| Tattoos | Added: Feb-11-04 |
In the Bible, the moral and ceremonial laws of Leviticus declare "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print (tattoo) any marks upon you" (Leviticus 19:28). Any kind of self-laceration or marking of the body was prohibited among God's people. Such cuttings were associated with the practice of pagan cults, many of which tattooed their followers while they mourned the dead.
Tattooing has always been linked to the practices of paganism apart from the will of God. Although many cultures use tattoos as a means of rank, decoration or communicative purposes, many deem them as a means of warding off evil. Arabs use tattoos in this manner. Tattoos have been used to mark criminals and used by the Nazis to mark inmates. Tattoos have always been associated with practices foreign to Christian conduct and practice.
Christians are to abstain from any scarification, resemblance, model, figure, form, pattern or simulitude of any image on our bodies. In addition, the Mark of the Beast is thought by many to be a 666 tattooed on the right hand or on the forehead. If this is the case, people will have to be conditioned to acccept it. That is, it will be fashionable --much like tattooing is today. The Mark of the Beast, however, seals ones doom (Revelation 14:11).
Check out Deuteronomy 4:16-18: "Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven (includes scarification) image, the simlitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:...
Many people have lived to regret the permanent fixture of a tattoo. Even if it is removed, a scar remains in its place. It's not wise to attach something so permanent to our bodies. Noting that as we mature our outlook on life changes. What is first thought of as fashionable could later be seen as a curse. I know a man who had a very revealing tattoo on his arm who later became a Christian. It became an embarrassment to him although others accepted him "as is."
Tattooing does not mean that God will reject those who have been marked, it does, however, mean that the body we commit to Him may be permanently scarred by something from our past that is in direct opposition to a good witness for Him.
Tattooing has also been linked to cancer of the skin. Contaminated tattooing equipment can spread deseases, including AIDS.