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

[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]

Hi @Bartholomew Jones ; in the light of your kind suggestions, I have added another poll response, above: "Be ready to use tattoos in general to have witness conversations".

I hope it makes sense?

 

[farouk]

@Bartholomew Jones Thanks for your vote! evidently the new wording made some sense to you.

Nurses use it to build relationships with patients and their families (see quote, below) so if a person is indeed motivated like you said to use the opportunity for witness conversations, one can see how it could be made to work, whatever one's best preference may in theory be:

More of the nurses that I work with have tattoos than do not. On my shift, only three don't have them (of 13 nurses). We have several nurses (including myself) who have visible tattoos; one gal has them on her wrists. .. I get the most heartfelt compliments from older men with tattoos (or the wives of older men who had tattoos). I love it when a 90 year old fellow pulls up the arm of his gown to compare tattoos with me and then tells me the story (fact or fictionalized, I don't care) behind his tattoo. Usually a war story, often something of a coming-of-age story.... I've had a few wives tell me of their husbands' tattoos after seeing mine. It's such a sweet, intimate, bonding moment, and I feel so privileged to be told a story that may have only been related to close friends and relatives.

 

[Bartholomew Jones]

@Bartholomew Jones Thanks for your vote! evidently the new wording made some sense to you.

Nurses use it to build relationships with patients and their families (see quote, below) so if a person is indeed motivated like you said to use the opportunity for witness conversations, one can see how it could be made to work, whatever one's best preference may in theory be:

Good points. I never thought of it before in a nursing situation.

 

[farouk]

Good points. I never thought of it before in a nursing situation.

@Bartholomew Jones

Getting tattooed used to be almost wholly a man thing.

But now this has changed vastly and indeed nurses, so many of whom are women, are a demographic which now tends heavily to be tattooed.

..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.

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. I've always worn long sleeves .. I love having a professional persona as well as a unique one while I'm not working

allnurses dot com

One does not have to be tattooed to be a nurse, of course, but nurses are a demographic which now indeed tends heavily to be tattooed.

It just shows I guess how many potential opportunities there are out there for the possibility of witness conversations coming about, if the person is already motivated to use ink - one's own or other people's - for exactly such opportunities. (This is despite what one's personal preferences might have ultimately been in other circumstances.)

 

[farouk]

I never meet anyone with a faith tattoo.

@Debp To each his (or indeed increasingly her) own. It is, rather widespread now, actually.

FYI:

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

 

[michaelvpardo]

@michaelvpardo

It does indeed work as a conversation-starter; nurses are so often tattooed and use theirs as ice-breakers with patients and their families, in whatever designs they may be.



Well this would be a dispensational point, really, because I don't see the church going through the great tribulation (even though the general tribulation principle is with us, John 16.13).

Ok, but let me ask you, how many churches are there? Or perhaps I should say, how many bodies of Christ to be more accurate, church is really too generic. Who are the saints executed in the tribulation that continue sharing the gospel and calling upon the world to repent and what church do they belong to?
I don't want to drag this off topic, but though I've heard people call them tribulation saints. I've never heard any explanation on radio, TV, or from any pulpit that identifies them by "affiliation" though scripture says that they will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. If God won't allow His church to pass through the valley of the shadow of death to minister to the dying, even though He's perfectly capable of protecting and providing for His own, who are these tribulation saints? I'm not antisemitic so I don't believe that God wants to punish the Jewish saints, or has a special and separate reward for them. There's been Jewish saints since the first pentecost. I see nothing in scripture about different sheepfolds, one for the tribulation saints, and one for the "other" church. So who are they?

 

[farouk]

Ok, but let me ask you, how many churches are there? Or perhaps I should say, how many bodies of Christ to be more accurate, church is really too generic. Who are the saints executed in the tribulation that continue sharing the gospel and calling upon the world to repent and what church do they belong to?
I don't want to drag this off topic, but though I've heard people call them tribulation saints. I've never heard any explanation on radio, TV, or from any pulpit that identifies them by "affiliation" though scripture says that they will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. If God won't allow His church to pass through the valley of the shadow of death to minister to the dying, even though He's perfectly capable of protecting and providing for His own, who are these tribulation saints? I'm not antisemitic so I don't believe that God wants to punish the Jewish saints, or has a special and separate reward for them. There's been Jewish saints since the first pentecost. I see nothing in scripture about different sheepfolds, one for the tribulation saints, and one for the "other" church. So who are they?

