What does the Bible say about tattoos / body piercings?

What is your opinion, of this?

  • I Completely Agree With it

    Votes: 3 16.7%
  • I Agree With it

    Votes: 3 16.7%
  • I have no opinion

    Votes: 6 33.3%
  • I Disagree

    Votes: 4 22.2%
  • I Strongly Disagree

    Votes: 2 11.1%

  • Total voters
    18

Ken Rank

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I have 6 tattoos and a navel piercing. Its my body and I will do what I want with it not what the Bible wants
You're certainly welcome to do whatever you want, but what about the verse that says, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own?"
 
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NothingIsImpossible

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All this talk of judging makes me always tell people to read my signature picture at the bottom. We are not allowed to judge per say, but we are allowed to reproof/correct.

That aside are tattoos and piercings a sin? Well I see it as damaging your temple (body). Are you going to go to hell for it? I don't think so. Heres what someone said before on this forum about it:

"We do have this command in 1 Peter 3:3–4: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” Granted, this passage is directed at Christian women, but there is a principle here that may be apropos: namely, a person’s external appearance should not be the focus of our attention. Much effort goes into “elaborate hairstyles” and “fine clothes” and jewelry, but that’s not where a woman’s true beauty lies. In the same way, tattoos and body piercings are “outward adornment,” and we should be careful to give more effort to the development of the “inner self,” regardless of our gender.

In relation to tattoos and body piercings, a good test is to determine whether we can honestly, in good conscience, ask God to bless and use that particular activity for His own good purposes. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The New Testament does not specifically command against tattoos or body piercings, but it also does not give us any reason to believe God would have us get tattoos or body piercings.

An important scriptural principle on issues the Bible does not specifically address is if there is room for doubt whether it pleases God, then it is best not to engage in that activity. Romans 14:23 reminds us that anything that does not come from faith is sin. We need to remember that our bodies, as well as our souls, have been redeemed and belong to God. Although 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 does not directly apply to tattoos or body piercings, it does give us a principle: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do and where we go with our bodies. If our bodies belong to God, we should make sure we have His clear “permission” before we “mark them up” with tattoos or body piercings."
 
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faroukfarouk

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Yes I have seen people saved using tattoos as a witness, that is why when I was told by some Christians that it was a sin. I had to know what the Bible actually said.
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 other conversations have also arisen as a result of her willingness to have it done - which presumably was a lot of the idea behind it.
 
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geiroffenberg

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Here is a Video That May Help Anyone Struggling with this. Let me know your opinion and if this has helped you.

it has nothing to do with the law of moses. In christ the law of the spirit rules and there is nothing written against tattoos. If you want to follow leviticus and the law of moses, then you must do everything else in there to gain the blessing of god---which by the way is impossible to day as you must first convert to a jew and even then there is no temple, priesthood or sacrificial animals available to fulfill more than hundred of the commandments plus all the others that you must do that the new testament for the gentiles totally prohibits (like the eating of certain foods, kepping new moons, sabbaths, circumsition etc). Dont think we can pick and chose in this matter, its either the law of moses or the law of the gospel.
And the new testament specifically warns against this attitude as we will fall out of grace if we want to be righteous by the law.
 
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Blade

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If we were to ask GOD.. do you know what He would say? What do you want to do? Now WHY would GOD say this when "Tattoos" were forbidden? He knows your heart. You are not really asking for truth but a right to do.. what ever it it is MOST of the time. Not always :)

Now..when was ask from our heart and really want to know.. He will show you where its written. Then again.. YOU have to freely make the choice. And when ANYTHING is not of God.. there is a price. And ANY sin the price for that sin is death in this life. No sin has a good out come :)

Some have said(I didnt read this here).. its only about the "dead"..yeah.. like DONT mark up the dead..but the living is ok! Huh?

MAN does not understand. God your Father is NOT against ANYTHING fun. For He is FUN..the BEST at it. Yet the things He tells us not to do..one.. bings death. Two.. gives the enemy the right to ack move in your life. It seems like nothing. So did just touching and taking ONE bite. WOW what harm can happen from taking a bite right? GOD could see.. He ALWAYS warns...always makes a way out.

So its getting tattoo's a sin? Yes.. if GOD says dont do it..well period. Does it now lead to DOOM and darkness ..haha.no Not even close. If anyone has one.. you are just as HOLY and pure before the Father as if you had none. IF you know Christ. So.. its your choice. As is everything WE do. To make this even worse? Wrong word maybe.. Jesus? He wont judge you. Nor will He condemn you. WOW Its as if we can do ANYTHING as if we are truly FREE!

And.. we are. Yet...we are the light of this world. To do something with no real cost...to not do it..not for a reward..but simply because your Father asks. Yet.. when you KNOW Him.. really KNOW Him and He is your friend. He wont ask. he will TELL YOU not to do it.
 
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faroukfarouk

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1. What is the intention behind getting the tattoo?
2. Will the tattoo help to glorify God or will it glorify something/someone else? [etc.]
TurtleAnne,

Just looking at what you wrote, these are clearly good questions. As you said just recently on the other thread also: "People who want to get a tattoo in order to assist them in spreading the Gospel, clearly do have their hearts in the right place on that matter."

My wife and I talked to a young lady who had the whole of John 3.16 inked on her wrist area; it was her favorite Bible verse, and mine also, and presumably other conversations have arisen also as a direct result of her willingness to have it done. I also talked to a young man with the same verse inked on his arm.

While a mere tattoo does not give a true window on the heart, yet I am sure that for many young people who choose this means of testimony the motivation is most likely to be God honoring.

In fact it would seem to be a choice widely made among Christians in the Bible Belt; while everyone's situation is individual and Godwardly seen and it certainly does not necessarily prove to be God honoring in all cases, I was thinking of this quote recently referred to.

