protorayish

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A little over a year ago, I got a tattoo on my upper arm. It is two nails in the shape of a cross with the Jesus fish symbol wrapping around it in blood. I had a clear conscience at the time, but after a while started to question whether or not it was wrong to get the tattoo. My dad, a very strong Christian, had many tattoos, but had most of the visible ones (his sleeves on his forearms) removed because he didn't want to look intimidating (he's a 6'5 ex marine, so that along with the tattoos was a bit of an off-putting image). He has no moral objections to tattoos and I was always raised that tattoos were in no way wrong. My tattoo is almost always hidden and most of friends forget I even have it because they go months without ever seeing it because of its location, so looking "intimidating" or it hindering my ability to witness is really not much of a factor here. I also don't think my mindset in getting it was rebellious or really even vain, I just thought it would be cool to have a permanent cross on body to make it clear what I'm what all about. I prayed about it beforehand and didn't sense any objection. The question I've been dealing with is if a tattoo in and of itself is inappropriate for a Christian to have. If it's not a moral problem, I have no regret of getting it. It's pretty cool and has given me a couple of opportunities to explain it and how it represents the ruggedness and weight of the cross that was carried for us.

I have tendencies to often go through phases where I really struggle with legalism. Though I'm getting better about it, it has not been uncommon for me to really start to separate myself from God because I'm afraid that something that I don't even know is wrong is putting me at enmity with God. A month or so ago, I saw a post online about how tattoos that are not repented for and removed will send someone to Hell. This seemed ridiculous to me at the time because I've thoroughly studied the context of Leviticus 19:28 and other passages used against tattoos and found no basis that they are wrong, but it soon started to really make me worry about if they are right.

I looked into tattoo removal, but cannot afford to have it removed professionally, so if I do decide to have it removed I will definitely use salabrasion (thoroughly rubbing layers of the skin off with salt water and gauze) to do it myself. I like the tattoo and don't want to remove it, but if it is wrong for me to have, I will certainly remove it no matter how painful it may be.

Sorry for the long post. I'm sorry if there are other threads on the morality of tattoos, but I asked this because my situation is a little bit different than the mere morality of getting a tattoo (my situation being having a tattoo and wondering how/if I should deal with that). Like I said, based on scripture, my current stance is that I don't think tattoos are wrong, but I really don't want to mess this up and face serious consequences for my ignorance. I also don't know if that mindset I just described is edging on the side of legalism that I often struggle with.

I would really like all of your thoughts on this matter. To put this all into 2 questions:
1. Should I feel bad about my tattoo and regard it as sinful?
2. Should I remove it?

Don't feel like you need to follow those questions specifically.

Thank you very much for any genuine contribution.
 

davidcrosby

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Bro, as your tattoo stands for Jesus I'm standing with you. You know God, and as His word says He looks at the heart...Not the outward appearance (as others might do which your tattoo is a great evangelizing invitation).
 
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i think the thing to remember here is that you already have a permanent mark or seal on your soul that was given to you by Christ upon your baptism.

the way that you are able to show this seal to the world is through your every day acts of obedience to and love for Our Lord on the one hand, (the vertical part of the cross) and also by the way you live your life and your outreach of help to others (the horizontal piece of the cross).

this way of living your life shows others without words or symbols of whose you are.
with these things above operating in your life, a tatoo isn't necessary.
 
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davidcrosby

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i think the thing to remember here is that you already have a permanent mark or seal on your soul that was given to you by Christ upon your baptism.

the way that you are able to show this seal to the world is through your every day acts of obedience to and love for Our Lord on the one hand, (the vertical part of the cross) and also by the way you live your life and your outreach of help to others (the horizontal piece of the cross).

this way of living your life shows others without words or symbols of whose you are.
with these things above operating in your life, a tatoo isn't necessary.
Great word.
 
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I have tendencies to often go through phases where I really struggle with legalism. Though I'm getting better about it, it has not been uncommon for me to really start to separate myself from God because I'm afraid that something that I don't even know is wrong is putting me at enmity with God.
Sounds like you may well be going through one of those phases.

1. Should I feel bad about my tattoo and regard it as sinful?
2. Should I remove it?
No, and no.
 
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faroukfarouk

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Hi there, saw your question. If you don't mind, I'll mention some other things first. Hebrews 9 is a wonderful passage which speaks of the cleansing of the conscience by the blood of Christ who 'by the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God'. The person whose conscience is indeed cleansed by the blood of Christ by faith and ratified in eternity will receive assurance from the Lord. Regarding assurance, John's short but mighty First Epistle has as a major stated goal for believers to strengthen their faith; cleansing is a strong theme in the Epistle, as is walking in the light. John's First Epistle is short and can be read easily; but there is so much to meditate on; so much to be encouraged in.

The Epistle to the Romans unanswerably demonstrates the right standing by faith in the Lord Jesus of those who are justified. We can become more sanctified - and may we be indeed - but we can never become more justified than the believer's rock-solid position in Him. Romans 14 is the believer's great charter of Christian liberty; we do well to remember that it is inevitable that believers who share 'like precious faith' will have a variety of views on all sorts of subjects which in the end need not detain them.

