More Christian tattoo artists a positive development?

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Is is a positive development for more Christians to train and work as tattoo artists?

  • Yes; positive for more Christians - preferably men - to train and work and tattoo artists

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    25
  • Poll closed .

CharismaticLady

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Okay! but you see the point; not everyone feels it's necessary to have dark outlining for lips. So I see what you mean about tattoo artists being pressured to use thicker lines. Women artists need to be able to pursue their own vision of what womanly tattooing is, without men telling them what's necessary.

The thick lines were in American Traditional. Now with other styles they allow thin lines, but lines all the same. Only with the style of "watercolor" do they allow going outside the lines. Still there are lines, though thin.
 
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farouk

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I think peer pressure is an apt description, but they see it as something that unites them, and solidifies them as a group, community, etc. It's a symbolic gesture with no real significance beyond the symbol itself. To the missionary working in some jungle building sanitation systems, digging wells, etc., the tattoo is a trivial reminder, whereas the Christian working to justify their own existence views it as something of merit in itself. The act of getting the tattoos and wearing them is what is important to them.

The thing to note here is that with the former it is no more than a trivial gesture, while the latter is viewing this as validating who they are. It is a blatant contradiction to Christ's own words. The only validation is the fruit produced, and tattoos are not fruit.

Let me give an example. A pastor I used to know was doing work on a roof. There were other people involved and someone flipped the latch on the extension ladder so that when the pastor stepped onto it, it began plummeting with him to the ground. He came down on his right hand which immediately sent that bone between the elbow and the hand out into the dirt. He had a tattoo placed over the scar that said something like "This too shall pass". I don't remember exactly what it was, but I think that might have been it. Anyways, it was a small reminder of what he had been through as he was serving others. it wasn't a badge of honor validating his life as a Christian. That's the difference.
@shnarkle Very interesting comments. So do I surmise that in the cases of the three tattooees that you raised, there was in your view something going on that you would not have been happy about?
 

farouk

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The thick lines were in American Traditional. Now with other styles they allow thin lines, but lines all the same. Only with the style of "watercolor" do they allow going outside the lines. Still there are lines, though thin.
I see what you mean, I think. Kind of Any Warhol colour minimalism with lines; almost cartoon style.
 

shnarkle

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@shnarkle Very interesting comments. So do I surmise that in the cases of the three tattooees that you raised, there was in your view something going on that you would not have been happy about?

There wasn't anything that made me unhappy. It's just my perspective of the spectrum.
 

farouk

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Poll closed but, 26 and 40, but depending.....

If you are talking about being serious about it, and not inking something you regret later, it all comes down to maturity.
Hi, @Josho (I'm replying here because this thread's poll is live, still.) As regards your comment on the other thread, I guess you have come to the conclusion that where many young men and women get tattooed at 18, a proportion of them may subsequently wish that their designs were different or even not there at all; whereas the 26 - 40 category which you voted for likely indicates some measure of aforethought which ideally is more likely to cancel out regrets, right?

Like you say, maturity is important; it's inherently a mature thing to do, I suppose, right?

While the the tattoo industry, on which this thread has a focus, deals heavily with the younger generation, yet it's by no means exclusive to young adults.
 

farouk

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When I was younger, rarely did a woman get a tattoo and if she did, it was something small.
Hi, @A_Man (Replying here because the poll on this thread is live, still.)

My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 tattooed on her wrist area; it was here favorite Bible verse, and mine also; and I'm sure that other conversations have arisen as a result of her willingness to receive the ink in that design. Many Christians, especially young men and women, are conscious of the prevalence of ink and its effectiveness as a conversation-starter and so instead of fighting the medium, choose to embrace it instead. (If you follow the reasoning?)

(Hence I guess some of the underlying rationale about the scope for parlor work, in the poll.)
 

farouk

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1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV

Being a "temple of the Holy Spirit" doesn't mean that we may not get a tattoo, but it does mean that we should defer such big decisions to Him.
@Sabertooth Some ppl try to use the 1 Cor.6-19-20 passage as evidence of what may in fact be a rather big logical leap in their minds: Because of the passage , "therefore this proves..." (this or that, etc.) about a tattoo design.

Whereas I guess I would follow more the logic of your comment, above, and seek first to do so - if we do, it - making sure we have a clear conscience, if you see what I mean?
 

farouk

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I think that the whole area of whether women should wear pants, or get tattooed; or men get ears pierced, etc., is covered by Romans 14 Christian liberty... we have liberty but some things f you get a tattoo remember what tey look like in our old age lol ...
@Ezra (Replying here because the thread is live...)

Yes, I agree very much about Romans 14 (maybe a neglected passage by some Christians?) Re. pants, my wife has worn them from time immemorial, so to speak, and I would struggle to think that they would somehow be inappropriate. Re. tattoos, so many women have them done now that I guess likewise so many ppl would struggle to think that what has now become a very womanly - as well as manly - thing to do is somehow inappropriate on gender grounds. Re. ear piercing: again, fairly subjective, I guess, though as it happens probably a majority of the young men and boys who attend from time to time the very conservative local church where my wife and I go, would wear earrings: it's regarded as no big deal. I do think indeed that Romans 14 needs to be taken to heart.
 

shnarkle

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@shnarkle I guess it's so widespread now - among both genders of all ages, even - that one can't really afford to get unhappy about other ppl's ink...

