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."
Those wacky millennials never fail to amuse.
Unless the tattoo is indicative of military service, it is almost always the indelible mark of the lowlife.
**
Brutal statement. However, I have found that to be mostly true. Not all of them (with tattoos) are bad people but they are definitely towards the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder and not likely to advance very far.
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There can be quite wealthy and accomplished people who are lowlifes.
Thanks.
You sound like a gender-confused Emo kid deciding where to cry.
I think it’s all about what you’re expressing, what attitude you’re projecting
I had a christian cross put on my arm after I visited the tomb of St Peter in Rome.
mine is the star of life from my days as a medic
My comment had an actual basis.
: \ |
And they look so beautiful in their white strapless wedding gowns. Or so they think.
Stoner chicks, too.
gen xer have a star of life tat, wife a rose on right calf, one son 20 with molon labe and son and his wife with multiple tats all born again evangelicals
show me in scripture where a tat deeds you to Satan, you cannot. once you are God’s nothing can change that
Was drawing the holier-than-thou cohort out of the woodwork to pass judgement on people that “aren’t like them” your intent when you posted this article?
Lots of curmudgeons are conservative.
Where do u get off calling a believer a heathen pagan, i would encourage you to rethink your phrasing and splinters and logs.
I hope your dear Mom is resting in heaven with the Lord Jesus. Did you ever think that if there was no tattoos being laid down...you would have found a different way to remember Mom?
So big deal. Next time try and live like him and get martyred if you really were touched....ya think Gods gonna look at your tattoo and say...ok...forgiven?
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
When I was 16 or 17 and contemplating an elaborate semi offensive tattoo my dad said “son, I don’t think any more identifying marks are in your best interest the way you run around”
Glad I listened
1Co 6:19
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?
Jhn 2:21
But he spake of the temple of his body.
Lev 19:28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:1
¶
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/lev/19/28/s_109028
Or tramp stamps.
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