To Tattoo or Not To?
Thursday April 20, 2006
Is it okay for a Christian to get a tattoo? The answer, I believe, is yes and no.
Tattooing falls into the category of "disputable matters" where the Bible is not clear. There's no commandment - "Thou shalt not receive a tattoo." For this reason, tattooing raises many doubts and questions for Christians.
There are scriptures, however, to back up the idea that God is not in favor of tattooing. Robert Henry is a Christian with several tattoos. In Prodigal Son Magazine, Henry's article, Tattoo: Is it a Sin?, discusses the argument beginning with this verse in Leviticus 19:28 - "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord." (NIV)
From a teen perspective, Brandon Hill, the Christian Teens Guide, also does a great job of examining the issue and answering the question: Can a Christian have a Tattoo?
Besides looking into what the Bible says about tattoos, together we'll consider the concerns surrounding tattooing today and present a self quiz to help you decide if getting a tattoo is right or wrong.
If you're seriously considering getting a tattoo, here are some important resources to evaluate first:
Comments
I think the scripture Leviticus 19:28 makes it clear that God is not pleased with tattoos and self-inflicted markings on our bodies. Thus, we should not do so if we desire to please God.
Roger’s Testimony of Jesus Christ
This link is a testimony by Roger who is an ex-gangbanger from Los Angeles. He once had tattoos on his face and still has some on his body. But he has had most removed and always keeps the others covered since he became a Christian.
I have 3 tattoo’s but i done them before i was saved, my mum who’s a christian told me when i got them we are not meant to mark and disfigure our bodies and as it’s been already said it’s in the bible and if we are christians we are to follow the word of God and if he says no to it then it’s No, it’s not about what we think it’s about what He thinks. I can’t do nothing about the tattoo’s now but i prayed for forgiveness and i believe i’ve been forgiven and all i can do now is not get another tattoo now that i am a believer and if you are an believer you won’t get one or if you already have them you won’t get anymore!
I could hardly imagine writing that there is not a command that does not say that “thou shalt not have tattoo”. I agree that Lev.19:28, is sufficient to show that God condemns such markings.
In addition to this, how does the effort to do missions where tribal marks and ‘jesus tattoos’ are forbidden work. In almost ever instance that I have done overseas missions work, the people who we went to would have be horrified to find that Christians were doing such to their bodies. This idea of personal identification and cultural trends is almost completely forgetting our desperate need to get to all people for the gospel.
Go ask a converted tribal leader in West Africa about getting a “Christian” tattoo…Watch his response. That’s all I got to say.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your “good works” and glorify your Father who is in heaven. We are called to be “peculiar people.” Peculiar people live their lives in obedience to the Holy Bible–whether or not we agree with or understand fully what the Lord is saying to us. We need not reflect the common culture, because we should not be common people.