It's not just ink, it's piercings, holes, and even scars. Some people go out and intentionally pay someone to scar or even shoot them. I was accident prone growing up, and even now in old age, I'm continuing to collect more scars. This is not something I want, but at least I'm saving money compared to these people who feel the need to pay for them.

Identifying marks are not something I feel any need for. They make it easier for the government to establish one's identity. For a Christian, the only identity they are going to have is in Christ, and the only identifying marks will most likely be from persecution.
 

farouk

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It's not just ink, it's piercings, holes, and even scars. Some people go out and intentionally pay someone to scar or even shoot them. I was accident prone growing up, and even now in old age, I'm continuing to collect more scars. This is not something I want, but at least I'm saving money compared to these people who feel the need to pay for them.

Identifying marks are not something I feel any need for. They make it easier for the government to establish one's identity. For a Christian, the only identity they are going to have is in Christ, and the only identifying marks will most likely be from persecution.
@shnarkle I take your point to some extent, although ear piercings have been around from time immemorial... (Even a majority of the young men and boys who attend the very conservative local church that my wife and I go to, have earrings; and it's not regarded as a big deal at all...)
 

farouk

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I remember one guy had one on his arm back in the '70's. Maybe he made it dance or something when I was a kid. I moved away and went back to visit at that church as an adult. I saw him and got to talking. I saw his tattoo and said I remember that. He said he'd always regretted getting that. He was young and in the navy. When I was a kid, tattoos were the domain of servicemen...

@A_Man PS: Yes, it used to be very much a military thing and a man thing, and it still is. Now military wives are apparently also a hugely represented tattooed demographic, often in family, patriotic and faith themes.

GillDouglas said:
My wife has talked about this possibility, but she has said she'd have a hard time deciding what to put permanently on her body. She has been urged by other military spouses to get one.
christianforums dot com
 

shnarkle

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@shnarkle I take your point to some extent, although ear piercings have been around from time immemorial... (Even a majority of the young men and boys who attend the very conservative local church that my wife and I go to, have earrings; and it's not regarded as a big deal at all...)
I don't see any of it as a big deal. It just seems pointless. When I was young, you didn't wear your hair long because it gave the other guy something to grab onto. A hole the size of a quarter or larger in one's earlobe is a great way to simply tear it off in a fight. Some of these people have them in their lips as well. When they tattoo their faces to scare people it only seems like an invitation to literally tear their face apart with their handy grab handles already in place. I don't understand it, but I don't think I'm supposed to.

I posted it a while back, and the video is probably still on YouTube of the drag queens receiving communion in the cathedral in San Francisco. I think they called themselves the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. That was probably fifteen or twenty years ago. Then there's the pastor who married a woman who transgendered into a man, but not before getting pregnant. There is no limit to what the church is going to entertain. I can remember seeing somewhat overweight women dancing around an alter in leotards 35 years ago. It wouldn't surprise me to hear they're having orgies on the alter next week. They actually built a helter skelter along with a miniature golf course in a cathedral in England. They're turning them into amusement parks.
 

farouk

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I have a 45 year old tattoo on my forearm and it is something I really wish I did not get...I was only 16 at the time and, they were not as popular as they are now. Not that there is anything wrong with them, just not at all an interest of mine :)
@Nancy So a true, inked veteran, but who has now moved on completely... :)
 

farouk

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Back when I was looking for a wife, if a woman had a tattoo, that was a major turn-off.
@A_Man Now it's a turn-off itself for the lady, if the man is turned off by the incontrovertible fact of very widespread feminine ink.

Apparently according to statistics, 55% - 70% or more of parlor clients in North America are female. It used to be a man thing, and still is, but it's become very undeniably a highly womanly thing to do.

Many Christian men and women, instead of fighting the medium, instead embrace it and use it for receiving faith based designs, proven effective in witness conversations.
 

farouk

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Tattoos are becoming ubiquitous. I've seen teenage girls with sleeves, and that was almost twenty years ago.
@shnarkle Well, it's not really different from like getting second holes pierced in their ears among teenage girls and their moms was, 40 years ago: maybe a bit edgy at first but soon almost ubiquitous, to use your term. It's almost a case of, Who doesn't have second holes, ink, etc.. yet? It used to be a man thing (sailors, bikers), but now parlors are often more like salons and it's also become a very womanly thing to do. The three mature inked ladies in church whom you mentioned may have embraced it belatedly, but embraced it in the end they have.
 

A_Man

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So, nice testimony design, right? :)


They let minors get tattoos? That shoudl be illegal. They could make the minimum age be 21. Hopefully kids would have a little more life experience before making the decision.
 

shnarkle

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@shnarkle Well, it's not really different from like getting second holes pierced in their ears among teenage girls and their moms was, 40 years ago: maybe a bit edgy at first but soon almost ubiquitous, to use your term. It's almost a case of, Who doesn't have second holes, ink, etc.. yet? It used to be a man thing (sailors, bikers), but now parlors are often more like salons and it's also become a very womanly thing to do. The three mature inked ladies in church whom you mentioned may have embraced it belatedly, but embraced it in the end they have.

It reminds me of that scene in Pulp Fiction where the John Travolta character responds to his heroin connection's comment about the girl out in the living room being available, and he says, "the one with all the stuff on her face"?

It's gotten to the point that when you see someone who doesn't have all this stuff going on, you look at them as being on the edge of a radical new look.