Tattoos have gained in popularity in recent years, especially amongst the young. Some people just seem to like “inking” their bodies, with the more extreme examples being quite artistic. From small, hidden tattoos to full “sleeves” that cover the entire arm, tattoos allow their owners to make a statement, either about who they are, what they believe, what they like, or what they think is beautiful. There is no one reason that explains why people get tattoos, as each individual has their own personal reasons.
Things like peer pressure may play a part in some cases; but that’s more likely to be the case for those who are gang members or who have been in prison. That only accounts for a small fraction of the people who have tattoos. Tarring all those who display body art with the same brush as criminals or gang members is unfair and definitely can’t be called an act of love.
The practice of tattooing has existed for over 5,000 years and has been practiced by a wide range of cultures around the world. A related form of body art is to do ceremonial scarring of the flesh, cutting designs into the skin and then rubbing something into it, so as to form a protruding, visible scar. The wedding ring, which married people wear today, traces its root back to this custom of ceremonial scarring, as couples would cut around the skin of their thumbs, mixing their blood in a covenant marriage ceremony, and then putting something into the cut to form a permanent scar ring on their finger, letting the whole world know that they were in the covenant of marriage.
Yet tattooing has been a controversial subject within the church for centuries, perhaps even since the Early Church. All this controversy is based upon one scripture, found in the Old Testament Law:
You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord. – Leviticus 19:28
It is interesting to note that some who point to this verse as a prohibition of tattooing also reject the Old Testament Law as not being applicable to Christians. That seems a bit arbitrary, especially when we consider that Jesus Himself stated that the Law will be with us always. So, while there are things the Law demands, which we don’t do today; we don’t do them because Jesus became the final sacrifice for all of our sins, making it unnecessary for us to sacrifice lambs and goats.
What About Context?
One of the first things to do, when trying to understand what a particular verse in the Bible means, is to look at the context; the verses before and after that verse, in order to see who is being spoken to and what the overall subject matter of the discussion is all about. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help a lot in this case, as this particular chapter of Leviticus is a listing of various commandments that God had given to the nation of Israel. Each verse pretty much stands alone, without connection to those before and after it.
With that being the case, our direct understanding of the verse has to come from what is contained within the verse itself.
When we look at the verse in the original language, Hebrew, we find that it talks about both cutting the flesh and marking it. The actual word “tattoo” is not used, but rather a more general term that can include any marking, including branding, painting, or tattooing. In the sense of marking, this word seems to be more closely associated with writing on the skin, rather than pictures on the skin.
Understanding this as writing can provide some insight, as many ancient cultures included marking the flesh with either writing or symbols as an act of dedication to their gods. Even today, many Hindu women mark a small red dot on their foreheads, as a religious act, indicating that they are married. This is not a tattoo, but more along the lines of applying makeup, as it can be removed.
The other key thing that should not be overlooked in this verse is that it contains the words “for the dead.” Some could say that this is in reference only to making cuttings in the flesh; but to do that, one is applying English syntax to the Hebrew language. I am not a Hebrew scholar, but it is quite possible that the placement of those words can apply to both cutting and marking, not just cutting. If we accept the idea that the words apply to both, then the prohibition that God mentions here is only marking or cutting as an act of grieving the death of a loved one.
Is that possible? Did such things happen? Yes, they did; in a lot of cultures. People would cut themselves or even cut off a finger, as an act of grieving and remembrance when a child or other family member died. It is not clear whether this happened in the Middle East during the time that Moses wrote the book of Leviticus, but it is possible.
Tattooing one’s body “for the dead” is an act of worshiping the dead or ancestor worship. It is essentially making one’s own body a shrine to the memory of that person. While there is nothing wrong with remembering the dead and the Bible even speaks of praying for them, there is something wrong with worshiping them. We are to worship God alone and no other, as is commanded in the First and Second Commandments:
You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous god, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and forth generations of those who hate Me. – Exodus 20:3-5
A But More History
What we’ve discussed so far is self-inflicted marking of the body, although I imagine that if someone was to decide they would be branded with the name or symbol of their god, they would have a priest do it. But is it possible that tattooing was something inflicted on people by others?
Historically, the ancient Greeks and Romans tattooed their slaves, so that they would be readily identifiable. In addition, criminals were tattooed with their crimes, usually on their foreheads, both making a permanent record of their crimes and warning others that the individual had a criminal record. That sounds even more effective than entering their crimes into a criminal database that only law enforcement officers would have access to. In more modern times, the NAZIs tattooed a prisoner number on the forearms of those who were imprisoned in the concentration camps.
Here in the United States, slaves were apparently not tattooed, but were rather branded, with the brands being placed on the slaves’ palms, shoulders, buttocks or cheeks with a hot branding iron. This is an even more cruel way of marking a person as “property,” in a way that can’t be removed.
