Tattoos - Desecration or Decoration?

    Is body modification desecration of the body or is it decoration? Is it against God's Word or is it ok to do? How do you feel on the subject?

    My personal opinion on each style of body mod is varied. I don't think tattoos and piercings to be against God's Word in a general sense, but some things might be out of line.
 
  Someone in my church asked me is it ok for Christians to get tattooed, so I did some research on the matter. I didn't know that there is at least one verse uses the word, "tattoos."

Here are my thoughts on the subject, for whatever they may be worth.
   
(Bible quotes are KJV and ESV. The KJV should always be used when studying God’s Word. NIV also uses "tattoo.")

Lev 19:26-29 KJV

(26)  Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
(27)  Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
(28)  Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
(29)  Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

Lev 19:27-29 ESV

(27)  You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
(28)  You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.
(29)  "Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.


Anything in the Bible should be taken seriously, of course. However, we can divide the commandments in the Old Testament (OT) into three types:

1. Cultural and Civic -- commandments for the OT Israelite culture, like commands on how to divide the land among the tribes.

2. Ceremonial -- commandments concerning the worship of the Israelites, like commands about feasts. Most of the OT commands are of this type.

3. Moral -- commandments for all cultures, at all times, like the commandment that husbands stay with their wives (Genesis 2:24, repeated by
Jesus in Matthew 19:5). Moral commandments, though they may be stated first in the OT, are also found in the New Testament.


    We can't always tell which type of command was meant. They are not identified as such in the Bible. The church generally does not hold that the first two types of commandments are binding on Christians. At the Jerusalem conference, the leaders wrote as follows, when Jews felt that gentile Christians must obey the ceremonial law:

Act 15:28-29 KJV

(28)  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
(29)  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Act 15:28-29 ESV

(28)  For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:
(29)  that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."


Even some of the prohibitions in Acts 15:28-9 are not taken as binding by most Christians anymore. 1 Corinthians 8:8 shows that we no longer have to abstain from certain types of food. That means that this law was simply a ceremonial law and not a morality of cultural law.

1Co 8:7-9 KJV

(7)  Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
(8)  But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
(9)  But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.

1Co 8:7-9 ESV

(7)  However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
(8)  Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.
(9)  But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

“Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.”

The Acts 15 statement was about the ceremonial law. It does not undo God's moral laws.

So what about tattoos?

    The context seems to indicate clearly that Leviticus 19:28 is ceremonial or cultural, not a moral command. Not only is not a moral commandment, but it is probably speaking particularly of a situation involving death of a loved one, and, likely, refers to practices of the heathen neighbors of the Israelites. So why do some Christians speak out against tattoos, saying that the Bible is categorically against them? One reason may be that they don't distinguish between the three types of commandments in the OT. But, if that's true, I bet they don't preach against clipping off the edges of a beard.

It is easy to confuse our own prejudices with what God commands.

    I can remember when that happened with not wearing wedding rings, not wearing a tie, not having your hair cut or wearing pants if you are a woman, not having a beard, or not having long hair if you are a man. Opposition to these ways of presenting oneself is and was cultural, not moral. In our own congregation, attitudes on these matters have changed, which is just as well, because they aren't based on moral commandments.

    No one ever went to hell just for having a tattoo. People go to hell because they don't believe in Christ as Savior and honor Him as Lord. Nonetheless, there are some principles that would seem to logically apply about tattoos, and to other choices about how we present our bodies.

I.          Why are you doing this? If a tattoo is meant as a statement of rebellion against God, or our parents, or is a display of personal pride, then we shouldn't get it.

II.          What is it showing? "Four-letter words," insults, anti-God statements or lewd pictures are some of the things that should be avoided of course.

III.          How much does it cost? We need to use the money that God has given us wisely. This does not mean that we can never spend money on fixing ourselves up, or on things that we enjoy, but we should be careful and have the right priorities.

IV.          Is it immodest? Is the purpose to arouse lust in others, or is it likely to do so?

V.          Does it put your health at risk?

VI.          How will it affect other people ? We can't live solely for other people, but we need to be careful that we don't drive others away from Christ, or weaken other Christians. Some groups (motorcyclers, some African-Americans, some military personnel) might be drawn to Christ by some tattoos, whereas other groups might not.

VII.           Has God given you a personal conviction against this (or for it)? If so, you'd better abide by that conviction.  However, we should be careful not to expect others to live according to our personal convictions.

VIII.          Have I promised not to do this? There are certain vows that go with joining certain churches or other bodies, and promises should be kept, unless there is a more important moral principle in play that wasn't anticipated when you made the promise.

IX.          What's my attitude? (In this case, toward those who disagree with my opinion about something external, or who may be affected by what I might do.) My attitude must be one of love.

Now lets look at Mark 12: 30 – 34.

Mar 12:30-34 KJV

(30)  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
(31)  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
(32)  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
(33)  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
(34)  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Mar 12:30-34 ESV

(30)  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
(31)  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
(32)  And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
(33)  And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
(34)  And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.


    Looking at these verses reveal the top 2 laws issued by Christ. If you can follow these 2 laws you have covered the entire law! Not trying to say that it is easy to accomplish though.

    So overall my view based off the scripture is that this “tattoo law” is simply a ceremonial or cultural law of that time and doesn’t undue moral law and doesn’t apply today, so tattoos and piercings are ok as long as they are not offensive to people, don’t turn people away from God, or have anti-Christian content. I also have to say that if you get a tat, have it done by a professional and make sure it ain’t going to break your bank.

    I personally have six tattoos and plan on getting quite a bit more. Now that I know these guidelines, I definitely will watch what design I choose from now on.