QueenCat said:
Around here (Bible Belt), it is common, especially among evangelical Christians, for the girls under about 40 to have religious tattoos. More do than don't, especially when you get to the under 30 crowd. I hardly know any female at church that is under 30 that does not have a tattoo.

forums dot thewelltrainedmind dot com

I think it would be very fair to describe it as a rite of passage among young Christians, many of whom in the case of faith based designs want to use it in a God honoring way.
 
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makeajoyfulnoise100

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I want to say that as someone who has a tattoo and has a sister with many tattoos, and know and have experienced tattoo culture the age old saying your body is your temple is very true. My tattoo is on my neck and is an altered image of a symbol from an anime to reflect Christ. The symbol there was to show a sting. I attempted, once, to take my own life. But Christ showed me the value of living and the value of my life. For the longest time when I claimed loving God and when I claimed that I didn't I knew, eventually, Christ could save me. Unfortunately I put Him to the test. I feel so sorry about that. But here I am telling that I am so grateful to God that He has allowed me to have the tattoo. I can go anywhere in the world and I can show people this tattoo. I can tell the story. Christ saved me and that's a blessing I see everyday thanks to the tattoo.
 
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SkyWriting

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Love tattoos and piercings. Body art is great.

Keep your emotions in check in case your tastes change.
Think long term benefits.







weird%2Btattoos%2Band%2Bpiercings%2B2.jpg
 
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Your Brother In Christ

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I am Honestly Surprised that there is such a split on such a basic topic. It seams the the root of each stance is ether:
  1. OT law is absolute and can't be questioned.
  2. NT grace cover the law.
I am not going to try to convince anyone witch way is right. I state my stance in the video and examine the word of God in context of the culture and to who it was given. In the poll we are quite split, vary informative.
I will would recommend this, hear the the points I give in the video, and then take it to the Lord, He will make the call.

Always seek the Truth,

Your Brother in Christ
 
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faroukfarouk

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I want to say that as someone who has a tattoo and has a sister with many tattoos, and know and have experienced tattoo culture the age old saying your body is your temple is very true. My tattoo is on my neck and is an altered image of a symbol from an anime to reflect Christ. The symbol there was to show a sting. I attempted, once, to take my own life. But Christ showed me the value of living and the value of my life. For the longest time when I claimed loving God and when I claimed that I didn't I knew, eventually, Christ could save me. Unfortunately I put Him to the test. I feel so sorry about that. But here I am telling that I am so grateful to God that He has allowed me to have the tattoo. I can go anywhere in the world and I can show people this tattoo. I can tell the story. Christ saved me and that's a blessing I see everyday thanks to the tattoo.
Hi; makeajoyfulnoise100! good to see you on the forums. Glad that by faith you have managed to come through a past, despairing period of your life, by the grace of God.

Yes, a lot of young Christians find that faith based ink is very effective in testifying to their personal story. Sounds like your sister has more ink than you do; and it may be that you yourself are now satisfied with the faith based ink that you've already received; or maybe you're still planning more (I see you really like Psalm 100, from your screen name! there was a poster on the forum the other day who said all the young people on her missions trip received Scripture tattoos, but this has to entirely the tattooee's preference).

In any case, in the end it's daily prayerful enjoyment of the promised of God's Word to the believer in the Lord Jesus that really help and strengthen in the Christian life, even though faith based ink may be one of many different possible means which might help some ppl to witness.

Blessings.
 
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faroukfarouk

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I am Honestly Surprised that there is such a split on such a basic topic. It seams the the root of each stance is ether:
  1. OT law is absolute and can't be questioned.
  2. NT grace cover the law.
I am not going to try to convince anyone witch way is right. I state my stance in the video and examine the word of God in context of the culture and to who it was given. In the poll we are quite split, vary informative.
I will would recommend this, hear the the points I give in the video, and then take it to the Lord, He will make the call.

Always seek the Truth,

Your Brother in Christ
I think in the light of Romans 14 (Paul's treatise on Christian liberty) it's quite inevitable that Christians are likely to have various views on a lot of subjects, don't you think?
 
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Original Happy Camper

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I will would recommend this, hear the the points I give in the video, and then take it to the Lord, He will make the call.


The Lord already made the call on this issue, notice that he spoke of the ten commandments in Lev 19 below then a statement on keeping his statues. then comes verse 28 about tatoo's and piercings and verse 37 says keep them all for he is the LORD.

This is the guiding verse in the Bible. If God spoke it then it cannot be changed.

Matthew 4:4 King James Version (KJV)
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Leviticus 19 King James Version (KJV)
19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.
11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

19 Ye shall keep my statutes.

28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
 
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faroukfarouk

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The Lord already made the call on this issue, notice that he spoke of the ten commandments in Lev 19 below then a statement on keeping his statues. then comes verse 28 about tatoo's and piercings and verse 37 says keep them all for he is the LORD.

This is the guiding verse in the Bible. If God spoke it then it cannot be changed.

Matthew 4:4 King James Version (KJV)
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Leviticus 19 King James Version (KJV)
19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.
11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

19 Ye shall keep my statutes.

28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
The previous verse in Leviticus seems to say about not trimming the corners of one's beard. Do preachers shave?

Are New Testament believers under Gospel rule, the same as Old Testament Jews in the land under the law?

(I'm dispensational in my views.)
 
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Original Happy Camper

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The previous verse in Leviticus seems to say about not trimming the corners of one's beard. Do preachers shave?

Are New Testament believers under Gospel rule, the same as Old Testament Jews in the land under the law?

(I'm dispensational in my views.)

Please explain your understanding of this NT verse where Jesus is speaking quoting the OT
Matthew 4:4 King James Version (KJV)
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
 
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