The Truth About... Tattoos and Piercings

this is a world video production Bible School to God be the glory in recent years

tattoos

and body

piercings

have become extremely common, perhaps more popular than ever in history, movie stars have them, in fact, sports figures have them. A news item from April 30, 2009 says that Barbie now has them to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Barbie doll. Mattel has created a new Barbie complete with

tattoos

and a toy tattoo gun so kids can get washable tattoos. The American Academy of Dermatology website references a 2004 survey of people ages 18 to 50 that revealed that 24% of people surveyed reported having a tattoo.

A February 12, 2008 Harris Poll stated that 32% of people ages 25 to 29 had a tattoo and 25% of people ages 30 to 39 had a tattoo and because they are so popular, it is a topic with that young people have to deal with and about which Christians have many questions. Personally, I have had a few people come to me and ask if it is okay for a Christian to get a tattoo or is it okay to have multiple ear

piercings

, how about a nose ring? Sometimes it is young people who want to know the answers to these questions, other times it is parents who have been discussing the topic with their children and want to know what the Bible has to say about this topic now in light of these things, I think it's appropriate that we spend some time trying to answer these questions that we want to know, if the Bible addresses these topics, is it a question of right and wrong or is it purely a matter of opinion?

In this study we will seek to answer these questions and we want to be very fair in our approach. Our goal is not to shame those who have tattoos or come to unwarranted conclusions. Our goal is to examine this topic in light of relevant biblical passages and then draw accurate conclusions, first I want to discuss some misconceptions that people have about what the Bible says about tattoos. Often when the topic of tattoos or body piercings is brought up, you will hear someone say. Well, the Bible specifically forbids that the fact is that there is no passage in the Bible that says you will not get a tattoo.

Now many times people will go to a passage in the Old Testament that they think addresses our question specifically and they will use Leviticus 19 and verse. 28 where the Bible says that you shall not make any cuts in your flesh for the dead nor leave any mark upon yourself. I am the Lord. I want to suggest to you that I don't think that's an accurate use of that particular passage. You know, first. We have to be very careful when trying to use an Old Testament passage as a proof text for what we can or cannot do in the Christian era.

The law of Moses has been nailed to the cross and is not the standard by which we live today. but I also want you to note with me that this same chapter that prohibits putting marks on your body also gives instructions on animal sacrifices requires leaving certain portions of your crops unharvested prohibits sowing two types of seeds in the same field tells the Hebrews to They were not to wear a garment with two different types of fabric mixed with wool and linen. There are also restrictions on how a man's hair should be cut and ways in which he is not allowed to trim his beard.

Now I would ask why you choose one of these things and try to tie it down and ignore the others. The context of Leviticus 19:27 and 28 is to keep people away from pagan practices and things associated with idolatry. There is mention of cutting meat and you may remember from First Kings 18 and verse 28 that that was associated with the worship of Bale and there is archaeological evidence indicating that some of the Canaanites were tattooed with the names or symbols of their favorite gods. This seems to be what is prohibited, not the modern practice of tattooing. The idea is that Jews were not to identify with the pagan practices or idolatrous religions that surrounded them and so Christians should be careful when presenting arguments from the Bible that do not.

Let's make bad arguments because, first of all, it damages our credibility. and the case we're trying to make and number two, you're really not handling the Word of God right now, maybe there's a principle in Leviticus 19 that we're not to associate with ungodly things, but that would be it. What we could take from that passage and, going back to my point, there is no passage that says you will not get a tattoo, but you know that just because there is no direct prohibition against tattoos does not necessarily mean that it is right to get one. We know that there is no passage in the Bible that says you will not inject heroin into your veins, but we understand that it is wrong to do so due to biblical principles and therefore, in order to determine whether an activity is right or wrong, a Christian must ask yourself certain questions that You need to ask yourself questions like: What effect would this have on my influence?

Would this be a hindrance to other people? You are participating in this practice. Good stewardship. Will this have any negative effect on me as a servant of God? So let's look at some biblical principles that number one, I want to talk about the principle of influence. I want to start by looking at a passage of Scripture in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, there is a rather unusual discussion that takes place on the topic. about the use of veils in verse 5 the apostle Paul writes, but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, that is, without a veil, dishonors her head because it is one and the same as if she had a shaved head, because if a woman is not covered, she also cuts herself but if it is shameful for a woman to be shaved or shaved to cover herself that is to say wear her veil now some have concluded that this passage applies to all women for all time I don't think that is correct, in fact , I think it is becoming clear that that is not the point in verse 16 when Paul writes, but if anyone seems to disagree, we have no such custom nor do the Churches of God now if the point of this passage is not that all women of all time must have their heads covered when they worship, so why does Paul command the women in Corinth to do so?