@michaelvpardo We are getting off tattoos!

I do see the tribulation of Matthew 24 and the tribulation principle of John 16.13 as being distinct, if one looks at the context. One refers to a unique period on earth in the future; the other refers to the general tribulation principle through which the Lord strengthens His people.

But we are definitely getting off the topic of tattoos...

 

[michaelvpardo]

@michaelvpardo We are getting off tattoos!

I do see the tribulation of Matthew 24 and the tribulation principle of John 16.13 as being distinct, if one looks at the context. One refers to a unique period on earth in the future; the other refers to the general tribulation principle through which the Lord strengthens His people.

But we are definitely getting off the topic of tattoos...

Yes, but you didn't answer the question. That's ok, I'm pretty sure that everyone will know the answer in less than 60 years and quite possibly a lot sooner. It's nothing to loose any sleep over, because our Omnipotent God is able to protect and preserve His own whether we float away while the world suffers, or live through disasters to comfort and minister to the lost.

 

[farouk]

Yes, but you didn't answer the question. That's ok, I'm pretty sure that everyone will know the answer in less than 60 years and quite possibly a lot sooner. It's nothing to loose any sleep over, because our Omnipotent God is able to protect and preserve His own whether we float away while the world suffers, or live through disasters to comfort and minister to the lost.

@michaelvpardo To be specific about your question, I along with most dispensational Bible readers would see a distinction between the church and Israel; and I would judge Israel to be those involved in the events of Matthew 24, not the church.

So what do you make of the tattoo poll responses, above, so far?

 

[marksman]

@marksman Thanks for your comment!

Did you vote in the poll yet?

I do indeed think it can be kept within the bounds of modesty. 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 have it done. She seemed quite shy, actually.

Yes, I did vote very emphatically as I cannot find justification for it in any shape or form.

 

[michaelvpardo]

@michaelvpardo To be specific about your question, I along with most dispensational Bible readers would see a distinction between the church and Israel; and I would judge Israel to be those involved in the events of Matthew 24, not the church.

So what do you make of the tattoo poll responses, above, so far?

Looks like most the votes are either to ignore it or embrace it. I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that those who voted to embrace it have tattoos and don't want to be looked down upon because of it (or a close relationship with someone who does,) and those who say to ignore it are the spiritually mature ones.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Looks like most the votes are either to ignore it or embrace it. I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that those who voted to embrace it have tattoos and don't want to be looked down upon because of it (or a close relationship with someone who does,) and those who say to ignore it are the spiritually mature ones.

FYI to avoid bad feelings between kindred I'll advise you that I equate dispensationalism with racism and I'm sure that I'm not unique in that.

 

[farouk]

FYI to avoid bad feelings between kindred I'll advise you that I equate dispensationalism with racism and I'm sure that I'm not unique in that.

@michaelvpardo In other words, you want to shut down discussion.

 

[farouk]

Yes, I did vote very emphatically as I cannot find justification for it in any shape or form.

@marksman Thanks for your vote!

 

[farouk]

Usefulness I guess depends how it plays out.

@Bartholomew Jones I guess this would relate to the motivation of the wearer in being willing to use it as a conversation-starter, really, right?

 

[farouk]

Ok that was a new poll correct my mistake, I voted.

@soul man Thanks for your vote!

More women are evidently finding the confidence to work as tattoo artists. Do you think it would be good if more Christian women found the confidence to do it, also?

 

[Bartholomew Jones]

@Bartholomew Jones

Getting tattooed used to be almost wholly a man thing.

But now this has changed vastly and indeed nurses, so many of whom are women, are a demographic which now tends heavily to be tattooed.






allnurses dot com

One does not have to be tattooed to be a nurse, of course, but nurses are a demographic which now indeed tends heavily to be tattooed.

It just shows I guess how many potential opportunities there are out there for the possibility of witness conversations coming about, if the person is already motivated to use ink - one's own or other people's - for exactly such opportunities. (This is despite what one's personal preferences might have ultimately been in other circumstances.)

I think the art of tattooing is invariably a device of the devil. But God can use the thing that's contemptible for good. Tattoos should be discouraged. It's like Stevie Wonder's "pap pap" said, "You can always look at the negative, but you should always dwell in the positive."

 

[farouk]

@Ziggy I know you are already done commenting, but FYI, without commenting more, did you see the poll results so far?

(I already know what you think about the subject, of course.)

 

[farouk]

@aspen FYI, so what do you make of the poll votes, above, so far?