Faith based tattoo question

[Marilyn C]

4 minutes ago, farouk said:

@Marilyn C Some ppl who don't like faith based tattoos (which is fine, if they don't) might sometimes try do deny just how widespread they really are.

FYI:

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source: reddit

 

forums dot thewelltrainedmind dot com

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(Whereas the evidence for it seems overwhelming, frankly.)

 

Thanks farouk,

Not for me to judge. 

[enoob57]

I understand God perceives love from me as obedience to the things He has told me...
Leviticus 19:28 (NKJV)

[28] ‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.

It is not the do to get aspect of law but how God askes me to love Him

Matthew 22:37 (NKJV)

[37] Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [38] “This is the first and great commandment. [39] “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

John 14:21 (KJV)

[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Thus for me I want to know God intimately and if obedience will aid me in this pursuit then why would I do otherwise?

 

[farouk]

4 hours ago, enoob57 said:

I understand God perceives love from me as obedience to the things He has told me...
Leviticus 19:28 (NKJV)

[28] ‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.

It is not the do to get aspect of law but how God askes me to love Him

Matthew 22:37 (NKJV)

[37] Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [38] “This is the first and great commandment. [39] “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

John 14:21 (KJV)

[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Thus for me I want to know God intimately and if obedience will aid me in this pursuit then why would I do otherwise?

 

 

 

 

 

Hi @enoob57 I take your general point, indeed. In the same Leviticus chapter, just adjacent it seems to say about not trimming one's beard; do preachers shave? if indeed preachers do shave, then maybe they are backhandedly admitting they are New Testament believers under grace rather than Old Testament Jews with bushy beards in the land under the law. There are also dietary restrictions in the OT, some of which are not practised now because of Peter's vision in Acts.

I have talked to various young Christians with Bible verses tattooed. The tenor of the conversation with them has been in appreciation for the Scripture verses which they have received, rather than by way of me giving them a hard time.

Edited February 13 by farouk

[farouk]

12 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

Thanks farouk,

Not for me to judge. 

@Marilyn C

There will always indeed be a wide divergence of convictions and personal preferences.

FYI:

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Tattoos are unlady-like. That is why I would never have one.

source: Cachalot christianityboard dot com

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Mayflower said:

"I think the pastor's wife has a faith tattoo.... quite a few in my church have faith based tattoos and my friend and I were talking about them....I've seen tattoos that have a lot of meaning like mine. I feel mine is special and thankful I got it. I haven't once felt guilty for getting it."

christianityboard dot com

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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

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[farouk]

FYI @BK1110 ................ thread & poll, above, started; any wisdom?

[farouk]

Thanks to all who voted so far in the poll.

NB: If you have not yet voted in the poll, please vote now.

[BK1110]

1 hour ago, farouk said:

FYI @BK1110 ................ thread & poll, above, started; any wisdom?

I can't read through all 26 pages of this thing, so forgive me if I repeat others.

I think the old Leviticus passage is Mosaic Law that is no longer binding. I think this means it is not an outright, definite sin, at least. More of a matter of conscience.

There are some things we should not do because they could affect our witness, even if they in-and-of-themselves are not sins. For example, if I were going to be a witness in the nation of Japan, where there is still a very strong negative cultural perception of tattoos due to their usage by the Japanese mafia (Yakuza), it could very much affect my ability to be a witness to those people to get a tattoo. To get one then would be unloving, as I would be placing my own desire for a tattoo above what is needed to show love to others in sharing the gospel as effectively as I can.

However, on the other side of things, I just recently read a passage I had not taken notice of before: "Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." (Acts 16:1-3)

Look at that! Paul himself, the one who openly rebuked Peter when Peter was wavering towards the Jews who were insisting on circumcision, actually had Timothy circumcised! Despite being the one who most vehemently opposed the circumcision crowd, and went to great lengths in his teachings and letters to tell people that they were no longer under that commandments. Why? He did it specifically to remove anything that could have caused the Jews to reject them off-hand. He actually had Timothy undergo a permanent, painful, bloody modification to his body, even though it was not required, for the sake of making sure Timothy could reach the people he would be witnessing to. Could I see a Christian who is going to be witnessing to a certain people group, whether a tribe in some jungle or members of some subculture, who think tattoos are great, getting a tattoo to help them reach out to those folks with the gospel? Hmmmmm..............

I think people considering tattoos should think/pray long and hard about their motivations.

[farouk]

"She just said that she had them and wanted to get them removed. Surprised? Yes she didn't look like someone who had a lot of tattoos."

@Renskedejonge

Did you see her again; tell you more?

In the Bible Belt in North America they are very, very widespread; far from ppl wanting to get rid of them, they are often actively sought.

[RdJ]

3 minutes ago, farouk said:

"She just said that she had them and wanted to get them removed. Surprised? Yes she didn't look like someone who had a lot of tattoos."

@Renskedejonge

Did you see her again; tell you more?

In the Bible Belt in North America they are very, very widespread; far from ppl wanting to get rid of them, they are often actively sought.

No I haven't seen her in years. I just remember thinking: What a pity of your money. First get all these things and then remove them for thousands.

 

 

[farouk]

4 minutes ago, Renskedejonge said:

No I haven't seen her in years. I just remember thinking: What a pity of your money. First get all these things and then remove them for thousands.

 

 

@Renskedejonge Well.........I guess your assumptions are different. (Which is fine.)

These quotes from the Bible Belt in North America seem to show that it's almost standard practice:

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Quote

..in the rural Bible Belt. Just about every person in three of the four sides of my family (bio parents, step parents) have multiple tattoos. Most of them are biblical (crosses between the shoulder blades are the most common ones) getting tattoos when your old enough is pretty much expected in the family.

source: reddit

 

Quote

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

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(Does this surprise you that in the Bible Belt, once one reaches a certain age, it seems to be almost standard practice?)