Tattooing?

[Elijah2]

Tattooing is in reality painting the body, therefore making it more beautiful. In tattooing, the flesh is not cut, just pricked by needles.

Your friend should indeed consider being a Christian tattoo artist, with religious designs and paintings. Many Christians would love to have a tat but have grown up in "legalistic" churches preaching OT law to NT saints; thereby ending up believing that tats are wrong, satanic, cultic, paganistic, etc. ALL BUNK!

Simple fact is, Christians like tats too and if a shop were opened by a Christian man, advertising Christian themes and art, people would eventualy come. Even those who don't know Christ may come in....WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS!!!!!!


GO FOR IT!!!

So you are in authority to override these scriptures:

"You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord." [Leviticus 19:28]

"The priests [like the other Israelite men] shall not shave the crown of their heads or clip off the corners of their beard or make any cuttings in their flesh." [Leviticus 21:5; both passages quoted from Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]

 

[Sketcher]

"It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell." - Acts 15:28-29

This passage explains why Christians eat pork, shave their sideburns, and wear clothing of blended materials - says nothing about tattoos, which implies that they were legalized as well.

As for your friend here, he should probably honor his wife's wishes.

 

[Nilla]

Please do not post back to anyone but the OP. If you wish to respond to what someone else has posted, please do so in PM or start a new thread. Thanks!

 

[seashale76]

A friend of mine used to be a professional tattoo artist. He worked at a reputable studio that was very professional and clean. He left to go into the ministry. Several years later he has lost his job and his family is suffering horribly. Their utilities are about to be shut off, and they cannot pay their rent. They have several small children. They have prayed, and prayed some more.

He has asked me for advice, and I'm seeking the counsel of many first. He has the opportunity to tattoo at this studio again. He would tattoo by appointment only, and only do men's tattoos, and nothing degrading. He truly wants to honor the Lord, and is troubled by the adversity of what is right, verses wrong, verses just plain legalistic and religious, compared to trying to follow the Holy Spirit.

I personally don't have anything against tattoos, but the environment may be a shady area for him. There is a Liquor store a couple doors down from it, and of course hang-outs outside. He wouldn't have a drinking issue, I'm simply speaking about the appearance of evil, verses... just plain legalism. This would certainly solve his financial issues, but do you think it's a trap? He has told me about several dreams he's had in the last couple of months about working there. He has just been so hurt by legalistic people pouring into him he can't discern what is simply right or wrong in this situation. His wife isn't too happy about it, and she would rather him do private appointment only, nothing degrading, and no women.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I personally don't have much against tattoos either, as I've seen a few cool ones. However, as I don't have any, I'm in no position to regret getting one or a few.

In my own religious tradition, it's an issue where economia is used by the Church. It is a heavily discouraged practice, but you certainly don't turn someone away from the Church who already has tattoos, even religious ones. As far as I am aware, there are regulations about priests not having tattoos, just as someone who has been tonsured a priest or a deacon (if they're already married) can only be married once to one woman. We don't go so far as to refuse burial and funerary rights as the Jews do to those who have tattooed themselves, but it really isn't favorably looked upon. The general consensus one would get from their spiritual father is to simply not get a tattoo thus avoiding the whole dilemma in the first place.

Think of it this way: Those who have something unedifying on themselves usually regret it when they become Christians (and many times even if they don't). I'd say this accounts for most of the people with tattoos that I know. They claim they wouldn't have gotten them if they could go back (not to mention most tats don't look so fabulous years on with wrinkles and weight gain). Those who have Christian tattoos are still battling a more permanent vanity and/or are running the risk of ruining their witness by having actions that counter the symbols they sport. We're not to judge our brothers, but the world isn't so kind (and let's face it, we all struggle with doing it).

Would your friend (even though he would be taking precautions to adhere to a set of morals) continue to think this a viable means of income if there was even the slightest chance that the men he would be tattooing with supposedly innocuous images might regret it later? Would he be alright having been a party to their momentary vanity and frivolous waste of a few hundred dollars?

 

[bliz]

The lives of people who foillow God often take many twists and turns. There was Joseph - his mother dies while he's young, he's papmered by his father and reviled by his brother, sold into slavery and ends up reigning in Egypt! Interesting careerfor a nice Jewish boy.

The journey God takes your friend on may or may not look a lot like yours or that of other Christians in your community.

 

[TasManOfGod]

Would we consider suggesting to a dog that it return to it's vomit so it might be edified by it?

 

[Lightkeeper55]

So you are in authority to override these scriptures:

Not going to debate this but as I already said....OT law for NT saints doesn't work..I am not under law but under grace. Please leave OT law where it belongs, in history.

My opinion stands as is. My tats are beautiful creations and my future tats will be too. I just wish I had a Christian tat artist to do it the way I want.

Thank you