So about tattoos?

Omni_Skittles · Post by **Omni_Skittles** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:04 am

Okay so i HAD an idea to get one. I didn't know what exactly but i had an idea... it was going to be small. then i realized i hated needles. but then i talked to a few friends and they're trying to convince me it's biblically wrong. i say they are skipping a step in the interpretation. just saying so anyway here is the scripture and what a few commentaries say about it...

Lev 19:28

28 "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

NIV

TATTOO

A permanent mark or design fixed upon the body by a process of pricking the skin and inserting an indelible color under the skin. The moral and ceremonial laws of Leviticus declare "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks upon you" (Lev 19:28). Any kind of self-laceration or marking of the body was prohibited among the Hebrew people. Such cuttings were associated with pagan cults that tattooed their followers while they mourned the dead.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Lev 19:26-28

Verse 28. [Cuttings in your flesh for the dead] Compare the margin reference. Among the excitable races of the East this custom appears to have been very common.

[Print any marks] Tattooing was probably practiced in ancient Egypt, as it is now by the lower classes of the modern Egyptians, and was connected with superstitious notions. Any voluntary disfigurement of the person was in itself an outrage upon God's workmanship, and might well form the subject of a law.

(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Lev 19:19-29

IV. A law against the superstitious usages of the heathen, v. 26-28.

4. The rites and ceremonies by which they expressed their sorrow at their funerals must not be imitated, v. 28. They must not make cuts or prints in their flesh for the dead; for the heathen did so to pacify the infernal deities they dreamt of, and to render them propitious to their deceased friends. Christ by his sufferings has altered the property of death, and made it a true friend to every true Israelite; and now, as there needs nothing to make death propitious to us (for, if God be so, death is so of course), so we sorrow not as those that have no hope. Those whom the God of Israel had set apart for himself must not receive the image and superscription of these dunghill deities. Lastly, The prostituting of their daughters to uncleanness, which is here forbidden (v. 29), seems to have been practised by the heathen in their idolatrous worships, for with such abominations those unclean spirits which they worshipped were well pleased. And when lewdness obtained as a religious rite, and was committed in their temples, no marvel that the land became full of that wickedness, which, when it entered at the temple-doors, overspread the land like a mighty torrent, and bore down all the fences of virtue and modesty. The devil himself could not have brought such abominations into their lives if he had not first brought them into their worships. And justly were those given up to vile affections who forsook the holy God, and gave divine honours to impure spirits. Those that dishonour God are thus suffered to dishonour themselves and their families.

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Lev 19:19-29

kayleneaussie · Post by **kayleneaussie** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:46 am

I hate tattoos especially on girls. 3 of my children got tattos thinking I would never know......guess what....I DO KNOW....my daughter now regrets it but my sons dont

but its an individual choice and if you really want one your going to get no matter what anyone says, but why not wait until your a little bit older:)

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:52 am

i had a rose put on my shoulder and managed to hide it from my mum for a long time, i was 40yrs old:wah:

she came to stay for a holiday and i came down in my nightie to get some clean clothes from the airing cupboard.

oh boy, did i catch it !!

the only thing i dont like is having boyfriends names put on when you are young cos while you're running round with " john " on your arm, six months later it could be "fred " you're seeing :-3

SlipStream · Post by **SlipStream** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 4:05 am

gettin tattoos 2 soon is silly

Victoria · Post by **Victoria** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 4:31 am

Tattoos are more socially acceptable these days but that does not means that they are acceptable in all situations or for everyone. I think it is a matter of personal choice but if someone rejects you because they find your tattoo offensive thats their choice and you must also respect that.

I do have a tattoo on my shoulder a smoke dragon I got it for my 40th birthday because I felt that at 40 I was passed the time when I had to worry about what a future partner would say ( been married forever) or what my kids might think ( they are older).

And I've always said if someone don't like me its their loss so I wasn't worried about that.

BUT I still had it placed so that I can cover it when at work and I printed out the design I thought I wanted and put it on the memo board in the kitchen for six months before I had it done, that way I had to look at it every day for the six months and I figured if I hadn't changed my mind by then, then it was the right design for me.

Choose carefully not only the style,pattern ,design, size and placement of your tattoo but also the shop you go to must be 100% clean, the risks are just to big just for the sake of saving a bit of money by going to some back street dive.

As for the bible stuff , thats between you and your god.

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 8:44 am

Alot of people I have chatted to over the years who have had tattoos done when they were younger now regret having them done. Not regret having a tattoo exactly but the choice of tattoo. Be best to wait a while until your sure that what your branding on your skin is what you want to live with for the rest of your life.

Omni_Skittles · Post by **Omni_Skittles** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:46 am

OKAY! so i don't get a tattoo! lol it was just a thought... but seriously eh... nvm lol

Omni_Skittles · Post by **Omni_Skittles** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:50 am

My question was never really answered btw... hahaha

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:05 am

well a tattoo is a personal choice and if thats what you like...why not..

however I dont think you were really that serious on getting one tbh:wah:

Omni_Skittles · Post by **Omni_Skittles** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:11 am

Chezzie;788933 wrote: well a tattoo is a personal choice and if thats what you like...why not..

however I dont think you were really that serious on getting one tbh:wah:
I wasn't... i changed it in the first post btw... But it's always an argument between Christians... such as parent's and there kids... and i just wanted to see what others thought... you know?

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:19 am

Omni_Skittles;788938 wrote: I wasn't... i changed it in the first post btw... But it's always an argument between Christians... such as parent's and there kids... and i just wanted to see what others thought... you know?

Its an arguement that I would imagine nearly all parents would have with their children as its Permanent, a piercing can be left out and the hole left to heal but a tattoo really is for life and parents just have their kids best interests at heart.

I cant see many parents consenting to their kids having a tattoo until their at least 21 years or are not living at home etc...Still even when the kid is a parent themselves they can shock their parents by revealing a tattoo.

kayleneaussie · Post by **kayleneaussie** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:20 am

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I thought that first post had been changed.....thought I was going mad there for a minute:-5:D

The Rob · Post by **The Rob** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:21 am

Tattoos can be cool if it's done with original art. Enough with the skulls and the naked babes and the swords already!

minks · Post by **minks** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:17 pm

personal choice not matter whose beliefs you are appealing or not appealing to. However.... think long and hard about what you want, commit to it cause you will have it for life (unless you want to go through painful laser removal). Make your choice around something that means something important to you as mentioned above mainstream tat's go out of style... hmmm lower back swirly frilly things... passe, black bold tribal bands, passe, the butterfly passe etc... know what I mean... Next consider ... location location location, you can be denied a job for having a tat that shows, you can offend some cultures if you have a tat that shows, and you can (yes believe it or not) be steriotyped seriously by such people as government officials, police officers, customs officers etc... be wise, do your research so that the ink you get will be special and lasting all your life....

I have 2 tat's and both have personal meanings that I won't ever get sick of.

Lastly keep this in mind size, the more detail you want on your tattoo the larger it has to be... trust me no good tat artist can create a stunning dragon on a silver dollar space it will merely appear as a blob.