Granted, the subject we are talking about is tattooing, not branding; but both are means of marking the body permanently. While different, there is a definite connection between the two, especially when you consider that some gangs brand their members as a permanent mark of their membership in that gang, rather than just using a tattoo for the same purpose.
Tattoos Today as Body Art
It seems clear that tattooing for the purpose of memorializing the dead is wrong; but does that make all tattooing wrong?
A reasonable argument can be made that tattooing for adornment doesn’t fall into the same definition of what is mentioned in Leviticus 19:28, especially if the tattoo doesn’t contain words or symbols that can be attributed to some false god. Since that commandment is in the Law, it can be understood to be specific. In that case, a picture of a bird or flower seems to fall outside the specific prohibition mentioned in this verse.
On the other hand, there are those who tattoo skulls, religious symbols, what can be described as demons and other “ugly” art onto their bodies (I leave the definition of ugly up to the reader’s discretion). In those cases, the question must become – What is the motivation in getting that particular tattoo placed upon their body? It is very easy to fall into the realm of idolatry, rather than art, with some of these motifs. In such cases, it would seem no different than the actions of those who put the symbols of their gods on their bodies in ancient times.
Similarly, there are those who tattoo their bodies with gang symbols. It can be argued that those tattoos are a means of swearing their fealty to that organization, which is a borderline religious act. How can one be fully committed to Christ and fully committed to a gang at the same time?
Granted, there are a lot of people who don’t fall into these categories; people who have their bodies tattooed because they like how it looks, whether that is for their personal enjoyment or because they enjoy others’ reaction to their tattoos. As such, I have to ask the question; what is the difference between a tattoo on the arm of something that one thinks is beautiful and wearing makeup? Isn’t the individual adorning their body for the sake of beauty in either case?
There is no prohibition in the Bible against beauty. About the closest thing to that is something that the Apostle Peter wrote in his first epistle:
Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. – 1 Peter 3:3-4
Please note that not even this verse tells us that women (or anyone else) shouldn’t make themselves attractive; rather, it gives us an idea of what true beauty is, that of the heart. It doesn’t say “don’t adorn yourself outwardly” but rather “don’t merely adorn yourself outwardly.” In other words, it’s okay to adorn yourselves outwardly, just as long as that’s not all we do.
So, What’s the Fuss?
While some would say that there is enough in that one verse in Leviticus to prohibit tattoos, that doesn’t follow through with normal Biblical interpretation. The basic Biblical principle is that things need to be established by two or three witnesses to be considered valid. That is also interpreted to mean that there needs to be two or three verses talking about a subject, to establish it.
One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. – Deuteronomy 19:15
Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. – 1 Timothy 5:19
Jesus Himself backed up this common interpretation, confronting the Pharisees.
It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me. – John 8:17-18
With only one verse in the Bible talking about marking the body, where is the second witness to make it a true manner? There isn’t one. So, to say that the Bible declares that tattoos are a sin is a stretch. While I personally have no desire to tattoo my own body, I can’t and shouldn’t say that it is sin for someone else to do so.
So, why do people say that it is sin?
There has always been a problem with legalism in the church, going all the way back to the Jews. The Pharisees seem to have been the first of those who were legalistic, but legalism didn’t die out with them. There are many denominations which are legalistic to one degree or another, sometimes in very different areas of life.
Legalism is based on the idea that our salvation is based upon our good works, rather than by our faith in Jesus Christ and the saving work of His death and resurrection. As such, it tends to add commandments to the Bible, just as the Pharisees did. Yet the Bible itself says not to add or take away from what is written there.
You shall not add to the word which I command you, not take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. – Deuteronomy 4:2
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. – Revelations 22:18-19
We are saved by grace, through our faith in Jesus Christ, nothing else. Heaven won’t be divided into two parts; one for those who have tattoos and one for those who don’t. All those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior will be granted entrance, even though we will all have sinned in some way, between the time that we received Jesus and the time that we died and went to heaven.
Let’s Make it Personal
Getting a tattoo or not getting a tattoo is a personal decision. It should never be done just to prove something to someone else, especially to try and prove them spiritually wrong. But how can you know whether you are in the right in getting a tattoo or not?
Basically, it all comes down to your faith and your attitude. Why are you getting that tattoo in the first place? We are told by the apostle Paul, that faith is an important part of protecting ourselves from sin, specifically keeping ourselves out of sin.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. – Romans 14:23
Let me add one more verse to that.
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31
With that being the case, then if you decide to get a tattoo or ten, may I respectfully suggest that you make sure that your tattoos give glory to God in some way. That doesn’t mean that they have to be religious tattoos by any means; it just means that you need to be giving glory to God in your heart. If the image being inked on your body keeps you focused in another direction, such as focused on death, then it isn’t giving glory to God. But if it depicts part of God’s creation in a way that makes you give thanks to God, it is giving glory to Him.
You must decide for yourself whether your tattoo does that or not. Nobody else can do that for you. If they try, just forgive them and go on. That’s their opinion and they’re entitled to it. You can have your own.