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NASB | Leviticus 19:28 'You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Leviticus 19:28 'You shall not make any cuts on your body [in mourning] for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the LORD. |
Bible Question: Meaning Christians should not get tattoos at all? Even as a means of decoration, such as like earrings? Just because you like the way they look? What about tattoos you have from before becoming a Christian? Also, how should one respond to unbelieving friends who want to get one for decoration, or in memory of someone? |
Bible Answer: If we consider passages like Isaiah 44:5 and in Revelation where we will receive our Lord's new name on our foreheads, then these are tatoos that we would gladly wear! However, in each case, the Lord himself is 'writing his name' upon the people, (whether symbolically or physically) thus signifying that we are His forever! I personally do not have any tatoos or body piercings and I will continue to not have any unless my Lord decides that I should have one. In all things that we do, we must get to the root of our motivation and make a decision based on what is wholesome and what is not wholesome. Is it entirely wholesome to pierce your body in every place or to cover your body in imagery, since your body itself is the temple of the Holy Spirit? For me, this answer is a definite 'NO'. If I were to do this, then not only would I not be practicing 'good stewardship' with this body that God has given me, but I would be profaning it in the name of the values of the endless shifting present day society. It would be, in a sense, a violation of my humble character (that I should have), since my methods and ways are not based on the ever changing society that I live in, but upon the Holy Spirit within me. Nolan |