Poll: Tattoo art - Christian perspectives: Fight it? Ignore it? appreciate/embrace it?

[FollowHim]

@FollowHim FYI....did you see/ vote in the poll, above?

My to be son in law has tatoos.

My problem with tatoos is their definition. I put on clothes that express me and who I am, yet to put ink under my skin is actually more relevant.
It is the same argument as having a sticker on your car or having a tailored number plate ( uk thing )

If my focus is on Jesus and His love and care for people, jewellery serves that purpose.
Tatoos are about belonging, but the symbols get in the way.

The problem is YBH, you belong here, is not what people feel. They want to make a statement beyond this.
Once the symbols become the individual they cannot stop the growing, because they start to define them.

In Jesus I want to tell people its what we are not how we appear that matters, and reaching people within, is the true reality of Christ.
So if I start using symbols to define me, I am declaring something other than Jesus.

Jesus spent 3 years with his disciples for a reason. They needed to belong not because of superficial pictures, or the group they hang out with, but because they knew Jesus, at the deepest level you can know someone. Jesus said it like this,

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
John 15:15-16

If we need pictures on our skin to initiate conversations, we have missed the Lord and intimacy.
I remember seeing Todd Bentley on stage with all his tatoos. I thought this guy had a rough life to be so inked, so he must have a story.

Turned out he has been a preacher all the time, and got inked as a spiritual issue. But if your whole life is being on stage and creating an impression, it helps to be this revolutionary odd person.

So I have good reason to avoid tatoos and the addiction to more tatoos they cause, because of how they distort the emphasis of identity.

28 Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
Lev 19:28

What is our highest ethic? Rejoice in the Lord always.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

@Ronald Nolette For example, nurses are a demographic which is very widely tattooed.

source: allnurses dot com

So I can understand Christian nurses wanting to get inked up with something faith based (Bible ref., Christian fish sign <>< on wrist, etc.) as a conversation-starter, right?

Well being 66 and having been in the hospital more than a few times, I don't recall seeing ink on a nurse.

 

[JenniferAutumn]

I think tattoos are the least of our worries.

 

[farouk]

My to be son in law has tatoos.

@FollowHim Thanks for your various comments. So are your son-in-law-to-be's tattoos faith based in design, maybe? (or if not, would you have preferred them to be faith based?)

I'm guessing your daughter doesn't have tattoos...

 

[farouk]

many good hearted children of God have them.

@Gideons300 My wife and I 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 I'm sure other conversations have arisen as a result of her willingness to become tattooed in this way. This kind of scenario can undoubtedly be repeated over and over, as you maybe imply.

 

[farouk]

Well being 66 and having been in the hospital more than a few times, I don't recall seeing ink on a nurse.

@Ronald Nolette FYI:

my wife had a nurse that has verses on her arms and it opened up a good conversation and fellowship

 

[FollowHim]

@FollowHim Thanks for your various comments. So are your son-in-law-to-be's tattoos faith based in design, maybe? (or if not, would you have preferred them to be faith based?)

I'm guessing your daughter doesn't have tattoos...

The tatoos of my son in law are about his father and his appreciation of him. So you would not guess their meaning at all. One is a bear, another a cartoon character his dad liked.

My daughter has wanted a butterfly or something small for years.
One of my criticisms of tatoos is they are not permanent. The skin moves and sags, the colours fade so you need to have them redone over time, and without that they can look like just a bad blotchy mark. To counter this some go for block colours etc.

I simply ignore it all, as I regard it as meaningless, other than for the individual themselves.
There was a phrase in a science fiction film, "I see you". The idea was seeing the individual within how they behaved.
It is a powerful idea. We are not bounded by our appearance, it is but one part of how we express ourselves.

So many interactions in the world are about asserting yourself against others, rather than celebrating yourself and others together.
There is a subtle difference, with one being a sense of needing to prove something, while the other celebrates what already is.