And, oh yes, something about tattoos also? You see, I deliberately mentioned those other matters from the Scriptures first in order to try to put it all in perspective.

Fact is - bearing in mind the above reference to Romans 14 liberty - some Christians will like tattoos, others won't. And there is nothing that can be done to change this. Some Christian dads - like yours maybe - will be pleased if their son at an appropriate age gets a faith based tattoo which he uses profitably in witness opportunities (which, it seems, you've already been doing). Other Christian dads - let alone with tattoos - might seem to "go ballistic" if their sons even showed with tiny studs in their ears (even thought sooo many young men - including Christian young men - do it). Some Christian moms might guilt manipulate their sons and daughters against getting any ink that even if they felt technically free to do it they might permanently hesitate to have it done because of a developed reluctance. Other Christian moms might give their sons earrings for Christmas and a tattoo voucher as an 18th b-day rite of passage gift. Assuming you are over 18, the fact is that you have a man's decision to make on this decision, as with so many, decisions.

Some Christians will genuinely and conscientiously be reluctant to get a tattoo because of the Leviticus 19 verse; others will look at the previous verse which seems to say about not trimming one's beard and they may ask: Do preachers shave? and muse that if preachers do shave, it's because they are tacitly admitting that they are not Old Testament Jews in the land under the law, but New Testament believers under grace.

Which brings us back to the Scriptures: a good place to be. Galatians - another short, but weighty Epistle - has as a central theme the glorious fact that the believer in the Lord Jesus is under grace, not law.

Sometimes ppl genuinely regret their actions. A young man who get's his gf Daisy's name tattooed on his arm might end up embarrassed for years if he eventually marries Sophie instead. Sometimes tattoo removal is advocated and this is an option, although complete removal can be expensive compared with the original cost of the tattoo, can be painful over several sessions and can also leave permanent scarring. Sometimes a tattoo can be altered or covered by another; a good artist can advise of the possibilities; sometimes some amazing work can be done; sometimes a relatively simple alteration can suffice. A Christian woman with (e.g.) the name of her non-Christian ex-bf "Bill" tattooed might opt to have an artist change the "Bill" to "Bible" or whatever.

Some people might genuinely regret their actions, but in time also live to regard later them as providential, if not seemingly ideal at the previous time. Who knows? if you eventually marry a wife with a tattoo which she ends up not particularly liking, the fact that you have a tattoo also might lessen any sense of regret on her part. The likelihood that you might marry a wife who happens to be tattooed is at least a serious possibility because although - like with military men such as your dad - it used to be very much a man thing, yet today in North America 59% - 70% or even more or parlor clients are female. (Among Christian young women that you might get to know or already know, let's hope their Christian character and Godliness will be far more memorable to you than thoughts that they may or may not have about any ink they might have gotten.) Today among military families, as much as the serving personnel member, it is a large amount of military spouses that go under the tattoo machine, often in patriotic, faith or family themes. On these forums a serving member of the military reports that his wife is urged by other military wives to have it done; it really is so widespread among military wives.

There are endless variables and scenarios. Have a profitable time working out your own mind on such matters, but remember to keep "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12.2).

Blessings.
 
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protorayish

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Yes. I often place too much of an emphasis on "things" and forget the simple truth of unwavering forgiveness through Christ. Of course I want to please God with my how I live my life, but I sometimes forget, or fail to realize that it is through Christ that I am justified before God rather than what I do.

As for regret, I will continue to work out how I feel about this through prayer. If a tattoo is not in & of itself wrong, I don't think that I have any regret.

Thank you for the reminder of the complete atonement that we can rest in through faith in Christ. I really needed to hear that.
 
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faroukfarouk

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Yes. I often place too much of an emphasis on "things" and forget the simple truth of unwavering forgiveness through Christ. Of course I want to please God with my how I live my life, but I sometimes forget, or fail to realize that it is through Christ that I am justified before God rather than what I do.

As for regret, I will continue to work out how I feel about this through prayer. If a tattoo is not in & of itself wrong, I don't think that I have any regret.

Thank you for the reminder of the complete atonement that we can rest in through faith in Christ. I really needed to hear that.
YW.

A lot of Christians - especially young Christians - treat tattoos a custom which is so very widespread - with a good deal of pragmatism.

It's simply a proven and very effective method of having conversations of a witness nature with a lot of ppl, whatever other aspects there may be.

My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 inked on her wrist area; it was her favorite Bible verse and mine also, and I'm sure that other conversations about the verse have arisen as a result of her decision to get tattooed in this way.

I saw a report on how widespread it is in the Bible Belt. I saw another report on a recent scientific study on how doing it may actually benefit the immune system because of its possible boosting effect. But it's very much an individual thing.
 
