Do I need to remove my tattoo?

[Goodbook]

well, I don't know how much it costs to keep having a tattoo touched up. But its kinda like permanently dying your hair I suppose, you have to keep up the pretence.

For those who are weak it can become a stumbling block.

 

[faroukfarouk]

How should I know? It wasn't my day to ask questions.

All good things
Emmy

Point taken!

 

[faroukfarouk]

Keep the tat and let God's love shine out from your own self.

This is probably the way a lot of Christians would think.

 

[faroukfarouk]

It can be pretty hard on a person to be rejected by even just a few people who should be brotherly/sisterly.

PS:

Greg J.:

Re. the brotherly/sisterly thing, these days given the profusion of women as well as men who have it done - many of them in faith based designs - it's often sisterly as much as brotherly, I guess, right?

(59% - 70% or more of parlor clients in North America now are women - apparently - according to statistics. It didn't use to be that way.)

 

[faroukfarouk]

it would be better to convince one person to not get a tattoo than to remove the one that you have

I guess you don't like tattoos?

 

[victorinus]

I guess you don't like tattoos?

yeah, they deform the body God gave you
-so-
why don't you explain why you like them?

 

[faroukfarouk]

I don

yeah, they deform the body God gave you
-so-
why don't you explain why you like them?

I don't like the idea of deforming, either.

A lot of Christians do get faith based ones, proven effective in witness situations. 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 other conversations have arisen as a result of her willingness to have it done.

Recent studies are open to the suggestion that some ink can boost the immune system; I'm not a scientist, though. (There was a link someplace about it.)

 

[victorinus]

I don
I don't like the idea of deforming, either.

have you notice the orthodox jews who have curls where you might have side burns?
-
I have often wondered about that and it turns out they are misinterpreting scripture which forbids edging you hairline and not necessarily cutting the length of it
-
the edge of your hairline has more to do with the look God gave you
-and-
you should not mess with that
-
I find tattoos of any kind, anywhere on the body repulsive and the same goes for metal ornaments

 

[faroukfarouk]

have you notice the orthodox jews who have curls where you might have side burns?
-
I have often wondered about that and it turns out they are misinterpreting scripture which forbids edging you hairline and not necessarily cutting the length of it
-
the edge of your hairline has more to do with the look God gave you
-and-
you should not mess with that
-
I find tattoos of any kind, anywhere on the body repulsive and the same goes for metal ornaments

I guess that in Ezekiel 16.12 God Himself gave Zion earrings and even a nose ring.

Personal tastes are subjective, of course, right?

I thought recent reports about tattoos boosting the immune system were interesting; not sure how conclusive they are.

 

[victorinus]

I thought recent reports about tattoos boosting the immune system were interesting;

really?

 

[faroukfarouk]

I

really?

I'll try to dig up the link.

 

[faroukfarouk]

really?

Here it is:

From the American Journal of Human Biology...
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...ionid=9B93759028D6CB996B171333E392617E.f01t02

 

[faroukfarouk]

It can still be a good conversation starter.

Yes, a lot of Christians feel this way. My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 tattooed on her wrist area: her favorite Bible verse and mine also, and I'm sure other conversations have arisen as a result of her willingness to have it done.

 

[faroukfarouk]

That be a matter between you and the Lord...you ask the Lord not man if you should have(or keep) the tattoo...don't worry about what other people be doing or approving of, you do what the Lord and his Word tell you to do.

Kit Sigmon:

In any case a lot of Christians have them in faith based designs as a witness/conversation starter, which often proves effective.

I saw some posts about just how prevalent tattoos are in the Bible Belt, among demographics such as homeschooling moms, etc. It's kind of become rather mainstream, if this makes sense?

 

[Aleph Ayin-Ar]

I must say I find the incessant pushing of the same stories about j3:16 tattoo etc quite honestly puzzles and worries me, it seems rather obsessive to me, and the way you asked about "re-inking" creeped me out completely. I think there's a term the kids use, what is it, check yo self? Yup that's the one.

I know this is an old-thread but it was the first search result in Google, so I will answer it in case anyone stumbles upon it the same way I did, as I find the answers here to be lacking, to say the least.

Anyways, I would say that if wearing makeup is vanity worthy of hell damnation then tattoos would fall well into the same category. It's vanity. Especially to get them touched up, that's re-affirming the desecration of your body. I would say the only acceptable reason to get a tattoo was if you had one from before you were born-again that is terrifying and you want to lessen it's impact. This would be in concordance with repentance of your sins. Repentance doesn't only happen on the inside, it is also the outward signs of being remorseful for your sins. Getting re-tatted is NOT in concordance with repentance! It is clinging to your sins, and it is not a sign of repentance, in fact it is defiance!

