#23. Tattoos for God.
Jan 23rd by Jon
Remember that story in the Bible where Jesus and all the disciples were in Galilee and decided to get tattoos? Some of them were squeamish but Jesus talked them into it and before you knew it, they all had “FOM” on their arms which of course stood for “Fishers of Men.” That was dope. Remember that story? Me either, but you would think it had happened based on how many Christians get tattoos for God. The easiest is to get a cross or a little God fish. You can also get a Hebrew word, which is kind of like the Christian equivalent of when girls get Chinese symbol tattoos that mean “dangerous,” “beautiful” and “she will make out with you.” But for my money, my friend Carlos has elevated the God tattoo to an art form. He has a full sleeve of the conversion of Paul/Saul. And he used the experience as a chance to witness by going on the show “LA Ink.” It’s easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I would honestly get a similar tattoo of the prodigal son story but then I’d have to raise two kids on my own since the only way I could get a tattoo is if my wife were no longer on the planet.
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So I am just visiting the archives and saw this. I looove LAInk, saw the episode with Carlos and triple loved it. I teach Sunday school and have a butterfly on the small of my back (i know the sterotype about that tatoo in that place). I keep telling my dear hubs I want to get my tatoo modified, incorporate the butterfly into a big celtic cross filled with chritian symbols. He always blinks and then asks “Don’t you like being married to me?”
In Revelation 19:16 Jesus has a tattoo on his leg… also, he is leading an army while his clothes are soaked in blood and his eyes are on fire. It’s pretty much the coolest passage ever.
Revelation 19:16 (King James Version)
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
ves·ture 1. Clothing; apparel. 2. Something that covers or cloaks:
By having on his vesture he was cloaked, in this time they were covered down to their ankles.
The writing could be on the garment not on the Lord. It does not say a "tattoo".
Don't just look @ the snapshot- look @ the BIG picture as well.
May the blessings of the Lord be upon you.
I feel your pain! I’ve had plans for the burning bush on my back/shoulder and anytime I mention it to my wife she says “that’s really cool! You should’ve gotten that before we got married!” Grrr…
Are you talking about Carlos W(don’t want to post his entire last name)? I go to Buckhead Church which is where he is on staff now. Carlos is AMAZING!!! I still haven’t seen that episode of LA Ink – but his testimony travels on!!
Nice to hear something about Christians with tattoos besides somebody trotting out that old (and irrelevant) Leviticus verse. My brothers and I have Ecclesiastes 4:12 (A cord of three strands is not quickly broken) across our upper backs in Hebrew. Is it a witnessing tool? I’m not gonna go that far, but I do thank God for my brothers.
I just think tattoos look cool and not the dinky ones either. If I got one I would want a big one either around my bicep or my upper back. If you knew me you would know how RIDICULOUS that would look on me.
My mom rolls out that Leviticus verse on me pretty much everytime I get a new tattoo. I won’t claim to know the will of God, but when it comes to tattoos, I would imagine that it’s the intent more than the actual act of getting tattooed. For example, a “Satan Rulz” tattoo wouldn’t be great in Gods eyes. Carlos’ tattoo? I can’t help but think God would be impressed. Tattoos like I have, that aren’t dark, but aren’t religious either? I think God, like anybody else, would be pretty ambivalent about them.
i dont think God would be one to be lukewarm about anything…
Yeah, he totally gets fired up if I wear my red shirt instead of my blue one, or if I have to pee and decide to wait five more minutes. Or maybe he doesn't care at all about that, but I thought he always cared about me… wait what?!?
I hate tattoos. I can’t help but picture what all of them will look like when the people who have them grow old and wrinkly… EW!
Like people look so great when they're old and wrinkly, anyway?
I was thinking the same think Elizabeth! Why not add some color to that old and wrinkled body lol!
My mom has a flower tattoo on her hip. She works in churches across the country so she had to get one that was easily covered. There are some churches that would never have her back!
She wants to get scripture tattooed around her waist as her “girdle of truth.” Seriously.
We saw a tattooed man from head to toe at Olive Garden wearing a “Jesus Loves Me and my Tattoos” shirt and she wanted it!
You’ll never convince me that James and John did not have matching “Sons of Thunder” tattoos.
guilty. fish tattoo on right leg. WITH the IXOYE in it. so double guilty.
A girl at my university got “beloved” tattooed on her back in koine Greek while in Hawaii. She showed it off to my Greek professor who told her that she got an accent mark wrong and that it used the masculine form of “beloved,” which was true. I wonder how many people with Chinese symbol tattoos that “say” love actually say “poop.”
I think I've been laughing at this comment for a whole two minutes.
"Supermarket", actually. Check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/713949....
I simply cannot wait till all us 30- and 20- somethings are like 80- and 70- somethings. We will be like, awesome old people. I can see Carlos now in his assisted living community rolling up his sleeves at and waving his cane as he waxes poetic about the time he got his Saul/Paul tat.
Beware, however, folks, if you plan on moving to a conservative country. I have a friend who has a full shirt/full sleeves and is SO happy he never did his neck b/c he currently wears long sleeves every day in the Middle East where he now works. Before he left he had to get his Hebrew stuff converted into wavy patterns. He thinks his wife is SOOOOO awesome b/c she never got tattified.
