Faith based tattoo question

[farouk]

On 8/14/2024 at 1:08 AM, LoveJoyHope-lady said:

 yes, it could be used as a chance to open a spiritual conversation. (I did meet a waitress a few weeks ago who had her baptism date tattooed on her arm, and I asked her about it.)

Hi  @LoveJoyHope-lady 

Sounds like you had an experience like my wife and I did; we 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 it seems like her reason for going with confidence into the tattoo parlor certainly worked! and I reckon with others also, maybe regularly.

So what you said about the waitress that you talked to does indeed ring true, right?

[farouk]

Hi @Debp

You said, back:

"If a Christian or even someone else wants to get a tattoo, I don't think that is my concern.

I guess some people can become addicted to getting tattooed.   A former neighbor, a young lady, had all of her arms and all of her legs totally covered with tattoos."

A young lady serving in an office that I talked with who was aged about 18 already had about 10 tattoos - tiny ones - on her arm: I didn't pay any close attention.

But no wonder that young Christians who are about that age often take the opportunity to receive a faith-based talking point inking such as a Bible ref. or quote, seeing as at that age it's become such a widespread custom to get ink as a coming of age thing, seemingly, right?

 

[farouk]

@Diamond FYI...........poll and thread started..............

[farouk]

On 7/24/2024 at 12:30 PM, Lilybloom said:

 Not out of any kind of personal conviction against them

Hi @Lilybloom

Some ppl even regard them as beneficial to one's general health.

Did you happen to see the report from the American Journal of Human Biology about their reported benefits? (summary reproduced, below).

Different ppl get them for very widely differing reasons, some of which you may or may not identify with.

Among Victorian ladies in the 19th century it was apparently regarded - once adulthood had been reached - as a rather classy and lady-like thing to do:

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Surprisingly, one of the major resurgences of interest in tattoos in Europe occurred among 19th century high society Victorian women (as well as men), after British explorers .. brought back the practice to Britain. .. grew during the 19th century, and even Winston Churchill’s mother had a tattoo .. on her wrist. Queen Victoria was also believed to have had a tattoo.. . From Victorian Europe...to America. In 1897, (art critic, Margot) Miffin says that an estimated 75% of American society women were tattooed..
(Black Fire: Women, Tattoos, and the Transformative Power of Body Art )

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A lot of professing Christians today do seem to regard tattoo parlor sessions as wholesome experiences - often faith-based in design - to prioritize:

FHII said:

Probably 75% of the congregation have tattoos...  Myself, the Pastor, his daughter and grand daughter included. Now, even my wife

christianityboard dot com

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My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 tattooed on her wrist area; and so as a conversation-starting tool it certainly worked......, right?

This is the report summary from the American Journal of Human Biology:

A study published in the American Journal of Human Biology uncovered that tattooing serves to inoculate the immune system. There are two reasons behind this. One is that they have less reduction in immunoglobulin A. The second is that getting a tattoo stimulates an immune response. Immunoglobulin A is an antibody that helps the immune, gastrointestinal, and respiratory systems. Higher levels of the antibody help the body to ward of pathogens and even the common cold or flu. Tattoos also stimulate and strengthen the immune response. When the immune system detects a foreign invader in your body it sends antibodies to attack them. This happens when you get a tattoo. Your body attacks the foreign invader (tattoo ink), which is why swelling can occur. Eventually your body accepts the ink and you begin to heal. Over this time the immune system becomes stronger through its efforts to combat the ink. A first tattoo does not have the same effect as multiple tattoos. On the first one you are temporarily more susceptible because your immune system is already busy fighting the tattoo ink. However, more tattoos compound the positive effects on your immune system.

source: chronicinktattoo dot com

Edited August 16, 2024 by farouk

[farouk]

On 7/24/2024 at 7:51 PM, SIC said:

Yeah its a martial arts thing

 

@SIC

Yes.

On the one hand in Japan tattoos have seemed to be a bit gang-related, yet in the Taekwondo in neighboring Korea (I think there's even a word for the women's section of Taekwondo's One Championship) it seems like nearly everyone gets his or her inking with total confidence. Someplace also I read that the One Championship champion — Angela someone from Singapore — has 13, and expects to get more tattoos.

In North America, so many young Christians get faith-based - Bible quote or ref., etc. - at around age 18.

[farouk]

On 5/30/2024 at 10:53 AM, Neighbor said:

one does have to live with their  tattoo confessions

Hi @Neighbor My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 tattooed on her wrist area.

She must have spent a long while thinking about it, indeed, and then quite a while under the inking needles.

[Lilybloom]

@farouk

I get your points. My discomfort with it is more because of the tattoo that I already have. I'm not certain if I regret it because it does still represent my past. However, it doesn't really represent me currently.

Maybe if I come across a line of scripture or something symbolic that just really stands out to me for a certain period of time, I might get another. But as it stands, i'm disinclined to get any more.

[farouk]

Hi @katburnell FYI...........thread and poll started.............

cc @hishandmaiden @Annisissy @sistergrace

Edited September 23, 2024 by farouk

[deva1]

On 8/15/2024 at 8:00 PM, farouk said:

Hi @deva1

As a way to express something personally important, it's certainly become established for the most traditionally minded and conservative ppl to go into a tattoo parlor confidently.

FYI:

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juliannenw said:

I am a nurse in a cardiac ICU. I am also pretty heavily tattooed. I am a well educated, well rounded nurse, and was raised with strong morals and manners. .. I am an extremely traditional person..a professional persona as well as a unique one while I'm not working

allnurses dot com

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godlywoman413 said:

"I have some tattoos that I had gotten as a younger person. Mine are not anything questionable."

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Hi. As I've said I don't have a problem with them just not for me thanks. Good to start a conversation with someone but I don't find them nice to look at . I know others do and some can be very intricate. But it's not my thing. 

[farouk]

On 8/14/2024 at 1:08 AM, LoveJoyHope-lady said:

I did meet a waitress a few weeks ago who had her baptism date tattooed on her arm, and I asked her about it.

Hi @LoveJoyHope-lady

I saw this post, below, also and it does remind me almost exactly of what you said, above:

 

On 6/3/2023 at 4:26 AM, ApplePi said:

I got a tattoo .. for that very reason .. w/ writing in Spanish ("no soy la misma", which translates to "I am not the same") & the date I became a Christian. Most people here only know English, so they ask what it means. That opens the door for a conversation if they want to keep talking. If nothing else, it plants a seed. 

Knowing indeed these seed-planting effective witness tool potentials, so many young Christians seem tattoo-parlor friendly.