A child is fascinating when they discover something new and wonder at it. We need to keep that wonder, and not because we have not attained knowledge, but because there is always an infinite number of complexities and beauty involved in each thing as we learn more. It is not a library of proofs or attainment for a prize, rather it is experiencing and growing in the wonder of Gods creation,

God bless you

 

[farouk]

The tatoos of my son in law are about his father and his appreciation of him. So you would not guess their meaning at all. One is a bear, another a cartoon character his dad liked.

My daughter has wanted a butterfly or something small for years.
One of my criticisms of tatoos is they are not permanent. The skin moves and sags, the colours fade so you need to have them redone over time, and without that they can look like just a bad blotchy mark. To counter this some go for block colours etc.

I simply ignore it all, as I regard it as meaningless, other than for the individual themselves.
There was a phrase in a science fiction film, "I see you". The idea was seeing the individual within how they behaved.
It is a powerful idea. We are not bounded by our appearance, it is but one part of how we express ourselves.

So many interactions in the world are about asserting yourself against others, rather than celebrating yourself and others together.
There is a subtle difference, with one being a sense of needing to prove something, while the other celebrates what already is.

A child is fascinating when they discover something new and wonder at it. We need to keep that wonder, and not because we have not attained knowledge, but because there is always an infinite number of complexities and beauty involved in each thing as we learn more. It is not a library of proofs or attainment for a prize, rather it is experiencing and growing in the wonder of Gods creation,

God bless you

@FollowHim Thank-you.

Really I'm not surprised that your daughter also wants to get a little inked up. (Quite apart from the fact that her husband-to-be is already).

Whatever may have been thought in the past, these days so many Christians - indeed, Christian women - seem to regard getting faith based tattoo designs as a rather wholesome thing to do.

pinterest

Everyone has his or her opinions and preferences, of course, although a lot of Christians would tend to regard it as something benign and wholesome for a nice Christian lady to do, if she prefers.

 

[farouk]

i saw my daughters ones for the first time on Sunday. They look quite pretty.

If I had one I think I'd go for something like this. The empty cross with the flower symbolising the beauty of new birth clinging to the cross.

@Pearl Yes, it's hard to deny that it can be rather pretty for a nice Christian lady to have and do, isn't it?

pinterest

 

[farouk]

Thanks to all who voted so far in the poll!

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

 

[farouk]

I like it.

@Gideons300 A Christian man or woman, according to conviction, should either abstain with relish from a faith based tattoo or get inked up with relish in a wholesome way with a faith based tattoo. But the idea of becoming knotted up with legalistic worrying about it should be excluded....right?

 

[farouk]

my grandfather had every one of these.

@Waiting on him Seems like your grandfather - and maybe your daughter, too - approached the matter of tattoos in a wholehearted way.

(Similarly, the comment to @Gideons300 in the previous post.)

 

[farouk]

I'm not sure how I personally feel about tats. I have a couple of pre-believer tats but since becoming a believer, I have not had the inclination to add more....even those that may give God the glory.

@Angelina FYI....did you see/ vote in the poll, above? (sorry if I've asked you before; don't quite remember).

What your preference is for yourself now is clear, of course; what do you think for example of the situation of other tattooed Christian women who, unlike yourself, might have a tattoo of the name of an non-Christian ex-bf: can you understand the wish instead of having to be forced to wear the ex-bf's name for the rest of her life, to have it changed to something that reflects more the current Christian conviction, e.g., a good artist would be able to change a name such as 'Bill' into 'Bible', etc.? (I just expected that you as a tattooed Christian woman would have a bit of an insight into such a situation, even though not in exactly the same situation yourself.)

 

[farouk]

@Waiting on him I guess no more family inkings recently or in prospect? sometimes they seem to go in cycles, anyway.

 

[farouk]

@Ronald Nolette FYI....

..one of nursing school classmates.. was also a tatoo artist prior to nursing school. In fact she tattooed alot of our classmates.. I had 2

I have 4. .. In the hospital that I work at you would be hard pressed to find employees without tattoos.. even.. significantly older nurses .. have tattoos.

source: allnurses dot com

 

[farouk]

Yeah, I have. There's some neat stuff there.