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farout

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A little over a year ago, I got a tattoo on my upper arm. It is two nails in the shape of a cross with the Jesus fish symbol wrapping around it in blood. I had a clear conscience at the time, but after a while started to question whether or not it was wrong to get the tattoo. My dad, a very strong Christian, had many tattoos, but had most of the visible ones (his sleeves on his forearms) removed because he didn't want to look intimidating (he's a 6'5 ex marine, so that along with the tattoos was a bit of an off-putting image). He has no moral objections to tattoos and I was always raised that tattoos were in no way wrong. My tattoo is almost always hidden and most of friends forget I even have it because they go months without ever seeing it because of its location, so looking "intimidating" or it hindering my ability to witness is really not much of a factor here. I also don't think my mindset in getting it was rebellious or really even vain, I just thought it would be cool to have a permanent cross on body to make it clear what I'm what all about. I prayed about it beforehand and didn't sense any objection. The question I've been dealing with is if a tattoo in and of itself is inappropriate for a Christian to have. If it's not a moral problem, I have no regret of getting it. It's pretty cool and has given me a couple of opportunities to explain it and how it represents the ruggedness and weight of the cross that was carried for us.

I have tendencies to often go through phases where I really struggle with legalism. Though I'm getting better about it, it has not been uncommon for me to really start to separate myself from God because I'm afraid that something that I don't even know is wrong is putting me at enmity with God. A month or so ago, I saw a post online about how tattoos that are not repented for and removed will send someone to Hell. This seemed ridiculous to me at the time because I've thoroughly studied the context of Leviticus 19:28 and other passages used against tattoos and found no basis that they are wrong, but it soon started to really make me worry about if they are right.

I looked into tattoo removal, but cannot afford to have it removed professionally, so if I do decide to have it removed I will definitely use salabrasion (thoroughly rubbing layers of the skin off with salt water and gauze) to do it myself. I like the tattoo and don't want to remove it, but if it is wrong for me to have, I will certainly remove it no matter how painful it may be.

Sorry for the long post. I'm sorry if there are other threads on the morality of tattoos, but I asked this because my situation is a little bit different than the mere morality of getting a tattoo (my situation being having a tattoo and wondering how/if I should deal with that). Like I said, based on scripture, my current stance is that I don't think tattoos are wrong, but I really don't want to mess this up and face serious consequences for my ignorance. I also don't know if that mindset I just described is edging on the side of legalism that I often struggle with.

I would really like all of your thoughts on this matter. To put this all into 2 questions:
1. Should I feel bad about my tattoo and regard it as sinful?
2. Should I remove it?

Don't feel like you need to follow those questions specifically.

Thank you very much for any genuine contribution.

1. Perhaps, if God is speaking to your heart. You have to answer that. Why are you asking?
2. No. Its way to costly, use it as a testimony.

I will not make any judgment on your situation. For me I think tats are something the Bible teaches against. I do not like them. My son who has a company where his workers have to fo in customers homes, he will not hire a person whose tats can't be covered.
 
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faroukfarouk

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1. Perhaps, if God is speaking to your heart. You have to answer that. Why are you asking?
2. No. Its way to costly, use it as a testimony.

I will not make any judgment on your situation. For me I think tats are something the Bible teaches against. I do not like them. My son who has a company where his workers have to fo in customers homes, he will not hire a person whose tats can't be covered.
Hi there; I guess there is certainly a distinction between asking workers in certain professions to cover their tattoos while working, and the idea of not hiring them at all (like this a lot of talent is likely to be turned away, as well as inviting lawsuits!)
 
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If theres something thats wrong in your life its the holy spirit who will bring light to this area of darkness.
In your situation which is probably not the same situation the website talks about with tattoos as many people before they become christians get satanic tattoos and that obviously is not a good witness for when they do become christians (at first glance) and is something that will remind them of their former lifestyle forever unless they get it removed.often this may not be possible but it IS important that it be repented of. Obviously a new christian would not Want to go back to that lifestyle just like someone who is freed of drinking alcohol would not go back to a bar to be tempted all over again. Tattoo parlors etc are not exactly christian places.

Which is why as christians we need to pray or think twice before getting inked that our actions are honoring to God..and whatever it is we wear or adorned with is modest because...spiritually we are clothed in christ and its our good works the Lord sees not just our outward appearance.
 
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faroukfarouk

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...as christians we need to pray or think twice before getting inked that our actions are honoring to God..and whatever it is we wear or adorned with is modest because...spiritually we are clothed in christ and its our good works the Lord sees not just our outward appearance.

So have you seen effective faith based ink? My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 tattooed on her wrist area; it was her favorite Bible verse and mine also; and I'm sure that it has proved effective in bringing about other conversations with ppl.
 
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sj_aprilmay

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I have been searching the internet about this very thing today! Unfortunately, I found no answers specifically to my issue. After a very long and messy marriage and devastating divorce, I stepped away from my faith in God (even though I KNEW He had held me through all of the traumas and provided for me when I found myself completely on my own with nothing.

Anyway, during that year, I searched for fulfillment in meditation and Eastern religious beliefs. I ended up getting a tattoo of a buddhist symbol (the incomplete circle) with a dragonfly (to symbolize renewal) on my forearm. I now feel it gives the wrong message and promotes something I don't truly believe in. I regret it and fear I will be judged by other Christians because of this. I know that God does not judge because of this and I have been forgiven for all my sins during that time. Still, it is a permanent mark that I ashamed to wear. Any input?
 
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