permanent

so the new topic that seems to be popping up
is this idea of tattoos and piercings.

is it biblical? does God want us to get this stuff?

here's my personal stab at it.

now when i talked about tattoos with my parents,

they used to always toss it off and use that passage...

"Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?" 1 Corinthians 6:19

very common refute to the whole tattoos and piercings debate.

however, we forget that this passage specifically talks about sexual immorality.

"Flee from sexual immorality! "Every sin a person can commit is outside the body," but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Do you not know that..." blah blah blah.

now if we persisted in saying that this passage is usable, then that gives me the liberty to say that husbands can use their wives to make them sandwiches while the husbands can couch potato around when Ephesians 5 says... 

"Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives should [submit] to their husbands in everything."

or worse... that we should test people's faith by drinking poison when Mark 16 says...

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes; if they should drink anything deadly, it will never harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well."

if can take one bible passage out of context, then we have the liberty to take EVERYTHING out of context, and clearly, that will break down Christianity, or worse, kill people.

ANOTHER passage that people use to refute and rebuke tattoos and piercings is Leviticus 19:28, which says...

"You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the LORD."

most fundamentalists think they nail the head when they use this. again, what they forget is context.

this passage was talking about not following these pagan traditions. pagans cut and tattooed themselves to appease to their gods to have a nice afterlife. God didn't want the Israelites to obey the laws of other false religions and cults. clearly, their definition of tattoos and our definition of tattoos are completely different.

to add more, Leviticus 19 also says...

""You are to keep My statutes. You must not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock, sow your fields with two kinds of seed, or put on a garment made of two kinds of material." - verse 19

"When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering to the LORD. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am the LORD your God." - verse 23-25

"You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard." - verse 27

what? no more pretty gardens? no more wearing jeans? every time i want to eat an apple from an apple tree i planted, i have to wait for FIVE YEARS?

and for those who know me, this last one causes some weird phases, but NO MORE HAIR CUTS?

if we debate about tattoos with this passage, how come we're not debating THIS stuff with this passage? that's because we know it's, ultimately, not relevant.

moving on...

some people like to persist in saying that tattoos and piercings root from witchcraft, using passages like Deuteronomy 14:1 and 1 Kings 18:28.

sure, don't cut yourself because it's the practice of cults. but remember that our definition and tattoos and piercings are not about cults anymore. they are about aesthetics and self-expression. tattooing and piercing yourself for those PURPOSES is not mentioned in the Bible.

and if we wanted to talk about just mere origins, then we just HAVE to talk about our clothes and Apple products.

why do we wear clothes? Adam and Eve wore the first "clothes" after they sinned against God, and wanted to hide themselves because of their shame. if we were so concerned about that, why don't we all go naked, so that we may not be ashamed in front of God? that doesn't sound very... tasteful to me.

Apple products? the logo is a picture of an apple with a bite in it. isn't that like how Eve bit the apple and caused ALL of sin to enter the world? if anything, that should be the bigger debate, because we're talking about the origin of SIN. but no, we don't, because it is not RELEVANT to the PURPOSE of why we do these things.

finally, many people like to refute with the idea that "if God wanted tattoos, why didn't He create us with them already?"

1) when God made us in His image, it means we were made to reflect His character over the earth, not that we should reflect His "physical" beauty.

2) this allows us for the benefit of personal creativity, something which God DOES love.

then the fundamentalists get into talking about how teenagers always disobey their parents. sure, i agree. but not ALL teenagers do. and again, if their parents use the mentioned passages to rebuke their kids, then the kids should take the step and tell them that they are using those passages heavily out of context. this is not just so they can get permission, but also that their parents should learn how to interpret the Bible for what it is ACTUALLY saying. to me, that's of greater importance than any tattoo or piercing.

now that i have shown how most people use these passages reprehensibly, by NO means do i say that everyone should get tattoos and piercings.

with piercings, i personally view them the same as clothes. we get them because we just like them. they don't have any huge role in our faith, just like clothes (unless they are saying blasphemous or heretical things). just don't go crazy on them, because you'll look like you're made of metal. and piercings can sometimes distract both ourselves and the people we socialize with. this is why i refrained from a lip ring, because i KNEW that i would be playing with it. and it would taste gross.

with tattoos, ESPECIALLY because they are permanent, we REALLY have to investigate within ourselves WHY we want this tattoo.

we must remember that "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (colossians 3:17)

so if you (the reader) are considering a tattoo, ask yourself these questions.

1) why am i getting this tattoo? is it so i could look better, or is there a greater purpose?

2) is this tattoo gonna further God's kingdom?

3) does this tattoo have any significant meaning to me, that can testify to God's glory?

4) is my tattoo just my girlfriends name? (trust me, DON'T do that.)

so what's my stance on tattoos? no matter what passage people use, the Bible is ultimately silent on tattoos and piercings. HOWEVER, if we decide to do so, put it to a lot prayer, a lot of discernment and a lot of thought.

-simon