Christians and Tattoos?

[hzl eyed grl]

Thank you. I will have to study the verses. I want to form an opinion of what I feel is right also. (Which everyone should do.) What kind of curch do you go to Yzzim?

 

[Yzzim]

Right now I'm in between churches and just learning the Bible by myself. My parents (and their parents, and their parents, etc) have all been Lutheran and I'm the first one to step back and take a look at the beliefs. It's been a rather interesting and tough struggle but I've learned many things. Right now I'm a Christian without a church to call my own.

Edit: Thus the Sad face icon....hehe

 

[8ball]

Every Christian has their own relationship with God and what they do is between them and God. Everyone interprets the Bible differently. Shouldn't judge someone if they have a tattoo. Let God do that.

Yes, I am Christian.
Yes, I have tattoos.
Yes, I would get another.

 

[Yzzim]

8ball - Hey dude, I wasn't judging you, I was just going by what the Bible said. I agree that we shouldn't judge one another.

 

[8ball]

But would you say that the Bible means the same thing to everyone? If you say the Bible says not to get a tattoo, that's what it means to you.
[Edit]I'm not taking this personally, I'm just trying to offer another point of view[/Edit]

 

[Yzzim]

If you ask 10 people about any given verse in the Bible you're gonna get 11 different answers. It's pretty sad. Many people also twist the meaning around to fit their lifestyle.

8ball - I'm not saying you're doing this but many people do.

Edit: What is 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 saying to those who believe tattooing is OK? Not trying to be a smart ass, just trying to get a different point of view here. Thanks

 

[8ball]

You can apply this to everything. Smoking, drinking, ear piercing, eating junk food. Where does it stop? What is right? That's why I say this is between you (or me) and God.

 

[hzl eyed grl]

I also would like to know where the line is drawn. I know that none of us are theological scholars, but this is interesting to me. lol Like with t.v. We are not supposed to put any "evil" before us. What if something bad comes on? Do we throw out the whole t.v.? I went to a VERY dogmatic, legalistic, cult-like church for several years, so now I've come to question everything.

 

[Yzzim]

lol, knowing where to draw the line cannot be summed up in 2 versus. 1 & 2 Corinthians and Romans are good books to start out with for knowing where to "draw the line".

Edit: I do agree that people will have different ideas where to draw the line, though.

 

[Mears]

<< 1 Corinthians 3:16: Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (17) If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are >>



I think that one must consider what &quot;defiling&quot; the body really means. It seems like many people think that this verse is saying that we shouldn't do anything to &quot;alter&quot; our bodies. If this was the case I guess I shouldn't be clipping my fingernails or cutting my hair.

 

[Whitedog]

*sigh* Mears, you should attend bible study obviously.

That's completely far from the meaning of that verse. I'm at work and don't have time to explain. Perhaps someone else could do the honors?

 

[Missus]

My grandpa had a tattoo and he was a Christian...

I have one... But I am not..

 

[Yzzim]

de·file1 (d-fl)
v. tr. de·filed, de·fil·ing, de·files.

1. To make filthy or dirty; pollute: defile a river with sewage.
2. To debase the pureness or excellence of; corrupt: a country landscape that was defiled by urban sprawl.
3. To profane or sully (a good name, for example).
4. To make unclean or unfit for ceremonial use; desecrate: defile a temple.
5. To violate the chastity of.

Ummm...I don't think clipping fingernails would fall under defiling the body

 

[Yzzim]

Missus - There's a difference between being a Christian and saying you're a Christian. The Antichrist is going to decieve lots of people into thinking he's Christian and Christ for that matter, but he's not going to be.

Now I'm not saying that you're grandfather isn't a Christian because he has a tattoo. Just trying to get a point across

 

[sandorski]

This truly is not a cut and dry issue. This issue is similar to the headcoverings for women issue and the much better example, should one eat meat that was sacrificed to idols. When it comes to the sacrificed meat issue, Paul clearly stated that it was up to one's conscience, I would put tattooing on a similar plane.

I will never get a tattoo, but that's because I'm a needle weeny.

 

[Mears]

<< *sigh* Mears, you should attend bible study obviously. >>



FYI, up until I was 14 I had probably only missed 2-3 days of sunday school/church and attended close to half of the evening worships. During that time I was also a recipitent of the John Wesley award. I've read the ENTIRE bible and was also the president of my youth group. Obviously, I know that isn't the true meaning of the verse. It just seems that that is the way many people make it out as. I would be very interested to see how you could relate it to getting a tattoo. As I indicated in my first post, there *are* specific biblical references of individuals having tattoos. Originally, I was curious if anyone knew the versus so they could be discussed. The only ones that I can remember off of the top of my head without specific locations are:

1. Moses bore the mark of God on his hand
2. Revelation 19:16, which says God will have &quot;King of Kings and Lord of Lords&quot; written on his robe and thigh for the Second Coming. (Found this one)

There are also others that have been documented that I can't recall.

If it is of any relevance, the tattoo I was considering was a cross with Phil. 4:13 written below in Old English.

 

[stanger]

Defile from the Strong's Greek/Hebrew dictionary
de·file1 5351 phtheiro (fthi'-ro);

probably strengthened from phthio (to pine or waste); properly, to shrivel or wither, i.e. to spoil (by any process) or (generally) to ruin (especially figuratively, by moral influences, to deprave):

KJV-- corrupt (self), defile, destroy.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

of God through the Spirit, <Eph. 2:22>. Every Christian is a living temple of the living God. God dwelt in the Jewish temple, took possession of it, and resided in it, by that glorious cloud that was the token of his presence with that people. So Christ by his Spirit dwells in all true believers. The temple was devoted and consecrated to God, and set apart from every common to a holy use, to the immediate service of God. So all Christians are separated from common uses, and set apart for God and his service. They are sacred to him-- a very good argument this against all fleshly lusts, and all doctrines that give countenance to them. If we are the temples of God, we must do nothing that shall alienate ourselves from him, or corrupt and pollute ourselves, and thereby unfit ourselves for his use; and we must hearken to no doctrine nor doctor that would seduce us to any such practices. Note, Christians are holy by profession, and should be pure and clean both in heart and conversation. We should heartily abhor, and carefully avoid, what will defile God's temple, and prostitute what ought to be sacred to him.
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary)


1 Corinthians 3:16

Theos (grk 2316). If any man destroy the temple of God, him will God destroy. The verb is the same in both clauses. If any man injure, corrupt, or destroy the church of God by false doctrine, God will destroy him-- will take away his part out of the book of life. This refers to him who willfully opposes the truth; the erring, mistaken man shall barely escape; but the obstinate opposer shall be destroyed. The former shall be treated leniently; the latter shall have judgment without mercy.
(from Adam Clarke Commentary)

A third argument is the honour already put on them: Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? If the soul be united to Christ by faith, the whole man is become a member of his mystical body. The body is in union with Christ as well as the soul. How honourable is this to the Christian! His very flesh is a part of the mystical body of Christ. Note, It is good to know in what honourable relations we stand, that we may endeavour to become them. But now,
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary)

 

[fdiskboy]

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?
11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

This is a passage from 1st Corinthian 8, which has been mentioned before. Paul's point was if something offends your Christian brothers/sisters, then avoid it. Yes we have freedom, but in the exercise of our freedom we cause others to sin, we sin.

I certainly will not judge others for what they care to do, but we must be very careful to realize we are part of the church as a whole!

 

[Mears]

*edit* I was going to post a verse in response to the message above, but I've decided to wait until I get home from work and class to do a word for word transfer instead of going from memory.

 

[Yzzim]

stanger - did you take that out of a book or get it online? I'd really like the name of the book or url. Thanks

Mears - In verse 19:13 of Revelation it says his robe was dipped in blood and in verse 19:15 it says out of His mouth goes a sharp sword. As I'm sure you know, Revelation deals with a lot of symbolisms. So I doubt Christ will come back with a bloody robe, a shart sword for a tongue, and a tattoo on his thigh.

 

[brow]

I agree with many on here who say it is a personal thing between you and God. I don't believe that the actual placing of a tattoo on you would be a sin. What matters is how it affects your relationship with Christ. If your heart is right with God and getting a tattoo will not affect that, then it probably isn't a problem. Another thing to think about is the verse that states &quot;avoid even the very appearance of evil.&quot; (paraphrased, I don't have a Bible on me right now). I believe this encompasses two things: Other believers who would see this as something wrong or evil, but primarily the example it sets. You could possibly harm a new believers faith by doing something considered &quot;worldly&quot;.. I could get in-depth on this but I really don't want to take up that much space.

 

[Whitedog]

Sorry Mears, didn't mean any disrespect. Just that comment you made on the scripture you posted was... well...

hehe

 

[Mears]

Yzzim: Yes, I am aware of that. However, the first is the one that is the most influential to me. I don't see what else other than a tattoo could be conjured from the mark of God on his hand. Their was also a reference to another individual and I believe it also used &quot;the mark of God&quot; but I can't remember if it said it was on the hand or not. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark these I e-mailed my brother and maybe he can remember the url, but I doubt it.

Whitedog: If you go back and read my post, you will see that I said that is the way many people seem to be treating the verse. Not how I treat it.

fdiskboy: Basically, what I was going to point out works with what you are saying. I was thinking of Romans 14, which basically says: Don't criticize others for eating meat that has been offered to idols and if you don't eat meat that has been offered to idols don't criticize others that do. So basically it corresponds to what you were saying. I was thinking there was a little more to this chapter than what is really there. However, I am still curious if tattoos can be grouped into this belief since I am still debating with myself whether getting tattoos was EVER against the law of God. The reason I say this is because what has been discussed in Leviticus really does not relate to the kind of tattoos that most people get today and as I stated earlier, it seems that it is possible that some biblical characters actually had tattoos.

 

[wviperw]

I haven't read all the posts previously, so sorry if I am being repetitive...

Context is KING: Look at verse 27 of Lev. 19. I hope you didn't shave your face today... especialy if your a girl

There is something like this in the NT I remember learning about. It's something churches always say is wrong, I think having long hair as a male, yet in the same portion of scripture it says women shouldn't be seen in public. Churches sometimes take things in the Bible and twist them to how they want it. You wouldn't follow those things that it says in the NT about women and veils today, or the long hair thing, because that was a rule for that special circumstance of the church. Back then if you had long hair as a male you were considered a harlot(call it what you may...) so the church wanted to refrain from worldiness back then.

 

[Yzzim]

Mears - I'm not sure where you're getting that Moses had a tattoo on his hand (a verse would be nice) but maybe it has something to do with Deuteronomy 6:7 &quot;You shall bind them (The Commandments of God) as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.&quot; Obviously Moses wanted to keep the Ten Commandments so I'm sure he had this symbolic sign on his hand.
Also, if you're set and determined to get a tattoo there is no amount of Biblical evidence that's going to turn you away from that. Like I stated before, many people twist what the Bible says to fit their lifestyle. I'm not trying to offend you in anyway way...I'm just giving my views like you asked