Tattoos and Piercings

May 26, 2006 Print This Post

//MOOD: Pierced

//ITUNES: Zombie Eaters from the album “The Real Thing” by Faith No More

I just got this note via email and I thought I would share my reply here since I get this type of note every once in awhile.

Hi Noel,

I have been going to Riverview for about a year and a half now. One of my friends asked me a question I was hoping you could help me answer. I have a tattoo, and I know that you have your eyebrow pierced… what does the Bible say about tattoos and piercings? I have been told before that during those days they said not to mark your body because people were doing it as a sign of worship to other gods. Is this true? Is there any scripture you could give me on tatoos and piercings… and if we are or are not supposed to have them? I would appreciate it and I will have to introduce myself to you on of these Saturdays. Thanks Noel.

T

The verse that is most often quoted is from the book of Leviticus. This is the verse:

Leviticus 19:28 “Never cut your bodies in mourning for the dead or mark your skin with tattoos, for I am the LORD.

Seems pretty clear. Until you check out the context. This verse refers to the custom among some pagan nations to pierce themselves or tattoo themselves when a member of their family died. This was to appease the Idols they worshiped and to get them to accept their dead grandpa. God says, that is stupid. It’s idolatry.

There are verses where piercing is actually commanded:

Deuteronomy 15:16-17 But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he is well off with you. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. “You must do the same for your female servants.

Now, just for fun, let’s look at the verse before the one that prohibits piercings and tattoos:

Leviticus 19:27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards.

This is the verse that explains why some Jews look like Matisyahu.

Matisyahu

In the same chapter, there are verses that say:

Leviticus 19:9 “When you harvest your crops, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground.”

As well as

Leviticus 19:19 “Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of fabric.”

And

Leviticus 19:32 “Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD.”

Bottom line? When people quote this verse to ban piercings and tattoos, they are proof-texting. Have them check their shirt to see if it is made from two different kinds of fabric. Check their beard and hair length and make sure it is long enough. Double check their fields to make sure they are leaving the edges of the fields unharvested. Then, if there is anyone as old as Steve Sommerlot present, make sure they are standing up out of respect for his extremely old age.

The Old Testament Law was given to the Old Testament Jews, not to us. We are not under the Old Testament Law. If you read the book of Galatians, you will what Paul had to say to those that wanted to apply one particular law (circumcision) to Christians:

Galatians 5:1,12-13 So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law…I only wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. (literally…”emasculate themselves”). For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.

So what are we to say as Christians, who are not under the law?

We are free. Free from the extremes of the law and sin. We don’t have to keep the law and we don’t have to sin.

So enjoy your tattoo. I’ll enjoy my piercings. And, who knows, I may go get a tattoo for good measure.

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Growing up in the Lansing area, I wanted nothing more than to get out. My exit strategy included a complex mixture of schemes for an urban church plant, iProducts, and an elaborate Bollywood car chase scene with zombies and catchy techno music.

As a 40 year old man, I find myself entrenched in the Lansing area at a church I love (Riverview), with 4 kids I love more (a high schooler, a junior higher, a middle schooler, and an elementary schooler), and a wife I love the most (Grace).

Instead of planting one church, I dream of helping hundreds get started without ever leaving my home base. I still love my iProducts and use them as tools to help lead and teach the thousands who attend Riverview. And when no one is looking, I blare the techno music and send my unimpressive resume to casting agents for Bollywood zombie films.

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