry or pagan symbolism?" asked Jay Haizlip, pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Orange County, California, in a 2013 Huffington Post essay.
"I lean toward the belief that it is not forbidding all expressions of tattoos. Culturally and specifically here in the US, tattoos, over the last 20 years, have become more socially acceptable," he said, referencing Pew research claiming approximately 40 percent of millennials have tattoos.
Writing at Crosswalk.com, Liberty University Professor of Apologetics Will Honeycutt explained that injecting ink underneath the skin to make pictures is materially different than the kinds of tattoos referred to in the Old Testament. The passage in Leviticus, he said, is literally translated "And a cutting for the dead you will not make in your flesh; and writing marks you will not make on you; I am the Lord."
The word "writing" refers to inscribed or engraved symbols or words and it is the only time in Scripture where it is used, and the work "marks" — also used here alone — has an uncertain root, leaving its meaning uncertain, Honeycutt continued, noting that "tattoo" did not enter into the English language until the late 1700s.
"This is probably why the KJV, written in the early 1600s, is closer to the literal translation saying, 'ye shall not ... print marks upon you.'"
The cultural backdrop against which this divine prohibition was given was when Israel, after being rescued from slavery, was situated between Egypt and Canaan, he went on to say.
Archaeological findings show that Egypt routinely marked its women on the breasts, thighs and abdomen, which was thought to be a good luck charm of sorts to protect the birthing process.
Women were frequently tattooed of the pagan fertility goddess, Bes, which lends credence to this theory, Honeycutt said.
So while it is not expressly condemned, he urged Christians to think hard about their motives for getting tattoos.
"If it is in rebellion to parents, it is clearly not acceptable," he said, citing Ephesians 6:1-3, a New Testament's reiteration of the Fifth Commandment.
"And while artistic self-expression can be OK, our primary motive for anything we do should be to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31). This means seeking to honor and draw attention to him, not ourselves.
"Getting a tattoo for purposes of witness may be acceptable, but remember, this is not the primary or most effective way to evangelize. It is in no way a substitute for verbally communicating the gospel. You are not fulfilling the Great Commission simply because you have a tattoo of a Bible verse."
Thank you, AmericanMermaid. It never even crossed my mind before the age of 54 to get a tattoo! It is where no one will ever see it displayed. My siblings don’t even know I have it. Mom and I shared a lot of interests and BFF secrets....more than any of my 7 siblings. I want her with me always....whispering in my ear forever.
Not scars. I have scars from head to toe. Surgery scars? A few saved my life. Most were not my choice or idea, some from a live in the outdoors, working machinery, riding motorcycles. Just got a new scar on my face where doc removed a tiny spot of basal cell carcinoma.
A tatoo is not a scar.
However - a scar is a tatoo - with a much better story......
Folks with sleeve tattoos are snowflake wimps. Don't hire them. Stick to the folks with neck, or better yet, forehead tattoos. Then you'll have a known quantity in your office.
It also said we shouldn’t eat lobster or pork ribs.
How OLD are you? That is something a person in their eighties would say.
You have to look for the larger context of God’s principles to answer a question like this. How do we live our lives in response to the grace of God in giving us salvation through his son? Galatians and other places give us this summary: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one command, love your neighbor as yourself.”
So when the Christian gets dressed in the morning and considers his/her personal appearance, his first thought should not be self-centered... such as how can I emphasize my sexiness or my muscles or otherwise call attention to myself? How can I be edgy and offend the right people and impress the right people?
So, yes, I can be clean and well groomed and fashionable, but my priority in my appearance should not be to call attention, but rather to serve and give.
Each individual will have to decide on how to apply this.
Or, refer allegorically to Hep-C?
I did that. It took me about 5 years to decide to get my first one. I worked with the tattoo artist and we took months to get it just so. I got it 8 years ago (at age 49 so, old enough to know what I was doing lol) and still love it, along with the other 2 I had done 2 years later. They are very personal and symbolic. They are on my shoulders and upper back so, only show when I wish them to be.
I am sad that many here will judge me for my decision but I am not here to impress anyone. God knows my heart and that is all that matters.
I would venture to say you are exceptions to the rule..... I smoke weed and don’t belong to a synagogue... But consider myself a practicing Jew who believes in the Divineness of the Torah..... I’m probably an exception to the rule too
We are no longer under the law but grace
I think you have to be from a culture that has gone through demonic oppression because of tattoos to understand what I am saying.
http://www.christiantruthcenter.com/tattoos-are-against-god/
https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Apostasy/tattoos.htm
One of the first things the missionaries did with my ancestors in terms of ending idolatry was to ban tattooing. The Bible says do not cut or mark your bodies for a reason. You are practicing idolatry, putting the tattoo and other spirits before God and disfiguring your body, which is described in the Bible as a “temple” for the Holy Spirit.
People are no longer willing to hear the truth on this.
“At church, we’d have people with tattoos, regulars and visitors. I’ll go out of my way to make them feel welcome.”
—
Yeah, though I’m not a big fan of tats, I don’t think they should be the basis of rejecting anyone (or accepting them, for that matter).
To me they still mentally somewhat in the province of sailors, gangs and ex-cons. Besides, I’m just not fond of getting a yearly flu shot, let alone thousands of shots at one sitting.
Also, for me, they kinda fall under the category of wearing ribbons for whatever cause. Except it’s obviously more permanent.
God’s word says that we do not own our bodies, Christ does. Your body is to be a living sacrifice to God. Your body is a temple in which God’s spirit dwells. Your body belongs to Christ, because He purchased it with His blood.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
The quoted scripture is the authority, i Love the GOD of abraham isaac and jacob that sent his fully divine fully man Son to atone for the sins of the world. He whose grace reconciled me to Him. i won’t mark my body to commentate the dead as commanded.
Nothing says individualism, like getting a tattoo like every other idiot!
Lydia the tattooed lady
Oh Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia?
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady
She has eyes that folks adore so
And a torso even more so
Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopydia
Oh Lydia the Queen of Tattoo
On her back is the Battle of Waterloo
Beside it the wreck of the Hesperus, too
And proudly above waves the red, white, and blue
You can learn a lot from Lydia
When her robe is unfurled, she will show you the world
If you step up and tell her where
For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paris
Or Washington crossing the Delaware
Oh Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia?
Oh Lydia the Tattooed Lady
When her muscles start relaxin’
Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson
Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopydia
Oh Lydia the queen of them all
For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz
With a view of Niagara that nobody has
And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz
You can learn a lot from Lydia
Come along and see Buff’lo Bill with his lasso
Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso
Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon
Here’s Godiva but with her pajamas on
Here is Grover Whalen unveilin’ the Trilon
Over on the West Coast we have Treasure Island
Here’s Najinsky a-doin’ the rhumba
Here’s her social security numba
Oh Lydia, oh Lydia that encyclopydia
Oh Lydia the champ of them all
She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat
And now the old boy’s in command of the fleet
For he went and married Lydia
I said Lydia (He said Lydia)
They said said Lydia (We said Lydia)
La La!
I must be narrow minded and not into today’s culture (thank you Lord).......my opinion of someone with a tattoo changes immediately. When our out of the mainstream granddaughter got a tattoo on the back of her neck I seethed but didn’t let her know I knew. When she was putting her hair up, I asked her what that was on the back of her neck, she jerked away in shame. Do I still love her? Of course I do but I want to break our son’s knees for ever allowing her to do this........sigh
Can someone with a tattoo be forgiven? .. Of course.
Does that mean God gave us permission to tattoo ourselves? ... ABSOLUTELY NOT!
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