Tattoos
A friend of mine called yesterday and asked me to recap my Bible study about tattoos.
The only verse that mentions tattoos is Lev. 19:28 and comes in the middle of a list of things that Hebrews were not to do because the practices were symbolic of or a part of pagan worship. Most modern Bible translations do use the word tattoo. In the commentaries, a couple of key points come out…
1. Tattoos were part of pagan rituals to honor the dead and/or pagan gods. (For example, if you were a worshipper of Dionysius you might have a brand of an ivy leaf burned into your flesh to show who you belonged to – the same word is used for tattoo and branding.)
2. Tattoos were prohibited solely from the standpoint of being idolatrous.
One of the commentaries mentions that we shouldn’t do things that are representative of unbelievers but acknowledges that our culture changes all the time so it’s not a black and white issue. Back in the 70's, long hair on men was a huge deal and considered “pagan” but culturally things have changed so it’s not a big deal anymore.
In a nutshell, I believe that tattoos are not fundamentally evil or sinful, but I would be very careful about what the design is. I would also be careful to make sure that I wasn’t getting one as a form of worship to anything other than Jesus. Find a Christian artist, though. (Christian Tattoo Association - http://www.xtat.org/)
And pray about it first... they don't go away.
Amey
2 Comments:
Absolutely, I agree. Sometimes I get confused about which 'laws' in the Old Testament we need to follow, and which are not significant these days. I guess when an issue comes up that involves something from the Old Testament, we just need to pray about it, consider whether or not it would be detrimental to our walk with God, and whether or not it could cause someone else to sin.
According to Paul, in Galatians, we're free from all of the law - in fact, following one law obligates us to follow all of them - which is impossible...
We're under a new law - the law of love - and there are times when our actions could offend a fellow believer so we should be aware of how they may affect people around us, but we're definitely free. ;)
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