I think the fact is that in that particular city, at that particular time, it was customary for a woman to wear a veil and not to do so was to send a message of a rebellious nature, it was to reject the authority of her husband and therefore, for a Christian woman to refuse to wear a veil, she was sending a message that in that culture it would be very offensive, it was an association that a Christian woman would not want to have now what connection does that have with tattoos in our current society tattoos send a particular message For years tattoos have been associated with the counterculture Unusual tattoos and body piercings send a message that I am a certain type of person or I am associated with a certain type of people, a former police officer told me that when he was in the force police, as more and more officers began to get tattoos, the department asked that officers only get tattoos and in places that could be hidden by their uniforms and the reason they gave was that they were concerned about the message it would send to the public There are numerous news stories on the Internet that discuss the problem of tattoos and body art in the workplace, a Fox News article points out that some employers are having to write very specific dress codes to address this issue that many employers consider a problem.

They require their staff to dress in a way that hides their tattoos because they don't like the message it sends. I mentioned to you earlier about the new tattooed Barbie doll. I want to read you an excerpt from an article that talks about this new doll. She says parents have already spoken out against Mattel and asked that the dolls be taken off the market. A father asked what he would do. They bring to light the next drug addict Barbie, alcoholic Barbie. Now the reason your parents ganged up against Mattel to have this doll taken away is because in our society tattoos have connotations.

My name is Spotty Crying Bear and I used to be a tattoo artist. I started when I was 13 years old. man, I was a fugitive at the time and it was a way to make ends meet and over time it became a better way to make ends meet and I used to have six shops in Las Vegas, Nevada, and I did tattoos. from living there for quite a long time and doing body piercings, I started with a tattoo, like most people know, and being on the streets and all that quickly grew and I never thought I would get many tattoos, but I have my whole back made my legs my arms my chest my stomach almost my entire body is tattooed having tattoos has affected me in getting a job getting housing in many things getting a good table in a restaurant getting a taxi to pick you up asking you directions people.

I've had people run away from me and get in their car and drive away instead of asking, they answer a simple question like where is the pay phone? In things like that, they tend to intimidate people and that makes you inaccessible now, what does all this have to do with 1 Corinthians chapter 11? The point is that this society's view on a particular issue can make it sinful for a Christian, if the society considers not wearing a veil to be rebellious and overstepping its boundaries, then a Christian should not do it. do it and in light of that if we conclude today that a Christian who has excessive tattoos or piercings is seen as rebellious or associated with sin then surely a Christian should avoid it and if he does it anyway it is going to be detrimental to the church. and it's going to be detrimental to your influence and while we're talking about influence let me also mention that a lot of times the game is that a person has to go get tattoos can also be detrimental to your influence, you know, there are certain places where it's not good for Christian wow it's not good for Christian to go to a bar even if he doesn't drink it's not good to go to a strip club even if he doesn't look it's not good to go to a casino even if he doesn't he doesn't gamble and the reason, of course, is that It is destructive to their influence.

Now what about tattoo parlors in general? They have a very sordid reputation. Often their names say a lot, for example, here are some names. sinful inflictions. Dark images. Red devil tattoos and piercings. In fact, after. Doing some research online, I was surprised to learn how many tattoo parlors have the word sinful in their names. Tattoos have always been associated with the bad boy image, bikers, gang members, people who have been in prisons, jails, institutions, that kind of thing, a second principle that we want. consider is modesty now the point I'm making here is not what you might be thinking.

I'm not referring to showing too much skin, although that could be related, but rather I'm referring to a word that appears in the Bible in first Timothy chapter 2 and verses 9 and 10. Now I'm going to read this passage to you and then we're going to discuss it, he says. In the same way, women adorn themselves with modest clothing with shame and sobriety, not with combed hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive dresses, but which is appropriate for women who profess piety with good works. Now there are four words or phrases that I want to select from this text.

The first word I want to look at is the word modest this word means neat well groomed or decent and the idea is that she should not adorn herself or beautify herself in a way that draws undue attention to her now in the immediate context he is talking about a woman who exaggerates, that is, who wears flashy clothes and a lot of makeup and expensive jewelry now. Of course, a woman could also draw undue attention to herself if she doesn't, i.e., by wearing too little, but I want you to consider this statement in light of tattoos and body piercings.

