To God be the glory!

In the last several years tattoos and body piercings have become extremely

common, perhaps more popular than they've ever been in history.

The movie stars have them, the sports figures have them.

In fact, a news story dated April 30, 2009, says that

Barbie now has them.

In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Barbie doll,

Mattel has created a new Barbie complete with tattoos

and a toy tattoo gun so that children can stamp themselves with washable tattoos.

The American Academy of Dermatology website references a 2004

survey

with people from the ages of 18 to 50

which revealed that: "24% of the people surveyed reported having

a tattoo."

A Harris poll dated February 12, 2008, stated that

32% of those ages 25-29 had a tattoo"

and 25% of those age 30-39.

And because they are so popular

it's a topic that young people have to deal with

and that Christians have a lot of questions about.

I personally have had people come to me and ask,

"Is that right for a Christian to get a tattoo?" Or, "Is it right to have multiple

piercings in your ear?"

What about a ring in your nose?"

And at times it's young people wanting to know the answers to these questions.

Other times it's parents who've been discussing it with their children and

they want to know what the Bible has to say about this subject.

Now in light of these things,

I think it's appropriate that we spend some time trying to answer these

questions. We want to know,

"Does the Bible address these issues?"

Is this a matter of right and wrong or is it purely a matter of opinion?

In this study, we're going to seek to answer these questions

and we want to be very fair in our approach.

Our goal is not to shame those who have tattoos,

nor is it to reach unwarranted conclusions.

Our goal is to examine this topic in light of relevant Bible passages

and then to draw accurate conclusions.

Now first, I want to discuss some misconceptions that people have

about what the Bible says about tattoos.

Frequently when discussing the subject of tattoos or body piercings,

you'll hear somebody say, "Well, the Bible specifically forbids that."

The fact is there's no passage in the Bible that says, "Thou shalt not get a tattoo."

Now, many

times

people will go to a passage in the Old Testament that they believe addresses

our question.

Specifically, they will use Leviticus 19 and verse 28

where the Bible says:

"You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any

marks upon you:

I am the LORD."

I want to suggest to you that I don't believe that's inaccurate use of that particular

passage.

You know, first we've got to be very careful

about trying to use an Old Testament passage as a proof-text for what we can

or cannot do in the Christian age.

The Law of Moses has been mailed to the cross

and it's not the standard by which we live today.

But I also want you notice with me that

this same chapter, which forbids putting marks on your body,

also gives instructions concerning animal sacrifices. It requires leaving

certain portions of your crops unharvested.

It forbids sowing two types of seed in the same field.

It tells the Hebrews that they were not to wear a garment with two different

types of fabric, wool and linen mixed.

There are also restrictions about how a man's hair was to be cut, and

ways in which he wasn't allowed to trim his beard.

Now I would ask,

why would you pick out one of these things and try to bind it

and ignore the others?

The context of Leviticus 19:27 and 28 is that of:

"Keeping the people away from heathen practices

and things associated with idolatry."

Cutting the flesh is mentioned and

you may remember from 1 Kings 18, verse 28

that that was associated with the worship of Baal.

And there's archaeological evidence that indicates that

some of the Canaanites would tattoo themselves with the names or symbols

of their favorite gods.

This appears to be what's being forbidden, not the modern practice

of tattoos.

The idea is that the Jews were not to identify themselves with the heathen

practices

or the idolatrous religions that surrounded them.

And so, Christian should be careful when making arguments from the Bible,

that we don't make bad arguments.

Because, number one, it hurts our credibility and the case that we're

trying to make.

And, number two,

It really isn't "handling aright the word of God."

Now, perhaps there is a principle

in Leviticus 19 that we're not to associate ourselves with ungodly

things,

but that would be all that we could get from that passage. And so, back to my

point.

There is no passage that says: "Thou shalt not get a tattoo."

But you know, just because there's no direct

prohibition against tattoos,

that doesn't necessarily mean that it's right to get one.

You know, there's no passage in the Bible that says:

"Thou shalt not inject heroin into thy veins."

But we understand that it's wrong to do that because of Bible principles.

And so in determining if an activity is right or wrong, a Christian needs to ask

himself certain questions.

He needs to ask himself questions such as:

"What would this do to my influence?"

"Would this be a stumbling block for other people?"

"Is engaging in this practice good stewardship?"

"Will this have any negative effects on

me as a servant of God?"

