I vividly remember a close family friend telling me that I was disobeying God by getting a tattoo and because of its permanence, I was in a state of constant defiance. (This was after the tattoo was already there. What was I to do about it then, except take on the heavy cloak of guilt placed before me?)
He quoted scripture (from memory of course) to back up his “point” from which the core of his unsolicited advice originated.
I was 17 years old.
I proceeded to get several more tattoos…and piercings.
Recently I have been reading different views on this subject.
This is a great post about tattoos of all things. Written by Joy over at Even A Girl Like Me. This is an engaging article about others perceptions on tattooing. Joy also addresses the issue of sins, what if they visibly evident to others?
To finish reading this article please head over to http://joycannis.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/to-tattoo-or-not-to-tattoo-that-is-the-conundrum/
About the author: Greg is a strong believer in Jesus Christ and is also a political analyst, author, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the National War Council. By day he is a self-employed non-emergency medical transport driver, as well as being an author and blogger. His articles are first published on Inspirational Christian Blogs, and I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! His articles have been widely published on many well-known conservative websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so leaving all links intact and crediting the author and the website that the article appeared on.
Greg is the author of the newly released book: Spiritual Darkness is Destroying America and the Church
Categories: INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLES
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I started writing a comment. Then it got a little out of hand. Finally I gave up and wrote a blog post on this subject. Here it is, originally written to go in this comment thread: http://themasterstable.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/is-it-a-sin-to-get-a-tattoo/
Thanks Clark, this was a good post!
Greg –
Honestly, I’m astounded that this is even a topic of debate. I read Joy’s post and the comments there. And Clark’s post.
I’ll repeat what I said to Joy, it’s no wonder folks are drawn to Jesus and not so much to Christians. We’re so quick to (mis)quote scripture ( very often, as in this case, mistranslated, out of context and O.T., ignoring to whom it was written).
Back to a recent quote I used on TMG:
“Well, let’s go on disagreeing, but don’t let us judge. What doesn’t suit us may suit possible converts of a different type. My model here is the behaviour of the congregation at a Russian Orthodox service, where some sit, some lie on their faces, some stand, some kneel, some walk about, and no one takes the slightest notice of what anyone else is doing. That is good sense, good manners and good Christianity. “Mind one’s own business” is a good rule in religion as in other things.” ~ C.S. Lewis
I’m utterly dismayed (and no, I don’t have a tattoo which is entirely irrelevant).
Debbie
Thanks Debbie, yes I believe that each person should do what they think is right in this case. To me it is not a big deal. 🙂
Greg,
I am honored that you would share my work on your blog.
Thank you, friend.
Welcome!! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!