And dont forget that most tattoo artists are straight-up satanists, WHY would you allow a satanist to do work upon your body? And sure, people may get saved, and all that, and they say they're such a NICE christian now, yet they still live the same lifestyle of sin? Something doesn't quite add up here!
"Luke 6:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes."
Is every person who say they are a christian a saved person? John tells us that there will be a great falling away.
"2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works"
Only through judging a persons actions can we know whether or not they are a saved Christian. Both on the benches, and even in the pulpit, you will find people masquerading as Christians, whether they know it or not - most people in the churches would buckle under pressure and not defend The Word with their earthly life, these are not believers, they may want to believe, but they do not feel secure enough in their salvation that they would lay their life on the line for Jesus.
We are all sinners, and only those that are born again in Christ, who has asked to be saved from their sins, will inherit the Kingdom of God. Do not get fooled by the seducing spirits that roam the churches, and remember that through ALL unsaved people Satan can do his work.

Someone once said this to me: "My third suggestion is to understand that others only can influence you if you allow them to influence you. Don't allow them to influence you. Do not care what other people will think of you. Only care what God will think of you."

God bless everyone!

 

[Andrew77]

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.

I find nothing at all good about tattoos. I find them repulsive, and especially in the long term, where your skin fades, and stretches, almost no tattoo looks good in the long run. Yeah, for the next few years, or maybe even 5 to 10 years it will look good. But eventually all tattoos look like garbage.

That said.... all of that is just my personal preference, and my opinion.

What is fact, is that tattoo can harm your employment, and will cause people to make false assumptions about you. It just is, what it is. People see a tattoo, and it puts you at a disadvantage before they even know you. You can say that's their fault... but like it I said... it is what it is.

Now, put all those comments away....

Biblically speaking, there is nothing wrong with a tattoo. It is not a sin, and there is nothing wrong with it. If you find a tattoo to be great, and you have no problem that it might not look good years from now, there is no Christian reason to have it removed.

If you are cool with all that, then you don't need to remove it. It's not a sin, not evil, not a problem.

I don't see any reason you should have it removed. Keep that tattoo.

 

[J4mieF]

I have gone through a laser tattoo removal (in Montreal and California) and I would absolutely NOT recommend anyone to do it...

It has messed me up FOR LIFE both physically and financially!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE HEED MY WARNING!!!!

If you go through the usual laser removal methods. Which I do not recommend, not only that it will leave marks on your skin, so in reality, the tattoo will still be kind of visible if you know where to look. It is a very long process. And to be honest, very costly.

I had a hook up from a friend, and I have only paid 4000$ for 12 sessions. Which is a whole lot of money, but if I had to pay the full price, I would spend at least 6500$.

This also depends on where do you live, but in general, it is costly. And it took ages to finish, they have recommended me at max one session per month. So I have ended up getting rid of this tattoo for more than a year and a half, and to be honest, the tattoo was quite small. It was significant as a can of coke. If I had a more massive tattoo, it would take a longer time and more session, which means more $$$$.

Laserless tattoo removal is where it's at.

Unfortunately, at the time of my tattoo removal, I did not know this, I know about this only thanks to my brother, which bought this program last year.

This has a few pros and few cons. It works, and he was able to do it himself. Well, you have to do it yourself or ask someone to do it for you.

It is a long process, but I believe he has spent just a couple bucks on this ebook. It is definitely way cheaper than any tattoo removal cream I have bought.

And how long it will take to remove the tattoo with this method varies from person to person, their age and their skin. My brother got rid of his tattoo with in four months, I believe, and his tattoo was at least twice as big mine was.

I am not sure, if he were supposed to do something to treat it every day, I would have to call him about it, but hey it works and out of all of these options it is the cheapest one and yes you might spend more time on this than on laser removal, but your tattoo will be gone sooner than if you would go with the laser removal option.

To be honest, I do not know that many things about this, but I just did a quick google search and here is a great review of it: Dorian Davis’s Laserless Tattoo Removal Guide Review | LaserlessTattooRemovalKit.com

To my knowledge, this is the only 100% natural option out here in 2019 to get rid of your tattoos.

I really hope this helps someone out there.

Good luck!

Jamie