The Bible forbids the tattoos!

[winsomebulldog]

Leviticus 19:28 KJV Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 KJV 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

I just have to address this. I've heard this non-argument used more times than I can count. Leviticus 19:28 is the go-to verse for those trying to say the Bible forbids all tattoos. Yet, never have I seen anyone using this verse acknowledge the verses surrounding it. IE: Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. Lev 19:19 (KJV); Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Lev 19:27 (KJV)

Mixing cattle breeds is a common practice amongst those who raise them. (I live in a farming community and personally know many farmers, both who raise cattle for beef and for dairy purposes.) The mixing of seeds in a field seems counter intuitive to me, seeing as how I cannot fathom how one would then separate them come time for harvest. However, I know that many crops are products of seeds that have been bio-engineered by combining two different strains of a plant to then produce a stronger or more hardy plant. And then there's that whole blended fabrics thing. I'm sure that those who use Lev. 19:28 to reject all tattoos also make certain to never wear clothing made of blended fabrics, right? Of course, all Christians must have untrimmed beards (per Lev. 19:27) and must never cut the hair along the "corners" of their heads.

You see the point I'm making, I hope. It is our nature to want to pick and choose verses - especially from the OT Law - that address the things we find personally offensive. We can argue a lot of things by doing this. Yet, we cannot apply one verse from the Law while choosing to ignore and overlook all the others. Simply speaking, either we are living by the law or we are under grace. If we're going to start teaching that all tattoos are against God, then we might as well ignore the entire New Testament, including the sacrifice of Jesus once for us all, and go back to Levitical Law, including sacrificing animals to atone for our sins. You can't have it both ways. Either Christ fulfilled the Law once and for all, or He did not and we are still under it and bound by it.

[~candice~]

Leviticus 19:28 KJV Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 KJV 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

I just have to address this. I've heard this non-argument used more times than I can count. Leviticus 19:28 is the go-to verse for those trying to say the Bible forbids all tattoos. Yet, never have I seen anyone using this verse acknowledge the verses surrounding it. IE: Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. Lev 19:19 (KJV); Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Lev 19:27 (KJV)

Mixing cattle breeds is a common practice amongst those who raise them. (I live in a farming community and personally know many farmers, both who raise cattle for beef and for dairy purposes.) The mixing of seeds in a field seems counter intuitive to me, seeing as how I cannot fathom how one would then separate them come time for harvest. However, I know that many crops are products of seeds that have been bio-engineered by combining two different strains of a plant to then produce a stronger or more hardy plant. And then there's that whole blended fabrics thing. I'm sure that those who use Lev. 19:28 to reject all tattoos also make certain to never wear clothing made of blended fabrics, right? Of course, all Christians must have untrimmed beards (per Lev. 19:27) and must never cut the hair along the "corners" of their heads.

You see the point I'm making, I hope. It is our nature to want to pick and choose verses - especially from the OT Law - that address the things we find personally offensive. We can argue a lot of things by doing this. Yet, we cannot apply one verse from the Law while choosing to ignore and overlook all the others. Simply speaking, either we are living by the law or we are under grace. If we're going to start teaching that all tattoos are against God, then we might as well ignore the entire New Testament, including the sacrifice of Jesus once for us all, and go back to Levitical Law, including sacrificing animals to atone for our sins. You can't have it both ways. Either Christ fulfilled the Law once and for all, or He did not and we are still under it and bound by it.

Well said. Not to mention, that 1 Cor 6 in context is about joining together with others in sexual union. 1 Cor 10 is about table fellowship with Jews. I'm still not seeing the prohibition against tattoos.

[nChrist]

If you think that cutting or marking your body is good for your living testimony, pleasing to God, or somehow glorifying to God - go do it. Put a bone in your nose while you're at it.

[Shiloh62]

If you think that cutting or marking your body is good for your living testimony, pleasing to God, or somehow glorifying to God - go do it. Put a bone in your nose while you're at it.

There's legalism, just up ahead. Can't see it? Look harder, it's on it's way.

I don't recall anyone in this thread saying that getting a tattoo is good for a living testimony. No one said that cutting one's self was a good idea. It hasn't even been mentioned. So stick to what has actually been said, and let's deal with that without all the legalism and finger-pointing at points that don't even exist.

I think tatoos are dumb. I don't think they glorify God in any way, shape, or form. I don't think anyone should get them. I think they are an insult to God because one seems to be trying to improve what God made. However, those are my own personal opinions. And they carry absolutely no weight.

Testimony is not the problem. It is the statement that tattoos are biblically forbidden that are the problem. You posted scripture that is supposed to tell us that tattoos are forbidden. They are. For Jews under Mosaic Law. Anyone else, not so much. The other 2 NT scriptures you posted were taken waaaaay out of context and don't say anything about tattoos anyway. So the judgmental attitude can go, since you are basing your judgments on air.

Do you shave or trim your hair?

I confess, I do both.

[Shiloh62]

i didnt know bout it but if you think bout it our body is to be temple of God and i am glad ya put this down however ya need to keep in mind of folks thats did tatts before they became saved and not put them in condemnations ok ty

Good point, angie-welcome to Worthy

[Shiloh62]

This is an absolutely lame argument......there is no commandment from the Lord concerning tattoos, not one word. Personally, I would never get one because they don't reflect who I am (AND I'm a complete coward when it comes to needles) but they are NOT forbidden by God. I believe He is more concerned with the heart and soul than the cosmetic artifices of His creations.

Tattoos are not mentioned specifically, what we are trying to convey here is that we should not desecrate our bodies that are supposed to be temples for Christ to dwell in.

[Shiloh62]

Does the New Covenant forbid taking of the tattoos? I believe that forbids, and I give you these verses.

2 Pe 1:

1 ¶ Simon Peter, a servant and legate of Jesus the Messiah,—to those who have obtained equally precious faith with us, through the righteousness of our lord and Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah;—

2 may grace and peace abound to you through the recognition of our lord Jesus the Messiah,

3 as the giver to us of all things that be of the power of god, unto life and the fear of god, through the recognition of him who hath called us unto his own glory and moral excellence:

4 wherein he hath given you very great and precious promises; that by them ye might become partakers of the nature of god, while ye flee from the corruptions of the lusts that are in the world.

The New Testament shows us that how we must serve and believe in God. God has given to us the Holy Spirit as the power and aid that we can understand what the Bible teaches.

If we could believe in God by taking the tattoo, in which is Bible verses or reads the Lord Jesus and so on, so this kind of command should be in the Bible. Tattooing was very common in the world where apostles lived. If the will of God would have been to make "Biblical" tattoos, so God would have said that you must make those kinds of tattoos. However, in the New Testament is not a command to make tattoos. For this reason, I don't believe that it is the will of God to take the tattoos.

Some people have said, for example, that the Bible doesn't speak anything about the bicycle, so you can't use the bicycle. The bicycle is harmless and useful vehicle to move from place to place. Of course you can do good and useful things, although they are not mentioned in the Bible, if they are not against the will of God. Making Bible verses as the tattoo is the question showing the faith, which one has. Riding by bicycle is not showing and living by faith, but ordinary deed. Riding a bicycle and taking a tattoo cannot compare with each other when we understand before mentioned example, and the fact that when it is a question about how we must believe in God, so it must be found in the Bible. Riding by bicycle is not a matter of faith, but just an ordinary everyday thing.

The Bible teaches us that serving of God is not the outward issue, but inward. Believer testimony and faith must be the inward issue by the Holy Spirit accordance with the word of God. God said by the prophet Jeremiah that in the New Covenant, God puts His law to inwards parts and writes His law to the hearts of His people. Biblical faith must be written to inner man to his heart and not outwardly to his skin.

Ro 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The Bible doesn't teach serving God by the tattoos, so tattooing is against the will of God.

The whole article is here: http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/Bibleandtattoos.html

Bogus. Better do some clothes line preaching while you are at it and tell us exactly what kind of clothes we can and cannot wear. Better tell us what music we can and cannot listen to. What food we can and cannot eat. Probably shouldn't wear any jewelry either. Driving a car does not honor God, so that's out. On and on, and on. Legalism, plain and simple.

I don't think it's wise to festoon one's self with tons of tattoos. I don't have any. But the statement that the Bible forbids it is false. The scripture you posted certainly doesn't say that.

Those examples of clothing and music do not alter or defile the body as do markings such as tattoos.

[Fez]

While I commend the zeal of the OP in trying to study the word, we all make mistakes and sometimes confuse ourselves with our opinion of scripture.

We have all done it one way or another, lets not deny this.

So my fervent hope is that the OP has learned something, those reading have learned something, and we can all move on.

I would prefer to see a post about the Love of Jesus to us, and His Grace.

PetriFB, want to try a post concerning that?

I for one like, need, to read edifying posts every now and again.

Good try, and I commend you for your attempt. But as I guess you can see, the post is a little off track. Nothing wrong with this, we are told to study and meditate on the word, and that is what you were trying to do. Do what I do when I post something that others disagree with, or correct me on. Learn from it, store it away and study some more. Thanks for the post, I learned stuff about sexual immorality I had not thought about in defiling our bodies. So most scripture or opinions posted, even if a little off track, can have a positive effect!

Blessings.

[oldzimm]

Who's call is it that tattoos defile the body?

I admit that I have seen tattoos that made me say to myself "you got to be kidding", but it could be I don't have the same taste as someone that feels they need tattoos all over their body.

[nChrist]

What one does or doesn't do with their body DOES speak to personal testimony, pleasing or displeasing God, and glorifying or humiliating God. There's nothing legalistic about this - it's just reality. If your children want tattoos, I would hope you have an attack of common sense. If not, encourage them to do whatever they want to. After all, it just doesn't matter according to many of you, and it would be legalistic for you to say NO. It's also reality that what your children do or don't do has a reflection on you as parents. Many of you may face this challenge soon. My children have been raised and out on their own for a long time, so I don't have to worry about this any longer. I might add they are tattoo free and hold the same values as my wife and I. Go back to the first sentence. You're on your own, and I have nothing further to say about this except: As Christians, our bodies are the temple of God, and we should treat it as such. I'm really not interested in any arguments, and you have the last word on this.