Why I believe it is perfectly fine for Christians to have tattoos.
Because I'm taking my own advice, and I'd love to hear what you think about these things, too.
I'd like to make this a regular topic, whenever the spirit moves me.
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
Leviticus 19:28
Seems pretty straight forward, no?
Except when it isn't.
I'm going to make this one brief.
1. That last statement "I am the LORD" occurs very often in this book of the Bible. The idea here is that Yahweh is giving his people guidelines for living that will keep them living righteously, and not like their pagan neighbors.
2. The pagan neighbors in this case regularly let their own blood, making cuts and markings on themselves, to express their agony and garner the attention of a god. (Yahweh does not want His people to do this, there is no need.) The closest word we have in our language to describe such a thing is "tattoo." Clearly, the word means something very different today than how it's being applied in this passage.
3. This is the one and only time the word "tattoo" appears in the Bible.
And thus, I believe this scripture is admonishing us to not harm ourselves or cry for an idol's attention ... not to keep our bodies tattoo-free.
PS: It's also helpful when studying the Bible, to read a variety of translations, in order to get a broader picture of what the original text might have meant. Examples here.
yeah, i definitely don't think it's wrong for christians to have tattoos (and i'm not just saying that because i am and i do). i agree that things in the bible really need to be translated, but so many just take everything for face value.
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