I’m only fourteen, and I’d like a tattoo as well. My mom is pro-tattoos, wanting one herself, but the idea does not sit well with my uncle and his side.

In my personal opinion, you are perfectly capable of making your own choices. You don’t need your parents to hold your hand every step of the way, and sometimes there are decisions to be made that must only be made by you, not them. Go for it if you really want to. Just remember that sometimes there are consequences for actions not thought through.

I believe tattooing falls into the category of “disputable matters” where the Bible is not clear. But wait a minute, you might be thinking. The Bible says in Leviticus 19:28, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.” (NLT) How much clearer can that be?

It’s important, however, to look at the verse in context. This passage in Leviticus, including the surrounding text, is specifically dealing with the pagan religious rituals of the people living around the Israelites. God’s desire is to set his people apart from other cultures. The focus here is prohibiting worldly, heathen worship and witchcraft. God forbids his holy people to engage in idolatrous, pagan worship and sorcery which imitates the heathens. He does this out of protection, because he knows this will lead them away from the one true God.

It’s interesting to observe verse 26, “Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood,” and verse 27, “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.” Well, certainly many Christians today eat non-kosher meats and get haircuts without participating in the forbidden worship of pagans. Back then these customs were associated with pagan rites and rituals. Today they are not.

So, the important question remains, is getting a tattoo a form of pagan, worldly worship still forbidden by God today? My answer is, this matter is disputable, and should be treated as a Romans 14 issue.

If you are considering the question, “To tattoo or not to?” I think the more serious questions to ask yourself are: What are my motives for wanting a tattoo? Am I seeking to glorify God or draw attention to myself? Will my tattoo be a source of contention for my loved ones? Will getting a tattoo cause me to disobey my parents? Will my tattoo cause someone who is weak in the faith to stumble?

Ultimately, the decision is between you and God. Though it may not be a black and white issue, there is a right choice for each individual.

I have yet to see any scriptural basis for these legalistic people saying tattooing and piercing is wrong. Come on people! Quit shoving your opinions on those with tattoos and piercings and give us some contextual exegetical scriptures to back it up! Pathetic.

I think an individual should confer with their parents or spouse before making a decision to get a tattoo, and of course I don’t think anyone should ever put a demonic mark on his body.

But I think the arguments against tattoos end there. Not that I want to offend other Christians, but allowing their current stance within tradition and culture to regulate my freedoms in personal issues is, in my mind, a mistake. Those very same brothers and sisters in my church might have no problem with me dropping $50,000 on a really nice vehicle, or being just a little underhanded in my business dealings, or slandering a political figure or party. Am I willing to conform to their desires and traditions on these issues?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t care what others think, or that because they’re wrong on some issues, we shouldn’t mind offending them on others. But I am suggesting we should think about WHY people are being offended, and take that into account when we make decisions (especially largely personal ones).

Brett, tattoo-wearer since 1997.

Secondly, he should keep in mind 1 Corinthians 10:23, which states “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial” (NIV). Whether or not tattooing is something God finds acceptable to do to oneself, you must also look at the big picture and consider how your parents, siblings, family, peers, and possible future wife and kids would feel about you having it. And how you yourself, 30 or 40 years from now, would feel about having it. And especially others who don’t know you, who would look to you as an example of the Christian community at large.

-Marshall Jones Jr.

I’d definitely have to disagree with you regarding the definition of tattooing and piercing as “defacing the human body”. Sure, it is possible for someone to actually damage or mutilate their body using these methods- but not all tattoos or piercings do. (and I could argue that from a ‘repelling people away from Christianity’ perspective, many Christian guys’ tendency to not bathe often enough and to wear grubby dirty clothing has done more harm than tattoos.. but that’s another topic)

In my own family, my Mom, my sisters, and I all have multiple ear piercings and my Mom & one sister have nose studs. My other sister has a small tattoo in Hebrew on her foot that reads “Set apart”. Our jewelry and ink are tasteful and not overbearing and couldn’t be described by any reasonable person as “defacing”. In fact you probably wouldn’t even notice it because we don’t wear big tacky blatant jewelry.

Remember that God created us in His image- as co-creators. We have freedom to build and change and affect the physical world- including our own bodies- and this isn’t a negative thing. It is one way that we display the character of God to the world. Just like cutting blocks of marble to make architecture changes the physical world (but creates beauty), so body art in many forms can create beauty.

P.S. Good one Bobby Harnist! And don’t forget Isaiah 49:16 “See I have engraved you on the palms of My hands…” (Sounds pretty permanent, doesn’t it) ;)

In regards to the original story, I would agree that he should carefully consider the wisdom of getting that tattoo. There are good reasons not to, aside from the fact that it could negatively affect his relationship with his parents & that it wouldn’t (as other people have already said) really prevent him from sinning.
From an aesthetic standpoint a stomach tattoo isn’t really a great idea. Stomachs grow or shrink or change shape “a lot” and the nice tattoo he had to begin with would not end up very nice looking. Actually it reminds me of a funny story I read in Reader’s Digest… This lady was pregnant and went in for a checkup. The doctor looks at her stomach and says, “Oh nice whale tattoo”. She replies, “It ‘was’ a dolphin”. :)

I do have a tattoo on my right shoulder, it is a black and white portrait of a crying Christ. I decided to get it because at the time I was unsure if I would deny Christ. I was in the middle of going through the worst spiritual depression that I had ever experienced. So I decided to get a tattoo of Christ so that if I denied Him with my lips that I could not deny Him with my body. I know that this sounds stupid and if you have never felt such a hole in your soul that “eat, drink, and be merry because I hope that I die” sounds good it will sound totally ridiculous and foreign. In a way it portrayed how I new Christ felt about my life at the time and how much I wanted to do his will. I grew up conservative SDA, legalistic. Coming out of that I felt so empty and utterly worthless. I would pray to God to kill me if he had no need for me instead of letting me go on wandering. I loved Jesus, but I didn’t know what Christianity was. That is why I got my tattoo.

Praise be to God that I am now a Christian Hedonist, desiring to glorify God in all that I do.

Bobby

So basically in “conclusion” it is more a matter of opinion than it is biblical truth on whether it is right or wrong to get a tattoo or not. You can’t seriously go through the Bible and exegetically point to scripture that describes piercings and tattoos as sinful. Bottom line: It is a matter of opinion, not biblical truth. A tattoo might as well be the same as the type of clothes you wear. In my opinion there is no difference.

In reply to your comment, “My non tatted body and un-pierced lip/eyebrow have been more beneficial for the Kingdom then any trite and played out “Christian Tattoo” because the world is in no shortage of Jesus murals and vague hard to read scripture (because its on my body) with no context. plus it just builds pride in the flesh and a need to show it off.” How can you say that? How do you know for sure? There’s no way of measuring if my tattoos or your non tattoos make more of a difference for the kingdom or not. You should really know the line between biblical mandate and personal opinion. Which is what tattoos and piercings are. I love Jesus, I have tattoos that mean something personal to me, and I’m proud of it!

With that said, I presented the idea to my parents and my future wife (we weren’t even engaged at that point). I resolved to not get it unless my parents and future wife were ok with it. They were, and I got it. If they were not, then I wouldn’t have gotten it. Bottom line, I love my parents and wife more than tattoos, and if I went against that I’m afraid my actions would say something different.

Just my .02,

Niles

I live with this scar of satan on my body every day, it is a reminder of how close I came to not finding Jesus.
Maybe one day I’ll find a Christian Tattoo Artist that can change it into a symbol of eternal life, instead of a symbol of the Lake of fire.

(ie. that the inside is what matters and it won’t stop me in the throws of rebellion only the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and The thankfulness and contentment of New Life will keep you from sin,)

people are interested to hear more. To which I almost immediately share the Gospel. My non tatted body and un-pierced lip/eyebrow have been more beneficial for the Kingdom then any trite and played out “Christian Tattoo” because the world is in no shortage of Jesus murals and vague hard to read scripture (because its on my body) with no context. plus it just builds pride in the flesh and a need to show it off.

Let us not forget the what is truly important: the heart, not what you look like. By heart I mean, if your heart is truly right with the Lord. And lets be honest here, the Bible did does not say much about tattoos, and yes in the old testament it is mentioned, but so is not eating pork. All of those verses must be taken inside of their own contexts and the audience to whom it was written.

I seriously doubt that you are sinning by getting tattoos. I did really like how the author wrote this piece. I thought it was well balanced and very biblical. However, it is not so much about getting tattoos than it is honoring your mother and father. My parents actually encouraged me to do get a tattoo. They also said that if I ended up hating it that it would be my problem to deal with. Its been almost 4 years and I still love them as much as the day I got them.

Make no mistake, getting tattoos is not a sin, it is merely an opinion that is used by old fashioned people and people who personally don’t agree with it to make you think you are sinning against God. There are much much more worse things to be worrying about than tattoos…trust me.

When I got them in my mid-20’s, everyone who told me I would hate them later in life was stupid. They were also right. I hate them. If I could get them removed for free, I’d do it, but I’m not going to be a worse steward of the Lord’s blessings to me by spending money to have them removed.

I agree with Dr. Moore completely, I just wanted to throw out a secular anecdotal response.

And, as Paul says, “It is good for a man not to tattoo scriptures on his belly. But, since there is so much immorality, each man should tattoo little Christian reminders on himself.”

Dr. Moore’s response is great–gentle, encouraging, and biblical. The only thing left that needs to be addressed is the issue of this being a God-directed desire.

Passion and desire do not equal God’s will. I’ve wanted a lot of things in my life that I thought were God’s will… in the end they were just my own personal desires. We should not categorize desires as God’s will unless we have biblical precedent (or past providence) to do so.

In this situation, God’s will is to honor your parents.

Yours by divine mercy,
david