Can a woman or man draw undue attention to themselves? herself with tattoos or a nose ring or a navel piercing, you know, an honest person would have to answer yes to this question. Now the second word we want to consider in this passage is the word shamefully, the word shamefully closest to our modern word. word modest than the other the Greek word for shame face administrator a sense of shame or modesty now the third word is the word sobriety many times when we think of sobriety we think of alcohol sobriety is related to being sober someone who has not had their senses or his judgment dulled by alcohol well this word in the original language carries with it the idea of ​​good sense and self-control speaks of a person who is exercising good judgment now the fourth phrase is from verse 10 says that women are made to profess piety in other words in a way that tells the world I am a servant of God my most important concern is to be pious now let's put all this together and see what we Christians have to adorn ourselves or decorate ourselves in some way that does not attract excessive attention, you must have a sense of shame and modesty they must exercise good judgment they must dress and adorn themselves to communicate that they are pious now let's ask the question is that what tattoos communicate is that What having a stud and your tongue shows a sense of shame and good judgment communicates is that what people will conclude when they look at you is that you know there is a typeparticular tattoo that has been very popular in recent years and is usually one done. by women and is placed at the base of the back so that when the shirt is lifted it draws the eye's attention to that part of the back.

I recently learned that that particular style of tattoo is now commonly known as a seal. In light of what we just read in first Timothy 2, a person would have to admit that such a tattoo does not fit with godly principles. Years ago when I was in the tattoo industry the trend seemed to be: Many girls have gotten tattoos on their lower back which has become a hallmark and when I was in the industry we designed tattoos specifically for that area in different ways to accentuate that part of the woman's body depending on its shape. It was and was mainly to draw attention to that area of ​​the body.

The third biblical principle I want you to think about is stewardship. Now we are going to talk about stewardship of our bodies and then we are going to talk about stewardship. of our money now someone might think well, you know, stewardship, that's a weak argument, but before you reject it outright, take a minute and consider the risk associated with this and think about stewardship of your body from this perspective, he says the Mayo Clinic website. that tattoo inks are classified as cosmetics so they are not even regulated, they are not approved by the FDA, the pigments and dyes used in tattoo inks are not approved for injection under the skin, the long term effects of these, according to the site, are unknown.

The site also lists some specific risks associated with getting a tattoo. The first risk they mentioned is blood-borne diseases, including hepatitis C, hepatitis B, tetanus, tuberculosis and HIV. Now, continuing with the list of risks of tattoos, they also mention skin disorders, skin infections, allergic reactions. and in rare cases they can even cause problems when a person gets an MRI and the tattoo industry, when you do it professionally, part of your test is knowing that you are exposed to 750 different airborne bacteria and viruses when you start to tattoo someone and those are just viruses and bacteria that float in the air and the danger comes when you open the skin and start bleeding, that viruses and bacteria have a greater opportunity to enter the body, the biggest problem today is mainly Hepatitis C , you can get the disease and it doesn't show up for 15 years, and in most cases, hepatitis C is a death sentence.

I personally know of 2600 cases of Hepatitis C virus being transmitted with a piercing gun in New York City, well someone might say but I go to a clean upscale tattoo parlor. The people there are professional. Certainly the risk you just described doesn't apply to me, but it does. You must remember that the people who perform these procedures on you are not doctors. doctors and they are not really concerned about your health, all they care about is getting the money you paid them to permanently disfigure your body and over time the tattoos stretch and fade and can look very bad and then... there is The Regret factor you know, for various reasons, many people look back years later or maybe even shortly after and regret receiving this mark that will be there for the rest of their lives.

The tattoo will move with your skin. if your skin wrinkles your tattoo will wrinkle if you gain a lot of weight your tattoo will stretch if you lose a lot of weight your tattoos will shrink if you cut yourself and you will have a scar there you just destroyed your tattoo that you probably paid a minimum of 150 a 200 dollars and like I said, in most cases your idea of ​​what you thought was cool when you were 20 isn't so cool when you're 50, a lot of the regret that came from getting tattoos was people coming in wanting to get their name tattooed. from your girlfriend or your wife husband boyfriend things of that nature we always tried to dissuade them because we knew we would be covering it up later them It's always almost an omen if you get someone's name tattooed, unless it's your son or your father you'll end up breaking up of that person, so we used to make it a rule to name them, but we would do it with red or blue ink to be able to cover it up more easily and the management of our bodies is not the only issue to consider.

