Is Tatooing Against God’s Law?
During my first years of ministerial life, in Santiago de Chile, when we used to go out at any time, day or night, to witness in the street and to “soul hunt”, as we used to say. We used to leave in groups of four, being two men and two women. In one of those days, we went to visit a factory and I seat down to talk to a tattooed young woman. I struck up a conversation with the tattooed woman who commented that she was surprised that I spoke to her, as hardly anyone ever did so. She believed that because of all her tattoos, traditional Christians stayed aside. Whenever they approached it was always to reproach, judging her for the tattoos she had in her body.
As she was saying that, one of our ministers got close, his forearms covered with tattoos. That minister was a biker and had found the Lord in the same circumstances as that woman and his experience was the last pull of the fishing line to hook that young lady up. Lydia, this is her name, is now a fifty years old grandmother and one of our most encouraging and dynamic street ministers. What she discovered in the beginning of her Christian life followed her in her walk with Chirst since then; man looks Outside, God looks inside.
Getting a tattoo is all the rage these days, and many young kids are trying to decide if they should get a tattoo or not. Some church leaders will quote Leviticus 19:28 as support to their claim that Christians should never get a tattoo: “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:28.)
Oddly, promoters of this verse neglect to consider some other verses in that same chapter, verse 9, that says: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.” Verse 19 reads: “Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.” Verse 26: “Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.” Verse 27: “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” Verse 28: “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.”
My husband asked me, as he read this article, if I am promoting “tatooing”. No, in any way. What I do say is that you cannot judge the interior by what the exterior is showing. As it happens in many other subjects, its easy to isolate verses of the Bible to make a point and forget the Word of God is One and that God’s Commandments have to be obeyed as a whole, not only taking apart the easy bits of it.
Many of the other rules laid out in Leviticus are not followed today as they were supposed to be. This does not mean that the whole book of Leviticus, or even the Bible itself, should not be followed. It just means that we need to carefully analyze what the theme of the Bible is, and realize what it means in each circumstance.
The book of Leviticus contains laws intended to keep the children of Israel healthy and holy for God. Tattoos were extremely dangerous and could result in injury, disease, or death. The verse also refers to a pagan ritual of putting tattoo marks on oneself for the dead, in order to protect oneself from the spirit world and the wrath of other gods. Now, this does not give us license to sin (we don’t need one for we will all sin anyway; it’s our nature). We are still responsible for our behaviour and how it affects our spiritual lives and the lives of others.
For example, the letter to the Romans states: “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” -Romans 14:20-21.From this we can see that it is important to think carefully through all of the effects that getting a tattoo can have on oneself, on our relationships, and on one’s future.
For some this may mean that getting a tattoo will increase their ability to witness to others – as it was in Lydia’s case – while in other communities having a tattoo would greatly diminish this ability. It is all a matter of culture, interpretation, moment, flexibility and mind opening. Should a Christian get tattoos? Let me tell you something; my daughter wanted a tatoo in her back when she was very young. I did not give her permission, because personally I did not think it was right at that moment (although I cannot say that it is totally wrong either).
The conclusion then is that there may not be an answer to “Should Christians get tattoos?” Each of us may have to answer this question for ourselves after taking time to think and PRAY about it. However, let’s be careful not to shun those who sell or display tattoos, or make the blanket statement that they can’t be a Christian because they have a tattoo, like traditional churches in my times did do Pastor Lydia White.
To do this would be “destroy the work of God” instead of taking time to reach the lost. The burden lies with those Christians who choose to get a tattoo. They need to prove to their critics that their faith is based on more than just tattoos; it is supported by good works as well. And they must pray as often as possible that divisive but trivial issues (such as body art) are cast aside in favour of more pressing problems: inequality, hunger, Christian unity and spreading the Good News.Here are some verses that display at least an acknowledgement of religious markings:” And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth.” -Exodus 13:9″It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes; for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” -Exodus 13:16In these two quotes from Exodus, God is telling his people that while many – especially pagans – use tattoos and religious totems, He will give the Jews something greater: a celebration of the day they were saved and brought out of Egypt. For the Jews, this will be their unique mark. This seems to contradict our position.
However, the verses show that tattoos were a normal aspect of society. God never tells the people that tattooing is wrong or immoral. He doesn’t even say that they need to stop doing it. He only tells them that He will make them different than all others through their celebrations.”And the LORD said to him, ‘Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it’.” -Ezekiel 9:4
The mark in this verse refers to the letter “T” or the Hebrew letter “Tau,” which appears as the shape of a cross, and which was painted in lamb’s blood on the door posts to save the “remnant” of Israel when God wiped out all the first born of Egypt during the last plague. In this instance, the mark will be placed upon believers who are saddened by the sins committed in Jerusalem.”On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed King of kings and Lord of lords.” -Revelation 19:16The verse shows Christ as the “Master of the Universe” whose Name, which is the Word of God (and, in essence, everything), is more than just a title on a royal garment. Instead, it is something that belongs to Jesus alone and is intrinsically linked to He who is Lord of all…through a unique marking on his body.
Again, I want to stress that these verses do not show that God endorses tattoos, nor do I. But that tattoos were an accepted part of society during the biblical era and that there is little evidence to show that God explicitly disapproves of such body art. It is not a tattoo in someone’s body that will condemn such person to eternal death. Tattoos as instrument of evangelismFinally, again, I am not enforcing the use of tattoos for Christians as I am not condemning it. However, if Christians wants to be tattooed by any reason, do that as in instrument of evangelism. It’s important that Christians realize that Jesus doesn’t want us to hide our faith or keep our faith to ourselves; just the opposite.
He commands us to do everything within our power to let our brothers and sisters know the one true Word, Jesus Christ.”Go, therefore, and make disciples from all the nations.” -Matthew 28:19″What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” -Matthew 10:27 In fact, even if we wanted to keep it to ourselves (for selfish reasons or for fear of persecution), once the Spirit moves us, we can longer keep silent: So, whether we choose a clerical collar, e-mail messages or tattoos, God, through the Holy Spirit, lets us discover the different and dynamic ways we let others know about Him. One thing is certain, though: as Christians, we need to fully proclaim our beliefs, every day of our lives.
It is beyond doubt that tattoos are NOT sinful and that Christians expressing their faith with some ink under their skin have NOT succumbed to Satan’s wiles (at least, not because of the tattoos). Yet, let us remember that just because we are allowed to be tattooed, doesn’t mean that this is what is best for everyone. Paul tells us that we need to be careful that our actions do not lead others away from the faith:”Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for any one to make others fall by what he eats; it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble.” -Romans 14:20-21Again,
I must not personally affirm that a Christian should not get a tattoo or judge the brother of sister that decide to get one. As a Christian leader, what I must do is to bring some warning to your mind: choosing to get a tattoo is to chose to have it permanently in your body, as it is not reversible; be aware of the risk of blood transmitted diseases; remember that the Lord accept you just as you are, with or without a tattoo in your body. With that in mind, let us pray that, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, each of us may understand God’s intention for us, and whether or not that calling includes some permanent ink under our skin. The question regarding one’s motives can only be answered between the individual and their God.