Should a Christian Get Tattoos or Body-Piercings?
29 August, 2007 by Thad
Is it ok for a Christian to get tattoos? What about body-piercings? Here’s what John Piper thinks.
What do you think?
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I am agnostic (NOT ATHEIST) but this post peaked my interest. I listened to Piper’s audio. My mother is a very passionate Church of Christ raised woman. I have 5 tats. She has always said it was against God. However, from all I’ve heard of the Lord, I thought he was a forgiving God. And with that, as times change, there is no way to follow strictly what is stated in the Bible, word for word when some of it (as the gentleman stated about not eating fish without scales) has no bearing to us today.
Arm Jerker J:
Thank you so much for your comment and for sharing your perspective. I believe that what you have heard about the God of the Bible is correct. He is a forgiving and merciful God.
As Christians, we believe that his forgiveness cannot be separated from the person of Jesus. What gives me so much joy and hope in life (and I hope someday it may be yours as you wrestle through your questions about God) is that whether we are recipients of that mercy has nothing to do with the number of tattoos on our body (or anything else we have ever done!), but whether we have turned to the God of the Bible, trusting that the Lord Jesus Christ has brought us back to God by living the perfect life we haven’t lived, dying the death we deserve, and then rising again from the dead.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts here. I’m glad this topic was of interest to you. Please feel free to stop by again.
I will. Very good reads here.
My 14 yr. old grandaughter recently asked me what I thought about her getting four tattoos and her ‘belly-button’ pierced.
I told her Christians don’t pierce their body, or get tattoo marks. Of course, she immediately rejected the notion that God cares about what we do. Her reaction is typical of people of all ages when they want to sin…’it’s not for now and it’s not for me’ attitute.
Everyone wants to BE right, but few want to DO right.
Hey all! I’ve been a Christian for a few years now, and I’ve always wanted a tattoo. I was (thankfully) smart enough to wait until I was mature enough to choose something that I know I would never regret, so I’m 26 now, and still haven’t gotten one. I enjoy what I consider to be a close relationship with God through Jesus. It honestly never even crossed my mind that getting a tatto would be considered sin in God’s eyes until someone I told about my rescent decision to get one almost took my head off haha. My question for you is this. What exactly makes you think that getting a tattoo is sinful? I know about the Leviticus scripture, but isn’t that in reference to the pagan practice of the surrounding cultures of the day… “cutting yourselves for the dead” is part of the same verse. I wouldn’t think that I would be considered to have taken part in a pagan ritual if I were to get a cross tattooed on my back.
Can anyone help me out here?