So let's discuss some Biblical principles

that have bearing on this issue of tattoos and body piercings.

Number one, I want to talk about the principle of

influence.

I want to begin by looking at a passage of scripture in 1 Corinthians,

chapter 11.

There's a rather unusual discussion there that takes place dealing with the

subject of the wearing of veils.

In verse 5, the Apostle Paul writes:

"But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered (that is without

a veil on) dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.

For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to

be shorn or shaved, let her be covered." That is, let her wear her veil. Now, some have

concluded that this passage applies to all women for all times.

I don't believe that's correct.

In fact, I think that

it's being made clear that's not the point,

in verse 16, when Paul writes: "But if anyone seems to be contentious,

we have no such custom,

nor do the churches of God."

Now, if the point of this passage is not that all women for all time must have

their heads covered when they worship,

then why does Paul command the women in Corinth to do so?

I believe the fact is that in that particular city

in that particular time

it was customary for a woman to wear a veil.

And to not do so was to send a message that was rebellious in nature.

It was to reject the authority of her husband.

And so, for a Christian woman to refuse to wear a veil,

she was sending a message that,

in that culture,

would be very offensive.

It was an association that a Christian woman

would not want to have. Now, what connection does that have with tattoos?

In our current society, tattoos send a particular message.

For years, tattoos have been associated with counterculture.

Tattoos and unusual body piercings

send a message that

"I'm a certain type of person,"

or, "I'm associated with a certain type of people."

A former police officer told me that when he was on the police force,

that as more and more officers began getting tattoos, the department

asked that the officers only get tattoos in places that could be

hidden by their uniforms.

And the reason they gave was they were concerned about the message that it

would send to the public.

On the internet, there are numerous news stories that discuss the problem of

tattoos and body art

in the workplace.

One article from FOX news points out that some employers are having to write

very specific dress codes

to address this issue that they deem as a problem.

Many employers are requiring that their staff dress in such a way as to hide

their tattoos because they don't like the message that it sends.

I mentioned to you earlier about the new tattoo Barbie doll.

I want to read you an excerpt from an article that talks about this new doll. It

says that: "Parents have already rallied up against Mattel,

asking for the dolls to be pulled off the market."

One parent asked,

"Whatever will they bring out next? Drug addict Barbie?

Alcoholic Barbie?"

Now, why are parents rallying against Mattel to have this doll removed?

It's because

in our society tattoos have negative connotations.

My name is Apache Crying Bear

and uh... I used to be a tattoo artist. I started when I was thirteen years

old.

I was a runaway at the time and it was a way for me to make ends meet. And over a

period in time, it eventually became a

a better way to make ends meet and I

use to own six shops in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And I did tattoos for a living for quite some time there,

and body piercings.

I started off with one tattoo as most people do,

you know, and

being on the street and everything like that, it

quickly grew into more...

and uh...

never had really thought I'd

get a lot of tattoos, but I,

my entire back is done, my legs, my arms,

my chest,

my stomach...

pretty much all of my body is tattooed.

Having tattoos has affected me in getting jobs, in getting housing,

and in a lot of things, getting a good table in a restaurant,

and uh...

getting a taxicab to pick you up,

and asking for directions.

People, I've had people run away from me

and get in their car and drive off rather than

answer a simple question like where's a pay phone at.

Things like that, it..

they tend to intimidate people,

and uh... it makes you unapproachable.

Now, what does all of this have to do with 1 Corinthians, chapter 11?

The point is this. Society's view of a particular issue

can make it sinful for a Christian.

If society views not wearing a veil as rebellious and overstepping one's bounds,

then a Christian should not do it.

And in light of that:

"If we conclude (today)

that a Christian having tattoos or excessive piercings

is viewed as rebellious

or associated with sin,

then without a doubt a Christian should avoid it."

And if he does it anyway,

it's going to be hurtful to the church and it's going to be hurtful to his

influence.

And while we're talking about influence,

let me mention also that oftentimes the places that a person has to go to get

tattoos

can also be harmful to his influence.

You know, there are certain places that it's not good for a Christian to go.

It's not good for a Christian to go to a bar,

even if he doesn't drink.

It's not good to go to a strip club, even if he doesn't look.

It's not good to go into a casino

even if he doesn't gamble.

And the reason of course is, it's destructive to his influence.

Now, what about tattoo parlors?

Generally speaking, they have very seedy reputations.

Oftentimes their names speak volumes.

For example here are some names: