Addictions, bad and good........tattoos of Bible verses; thoughts?

[farouk]

@LoveConquersAll FYI.............so any wisdom for this topic?

[farouk]

"No regrets, but it surely isn't as pretty as it once was..."

@DeighAnn

Yes I think a lot of Christians are in exactly the same situation as you: having gotten inked up years ago and then moved on.

I saw a quote about young ppl on a missions trip all getting a Scripture tattoo; it's likely they will in due course move on, while years hence not not necessarily regretting the ink ups which served some purpose at the time.

[Sower]

1 hour ago, farouk said:

I saw a quote about young ppl on a missions trip all getting a Scripture tattoo; it's likely they will in due course move on, while years hence not not necessarily regretting the ink ups which served some purpose at the time.

"likely they will in due course move on"

"ink ups which served some purpose at the time"

What purpose?
If those who get tats "in due course move on", because they "served some purpose at the time," what happens after? I think anyone who has the burden to share Christ (all of us believers, right?) and got tats to 'open conversation', why would they move on, as if the purpose is over and not needed any more?

The only (good) thing I personally can think is the tats will give someone more boldness/confidence to identify with Jesus as a believer in Him.  Separate the wannabe's from the faithful. If it works, and people are more encouraged to share the light and blinded people then see light, praise God. 

Some how I wonder then how so many were saved for thousands of years without the assist of tats. Was it simply that believers were faithful and believed the most important information they could share with another human being was the simple gospel, the Good News, and so told them about it out of love/obedience?

"As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

I believe if someone has a burden for the lost, they will share the gospel. A tattoo will not increase nor decrease that burden. Only be a crutch.

** Got off topic talking about sharing the gospel. I now remember it is about tattoos. Just trying to spice up the thread before you run out of members to alert...
 

[farouk]

28 minutes ago, Sower said:

"likely they will in due course move on"

"ink ups which served some purpose at the time"

What purpose?
If those who get tats "in due course move on", because they "served some purpose at the time," what happens after? I think anyone who has the burden to share Christ (all of us believers, right?) and got tats to 'open conversation', why would they move on, as if the purpose is over and not needed any more?

The only (good) thing I personally can think is the tats will give someone more boldness/confidence to identify with Jesus as a believer in Him.  Separate the wannabe's from the faithful. If it works, and people are more encouraged to share the light and blinded people then see light, praise God. 

Some how I wonder then how so many were saved for thousands of years without the assist of tats. Was it simply that believers were faithful and believed the most important information they could share with another human being was the simple gospel, the Good News, and so told them about it out of love/obedience?

"As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

I believe if someone has a burden for the lost, they will share the gospel. A tattoo will not increase nor decrease that burden. Only be a crutch.

** Got off topic talking about sharing the gospel. I now remember it is about tattoos. Just trying to spice up the thread before you run out of members to alert...
 

@Sower Thanks for your comments. Appreciated.

(I was commenting on DeighAnn's post.)

[farouk]

On 3/9/2023 at 9:47 AM, FJK said:

my personal thinking about tattoos (not about women's adornment with jewelry that can be put on or taken off at will, tattoos being permanent).

@FJK I take the point of your observation, yes.

They are also so widespread and it's also not unusual for say someone with some kind of ink on a wrist during say, if they attend a very formal setting in business, etc., for the occasion to wear a long sleeve or bracelet over the wrist with the inking. (Many women in church would likely be able to say that if nails are painted anyway and a bracelet covers a wrist, it's unlikely that a bit of ink on the wrist will be noticeable, in any case.)

But what do I know...? 2c...

[Hopefully]

9 hours ago, farouk said:

to the contrary it's hard to see what is achieved by someone claiming it's supposedly "un-ladylike"; the fact of what those such as godlywoman413 say seems to show differently.

Hello,

for me I don’t think about if it’s ladylike. I just try to remember the guidance I received on tattoos when I read about it in the Bible. 
 

I just stick with that no matter what anyone says.

[Hopefully]

9 hours ago, farouk said:

I have a tattoo that has my late husband's

“You must not cut your body as a way to remember the dead. You must not make any tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭28‬ ‭

my tattoos are not of anybody who has passed away but it appears to me it is  best to have none at all.

[Roymond]

1 hour ago, Hopefully said:

Hello,

for me I don’t think about if it’s ladylike. I just try to remember the guidance I received on tattoos when I read about it in the Bible. 
 

I just stick with that no matter what anyone says.

The thing is, tattoos aren't mentioned in Acts 15 where the Holy Spirit reduces the entire Mosaic Law down to four items:
 

Quote

 

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you

* abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols,

* and from blood,

* and from what has been strangled,

* and from sexual immorality.

 

That leaves the New Testament admonitions about adorning one's self.

[farouk]

8 hours ago, Roymond said:

The thing is, tattoos aren't mentioned in Acts 15 where the Holy Spirit reduces the entire Mosaic Law down to four items...

@Roymond I think it's inevitable that some Christians will interpret Scripture in different ways.

Some tattooed Christians might well come round to saying: "Ohh I feel bad about mine....."

 

Other Christians might well come round to saying - especially about a Bible verse tattoo- "Ohh this is good to have..."

[farouk]

On 3/11/2023 at 3:40 AM, Roymond said:

I've seen names such as "Living Art" (which was a pun since it was run by a guy named "Art", but also a message because he refused to do anything dark or sinister, "In Living Color" (which had a unique thing going in that they asked each customer to visualize their oldest relative and then imagine their tattoo on their own old body), "Body Gems" (they specialized in tattoos featuring gemstones, including what looked really painful to me:  tattoos on the earlobes to complement whatever a person was wearing there), "Casey's Colors" (Casey only did bright 'happy' tattoos), "Adorn", "Paramount", "Rosewater" (run by Rose), "Gold Sparrow", and -- okay, this one is weird -- "ThoughtCrime Tattoo".  Some are in former barber shops and have art samples on the walls like barbers would have haircut pictures, some are in malls; none of the ones I mentioned are dark dusky or seedy.

@Roymond This is true that a lot of tattoo parlors are more like salons, with clientele - some seeking a faith-based design, no doubt - who would never be seen in a 'dark and seedy' establishment.

This quote which I saw rings true, indicating that a lot of clients who would thoroughly hesitate to enter a 'dark and seedy' place would yet be definitely open to receiving the inking needle in circumstances that they might regard as more congenial:

Paula Castle took up tattooing after being made redundant from a sales job ..."I really did not want to do it. ...But I’m a bit of an all or nothing person so I said ‘yes’ and really pushed myself and I’ve not stopped...About 97% of my clients are female and that is universal across the board."

James McCarthy, Mirror dot co dot uk