Hailed be the Lord, brothers and sisters.
This has been on my mind for some time now, and I've questioned it pretty thoroughly.
To elaborate, by Religious Tattooing I mean permanently marking signs of Christendom upon one's body, in the context of worship/marking faith.
Tattooing, generally, is forbidden (Leviticus 19:28 and maybe? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), in the case of Leviticus it is said "...And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh;...", i.e to not harm one's own body. Curiously, it is also said that "...a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you;..." forbidding tattooing in general (specifically the one that I am about to talk about).
In the era of Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Catholic (referred to as Croats due to there being deep ties of ethnicity with religion) women tattooed (in Serbo-Croatian: "Sicanje") signs of crosses and other religious symbols on their bodies, so that the Muslim (Ottoman) invaders don't marry them. Marriage to Muslims (or any other faith for that matter) in those days was very frowned upon because almost always they'd have to switch religions, which was very frowned upon.
So, here is my question: Are they wrong for doing that in the face of having to switch faith? If they weren't wrong, should it still be allowed today with or without that threat of switching faiths?
In my opinion, it was not wrong of them to do so. As a matter of fact, in my mind, it's showing everyone your devotion to your Lord and Saviour, the one who created you and who will one day judge your decisions on the earth. It is, quite literally, treating your body as a temple by decorating it with beautiful marks of your faithfulness to the Lord. Therefore, even without the threat of switching faiths, it would still be a beautiful gesture to show everyone that you love the Lord and all of his acts.
Thank you.
This has been on my mind for some time now, and I've questioned it pretty thoroughly.
To elaborate, by Religious Tattooing I mean permanently marking signs of Christendom upon one's body, in the context of worship/marking faith.
Tattooing, generally, is forbidden (Leviticus 19:28 and maybe? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), in the case of Leviticus it is said "...And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh;...", i.e to not harm one's own body. Curiously, it is also said that "...a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you;..." forbidding tattooing in general (specifically the one that I am about to talk about).
In the era of Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Catholic (referred to as Croats due to there being deep ties of ethnicity with religion) women tattooed (in Serbo-Croatian: "Sicanje") signs of crosses and other religious symbols on their bodies, so that the Muslim (Ottoman) invaders don't marry them. Marriage to Muslims (or any other faith for that matter) in those days was very frowned upon because almost always they'd have to switch religions, which was very frowned upon.
So, here is my question: Are they wrong for doing that in the face of having to switch faith? If they weren't wrong, should it still be allowed today with or without that threat of switching faiths?
In my opinion, it was not wrong of them to do so. As a matter of fact, in my mind, it's showing everyone your devotion to your Lord and Saviour, the one who created you and who will one day judge your decisions on the earth. It is, quite literally, treating your body as a temple by decorating it with beautiful marks of your faithfulness to the Lord. Therefore, even without the threat of switching faiths, it would still be a beautiful gesture to show everyone that you love the Lord and all of his acts.
Thank you.
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