This was your question to me,..
I asked you are those fleshly practices? This was your answer to me,..
There is where you changed the subject to being religious when you originally directed your question at me about the world and it's rules, I never changed from your original question, you did.
Just because you steer off the highway doesn't mean I will follow you.
The first issue here we've had before is you not understanding what I'm saying as I intended it.
For example, I have to constantly clarify with you such as this time: Being religious in the sense being used is worldly. I was not changing the subject - world religion is a part of the world system and is fleshly even though the false prophet lying religious spirit makes it seem godly and spiritual. The world system is under 3 primary lying religious antichrist spirits. The "god of this world" is the head and yes, Satan is a very religious spirit, even a condemning legalist accuser of the brethren.
I answered very specifically what I was referring to as fleshly about religiousness - the man-made rules of right and wrong based on the flesh's indulgence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Such rules are always about outward appearance and what the flesh does, rather than anything actually spiritual and eternal in nature.
I never said that obedience to authority is fleshly. That is what I am referring to as you getting off track. When we disagreed on issues in other threads you did the same thing, regularly, and I determined through such that an intelligent debate was not possible. You and a few others add to what is said by someone and assume what they mean based on those fictional additions rather than simply what they actually stated. Take Jim's, "Are you saying Todd Bentley is not hypocritical," statement for example of another who does this.
In this case, your fictional addition is that I was saying that obeying government authorities is fleshly. I never said that. It is a debate fallacy you use often when disagreeing with others. Stick to what is stated and stop adding the fictional arguments they never made.
This is the point we are debating; tattoos and piercings. I made the observation that to label is a "right or wrong" issue is fleshly and a result of tree of the knowledge of good and evil corrupted mind thinking. It has nothing to do with spiritual thinking such as God thinks. God does not view this subject like religiously programmed people do.
People want to make this kind of issue a right/wrong and good/evil issue because they're full on the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We cannot understand the lawful use of the law and understand things from God's perspective, which is the only true one, until we get off that fruit and are fully consuming and only consuming the fruit of the tree of life. Yes, these are mystical symbolism, but the ones called into the Kingdom at this time get and understand this as they mature in spirit. The functional spirit eyes begin to see things as they really are and the spiritual mind realizes the old carnal mind had everything wrong, twisted, backwards, and upside down.
Until a Christian gets to that point, and still thinks their old corruption infected natural mind sees things clearly and correctly through its religious or other worldly programming, from the temporal death perspective rather than the eternal life perspective, they are not spiritually mature and ready for the meat of the Word.
Paul had much revelation on these things and wrote about such more than any other in Scripture. But, a person will not understand what Paul is talking about on these levels until they too grow in Christ and leave behind the old dead man and his thinking that is corrupt.
Religious people are pro's at white-washing the outside and looking spiritual, godly, and righteous to the rest of the world still thinking and perceiving with natural corrupted minds and eyes. Once that is shed and we put on the mind of Christ and see through spirit eyes full of the life of God, we have an eternal heavenly perspective on things that is entirely different than what we had in the world, even in worldly religion. Transformation in Christ, not religious white-washing and brain programming, is required, not optional.
When this happens, we do not see this tattoo and piercing issue, or any other temporal issue, on the surface level, but concerning what it has to do with eternal things. In this case, it has nothing to do with eternal things, and therefore the correct SPIRITUAL judgment is that it is neither right nor wrong, good nor evil, it simply is what it is and is used however it is used by whoever uses such. A person with a heart of wickedness will use such wickedly because that is all he can do. A person full of Christ righteousness will use such righteously. But, it is the person, even their relation to God, that determines such - not the neutral object, which can be neither good nor evil, having no consciousness or will and being completely lifeless.
Also, only idolaters give lifeless things life by their imaginations. If we imagine that a piercing takes on some life and consciousness giving it will and capability of good or evil, it could be a good clue to us that we need to examine ourselves and see if any wicked way (of idolatry in this case) be in us. If our mind wasn't thinking based on idolatry embedded in it, then we wouldn't imagine lifeless things have life in them. Something to think about.
) My husband has 5 tatts and he has a saying...
