Poll: Faith-based tattoo: Have you ever talked to someone with one?

[farouk]

Thanks to all who voted so far in the poll.

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

[farouk]

On 4/24/2025 at 2:32 PM, bdavidc said:

I’ve always been old-fashioned in that regard and personally never liked the look of tattoos on women, but that’s just my opinion, not something I hold as a biblical command.

@bdavidc Well....it's widespread...but you don't have to like it, of course.

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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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The bigger context I guess is what the tattoo is of; whether on men or women it is a working witness tool and faith-based...

[farouk]

Hi @NConly

Can't remember if I've asked you this; don't think so; but what do you think of between the shoulder blades as a placement?

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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

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[farouk]

1 hour ago, lrs68 said:

We had young men my age around 15 in my day that had one ear pierced but it didn't appeal to me.

Hi @lrs68 

For generations now in some areas it's been a custom for young men.

This is not untypical:

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My grandson was about 9 years old when he got one ear pierced, to wear one earring like his father.

quora dot com

Often young men today have fathers who have had earrings for decades.

Today it's clear that, around local churches in some areas there are many serious young men - having undergone earlobe studding as a totally straightforward event in adolescence - who are earnest about studying the Bible.

Far from supposedly signifying being anti-church, etc., or rebelling against parents, it's simply what a lot of young men have been accustomed to doing.

I guess ink in some ways is in a similar category, maybe(?)

[farouk]

2 hours ago, lrs68 said:

 They don't care they think they look like a real man 

Hi @lrs68 Yes, well...........

Decades back already, for young men and boys studding one's earlobes became regarded as a very masculine thing: seeing himself 'as a tough guy now...gotta do the ear piercing like the other tough guys', right? :)

It does not always go with being prepared to care for the holes properly. Often girls are better at doing that than men and boys are.

Similarly, tattoos need some care. Again, women sometimes prove themselves to be better at it than men (even though it used to be predominantly a man thing).

[farouk]

On 4/5/2025 at 3:33 AM, Scott Free said:

I see your point. Just leery of taking a person's avatar too seriously. ...

Hi @Scott Free I guess that some Christians do get inked up in a somewhat light-hearted way; while others might go earnestly and decisively into the parlor in order to receive a faith-based design.

(If this makes sense?)

[farouk]

On 5/9/2025 at 5:39 PM, lrs68 said:

I do agree a John 3:16 tattoo is pretty decent

Hi @lrs68

You can see that nowadays, since the most conservative of ppl get tattooed, a lot of Christian young ppl see it as an opportunity to express their innermost Scriptural convictions:

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GodsGrace said:

almost every young girl I know has some sort of tatoo.
Even those very conservative types.

christianityboard dot com

 

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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

julieannenw allnurses dot com

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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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[farouk]

On 5/9/2025 at 4:58 PM, lrs68 said:

I was in a situation where I was in a small community for about 10 years and it was mostly a farming community with very reserved people.   I began enjoying that way of life because it was close to my own background growing up. 

Hi @lrs68

Well, in some areas ink has almost become part of the standard among the most conservative.

(I hope these quotes seem to ring true to you?)

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I would be hard-pressed to come up with more than a handful of names of my friends who DON'T have at least one tattoo--and we are all suburban homeschooling moms, ages ranging from early-30s to mid-50s, living in conservative North Texas. greenvneck forums dot thewelltrainedmind dot com

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Hence why for so many Christians indeed it seems a natural move to use a tattoo parlor for something faith-based.

 

Lady Crosstalk said:

I have Christian friends who have them. They usually have their favorite Bible verse tattooed on a wrist

christianityboard dot com

 

[farouk]

On 5/3/2025 at 10:41 AM, NConly said:

@farouk I ran across this  recently and thought it was a good idea. family members getting the same tat at same time.

A good bonding

Hi @NConly.

In some families, each going in and coming out of the parlor as a tattooed man/woman seems to be a sought after way of expressing their convictions.

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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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In some Middle Eastern countries - whether as a mere family tradition or not - many young women from professedly Christian families are apparently glad to have their wrists tattooed with crosses. When young women reach a certain age it's often apparently expected that they will have it done on their wrists; in the Middle East they often prove highly willing to have it done. (It's apparently regarded as a personal expression of their expected marital prospects; not necessarily a consequence of regeneration by the Spirit, but certainly as a social custom.)

cc @Debp

 

[farouk]

@NConly Thanks for the 'like'. As @Debp said, back, I wouldn't get a tattoo, I wouldn't condemn anyone about having one.   God looks on the heart, not the outward appearance.

It's not a necessary custom in that sense, but - for those who are old enough to decide - a bit of faith-based ink is an option that some Christians do choose. (Likely seen simply as a quite nice choice, as benign as pierced ears.)