A second issue we should think about is the management of our money. Now someone might argue that it's my money I can buy whatever I want with it but you know that's not really true, all our money belongs to the Lord and we are just stewards of it, now someone else might say well you know it's not wrong to buy things we enjoy. You can spend your money on going to the movies or buying an iPod. I choose to spend mine on getting a tattoo. We agree that it is not wrong to spend money on recreation and pleasurable activities, but when you do it we always have to consider the principle of management depending In my personal financial situation and my bills and the amount of money I should give to the Lord, it may be that buying an iPod is something I shouldn't do, it may be that buying a new car right now is poor. administration and therefore the principle of administration is one that each of us must consider, we must weigh it and draw appropriate conclusions and the fact is that tattoos can be very expensive.

I have to wonder if this is a good use of my money. The Lord will be pleased if I spend my money this way, according to Bill Johnson, executive director of the Alliance of Professional Tattoo Artists office, most tattoo artists charge an hourly rate ranging from $75 to one hundred and fifty dollars per hour and the duration of time. Getting a tattoo can take anywhere from an hour to many hours depending on the size and complexity of the tattoo. Additionally, some tattoo artists charge between 10% and 25% extra if the tattoo is on a more difficult part of the body, such as the lower back, and if you regret getting the tattoo, removing it is even more expensive than getting it done, it can take 5 to 20 sessions to remove a tattoo at a cost of 200 to $500 per session, if you calculate that it could be costing up to $10,000 and can be very painful to remove.

Laser tattoo removal has been compared to being splashed with hot grease, so some choose to receive a local anesthetic which further increases the cost. Now let's address some miscellaneous questions. Someone might ask: What if I just want to get a tattoo that's something simple and innocent and I'm just going to get one, maybe a butterfly, something like that? You know, there are several factors that would influence the effects of having a tattoo. like the use on your body, the tattoo is located, how many tattoos you have, what is a tattoo, all these things will affect the way people look at you, for example a tattoo of a butterfly will not look the same as a skull and crossbones or let's say a black widow tattoo but there are still certain negative connotations associated with tattoos 1 Timothy 5:14 talks about not giving the adversary the opportunity to speak reproachfully you will still have to get a tattoo parlor to get one you will still have to get one you run the risk of contracting infections and diseases from bad needles you still have to deal with the principles of modesty and good judgment that we discussed in 1 Timothy chapter 2 now someone might ask this second question what's going on? get a religious tattoo maybe even a cross or something to profess your faith.

You know, I would suggest that there are a lot of very ungodly people who have cross tattoos and therefore having a cross won't necessarily set you apart, in fact having a tattoo will make you more like them, you know, if what you're trying to to do is profess your faith, both are not the way to do it, try teaching the gospel, dressing modestly and living a godly life, these things are much more effective than a tattoo would be and it is biblical. Now here's a third question someone might ask: What if I already have a tattoo?

You know, we are aware of the fact that for someone who already has a tattoo, a discussion like this could make them feel very selfish. What we are trying to do is not make people aware but ashamed, we are trying to get people to examine Christian principles and then make decisions that are more in line with the Bible. If you have excessive body piercings, you can change that if you have a nose ring, you can remove it, but if you already have a tattoo without spending a lot of money to get it removed, there's not much you can do about it.

It's like I heard a Christian man say when I became a Christian Baptism washed away my sins but it couldn't erase my tattoo and that's it, but you know that doesn't mean you can't be a faithful Christian. I prefer to wear a suit with a tie now because it hides. the mistakes I made in my past and getting tattoos I'm not that person anymore I'm a preacher of the gospel and I love my Lord and I think for me to walk around showing all my tattoos like I used to is putting a contradictory message I'm part of the church and I'm part of the body of Christ and part of that responsibility of being part of the body is to respect that body of Christ and I do not believe that tattoos are any way to show respect tattoos and excessive body piercings can damage your influence they can violate the principles of Modesty can represent a risk to your health, they can result in poor management, but if you already have them, it is not too late, they cannot stop you from serving the Lord and being a faithful Christian.

You know that each of us must have the attitude that he had. The apostle Paul in Galatians 2 and 20 said I am crucified with Christ, yet I still live, not I but Christ lives and I now why. Did he say that because Jesus said that if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take his cross and follow me? I live for the Lord. I want to appear to live for the Lord and as 1 Timothy 5:14 says. I do not want to give any opportunity to the adversary to speak to you reproaching you.