@Truman Ron Coates Other ppl evidently think so, too, especially young ppl. It's what they do now.

As Godsgrace said:

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

Years ago it might have been thought that nice young ladies didn't get tattoos, but in fact today for a while now it's exactly the sort of thing that serious college students, preachers' daughters, homeschooling moms, etc., might do.

This raises the scope for faith based tattoo designs a great deal...

 

[Gideons300]

@Gideons300 A Christian man or woman, according to conviction, should either abstain with relish from a faith based tattoo or get inked up with relish in a wholesome way with a faith based tattoo. But the idea of becoming knotted up with legalistic worrying about it should be excluded....right?

Do you remember what Paul said about eating meat that had been offered to an idol? To the man who thought it a sin, it was a sin to him if he ate. To another, whose heart did not convict him, if he ate, he did not sin.

Human nature wants to categorize actions as sin or not sin, but this is simply going back to a book of rules.... do nots. Touch not, taste not, handle not, ink not .

I love what Paul said.

"Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him in the things that he alloweth."

What God desires is that we become so close to him, so attuned, that the Holy Spirit can whisper yes or no with each choice presented to us, and then give us the power and the "want to" to obey him.
That is the full power of grace.

blessings,

Gideon

 

[farouk]

@Gideons300 Thanks for your thoughts.

I like your paraphrase: "Touch not, taste not, handle not, ink not ."

Fact is, one preacher's daughter might hesitate to get tattooed; another might have it done enthusiastically; and both for personal witness reasons as they might understand it.

(Seems like a lot more now are doing it enthusiastically than hesitating to do it, these days...right?)

PS: Thanks for your poll vote.

 

[Truman]

@Truman Ron Coates Other ppl evidently think so, too, especially young ppl. It's what they do now.
As Godsgrace said:
Years ago it might have been thought that nice young ladies didn't get tattoos, but in fact today for a while now it's exactly the sort of thing that serious college students, preachers' daughters, homeschooling moms, etc., might do.
This raises the scope for faith based tattoo designs a great deal...

My dad had tattoos.
He got them while overseas during W.W.2.
For some reason they went blurry.
When I was a kid, I'd ask him what they were and he'd say, "That's where a pig bit me."
He had a dry sense of humor...must be where I got it from.
I think it hurt me to know that a pig bit my dad. Lol!
Between that and being a recovering addict, and perhaps not wanting to pass on Hep.C. through tattoo needles, though I've been thinking recently that I may be clear of the virus, maybe I have an aversion to tattoos.
I had an ear pierced during the 70s.
I have no issue with others who do, along with tattoos, though I have no desire to add to who I am.
I think it's a genetic thing.
I'm an artist, I view creativity as a gift from our immensely creative God.
As far as satanically-inspired creativity goes, I'm a big believer in Revelation 11:15.
He can redeem anyone.
Or anything.
He just does things His way.
Father knows best.

 

[farouk]

My dad had tattoos.
He got them while overseas during W.W.2.
For some reason they went blurry.
When I was a kid, I'd ask him what they were and he'd say, "That's where a pig bit me."
He had a dry sense of humor...must be where I got it from.
I think it hurt me to know that a pig bit my dad. Lol!
Between that and being a recovering addict, and perhaps not wanting to pass on Hep.C. through tattoo needles, though I've been thinking recently that I may be clear of the virus, maybe I have an aversion to tattoos.
I had an ear pierced during the 70s.
I have no issue with others who do, along with tattoos, though I have no desire to add to who I am.
I think it's a genetic thing.
I'm an artist, I view creativity as a gift from our immensely creative God.
As far as satanically-inspired creativity goes, I'm a big believer in Revelation 11:15.
He can redeem anyone.
Or anything.
He just does things His way.
Father knows best.

@Truman Ron Coates So your father had them; a lot of military men did - and do. I don't suppose your mom had any...

These days, military spouses are a demographic that tends proportionately to have it done a lot, also.