The Christian Fish has always baffled me, however. There was a girl in my small group about 10 years ago who had the Christian Fish on her arm. She said she got it so that if she ever turned her back on God she would be confronted by it in the shower (or something like that). Apparently it worked because it convicted her that she should break it off with this non-Christian dude she was dating. Although I did see her about 7 years later and she was married…I didn’t have the guts to ask about how the tat made her feel now. I guess the thing for me is that it is irrevocably linked to bumper-art. I can’t not think of bumpers when I see Christian fish tat on someone’s arm or neck etc. I’m still waiting to see the Darwin fish tat on someone who’s religious about Darwin.
A couple of months ago I got a tattoo of a butterfly on my foot and the body of the butterfly is cross and underneath is says 2 Cor. 5:17 which is “If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!” I thought a butterfly was a good representation of the old and the new concept. My pastor gave me 2 thumbs up on it, however my grandparents did not.
Sam, you are absolutely correct that there are lots of white people walking around with Chinese-character-for-poop tattoos. When I was in college, there was this guy in my creative writing class who decided he wanted to impress me with his Chinese character tat during a break because he apparently thought I could read Chinese (which I can’t, although I can read Japanese, which includes some Chinese characters along with 2 alphabets).
He pulled up his shirt, revealing a string of characters all across the the span of his lower back. He’s like, “Yeah, my Chinese friend did the tat. It says ‘self-reliance.’” I said, “What in particular about self-reliance?” He said, “No, just ‘self-reliance’in Chinese.” I said, “Hate to break it to ya, but you might want to ask your friend what manifesto he permanently inscribed on your back.” I assume it said “My tendency to make rash decisions unfortunately relegates me to occasionally being a self-reliant piece o poo.”
Here’s some great examples of why you should never get a chinese or japanese character tattoo until you have had the design very carefully checked by an expert in the language- http://hanzismatter.com/
I’m guilty of the Christian tattoo. Three times as a matter of fact…I have a band of fish around one leg, daughter of God in Hebrew (which I had checked out and it’s right), and grace in Greek (also checked out)…but then again, I also have Honu the sea turtle and the shark fin from Jimmy Buffett’s plane, so there you go…
If one claims to be a Christian, the Holy Spirit should convict them to not get a tattoo. That’s what I believe.
Maybe the Holy Spirit should convict you to not be so judgemental!! I think you need to study more about God's grace and look into your own heart on this issue!
I understand that that is your opinion and you are convicted of that but I can't believe you would say "if one claims to be a Christian…". Now i don't mean to jump to conclusions but that almost sounds like you are saying that if someone has a tattoo then they are not a christian. I was saved when i was 8 and have grown up in church due to the fact that my dad is a devout pastor. don't get me wrong i have struggled alot in my walk with christ and still do. I have a tattoo on my left calf of an angel with the verse Isaiah 6:5-8 to remind me that i need to watch my language because that has been a big thing for me and am about to get a half sleeve that shows the spiritual warfare that goes on in me every day.
Again that is your opinion. And yes there is always the classic verse in Leviticus and people argue about what it actually means but the bible clearly says multiple times that you should not judge others.
Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged"
Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
There is no argument there.
The Bible also says to judge righteous content.
John 7:24
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Did you just tell the Holy Spirit what he/it/she should do? Yeah. Good luck with that. What does good 'ole Matt have to say about that? 12:31"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32"And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come,"
Can you tell us exactly why you believe that?
Anonymous said…
“If one claims to be a Christian, the Holy Spirit should convict them to not get a tattoo. That’s what I believe.”
Wow. I can see why you opted for anonymous.
Tatted and Saved. It is not impossible.
lol i didnt have a tattoo until i got saved.. never had something to put on my body that i would never regret until Jesus took control of my life, working on a full sleeve for my right arm all Jesus stuff, gong to be a Pastor in Feb. should be interesting : )
Thats why you are human and He is God. He doesn't do what you think should be done. If so, then you should be convicted of judging other peoples relationship with God. Simple minds for simple people.
This was written to anonymous!!!!
I have a cross and “Jesus Kristus” (Norwegian) tattooed across my back, and I have the Christ monogram “IHC” on my right arm.
On my left arm though, I have a large tattoo that has no Christian or religious symbolism or connection.
If one claims to be a Christian they should take the plank out of their own eye before pointing out the speck in someone else’s. I’m sure that their are plenty of Christians with tattoos that we will see in heaven one day.
I wonder if we'll still have 'em… ^_^
We will have a "new body" in Christ when we get to heaven. We should not mark or deface this earthly vessel that our soul resides in after we ask Christ to come into our. Everything we do should be to edify him
not ourselves.
Christy–Does being old and wrinkled without tattoos really sound much better than with tattoos? You aren’t gonna be any less old and wrinkled, inked or now.
Anonymous said…
If one claims to be a Christian, the Holy Spirit should convict them to not get a tattoo. That's what I believe.
If anyone claims to know how the Holy Spirit should convict their brothers and sisters in Christ should probably let God do God's job.
Triple offende on the Christian tat front. Cross with "INRI" in it. God fish with the word FREAK in it, and Japanese symbols(researched and verified) for FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. Also have a Superman logo, theater masks and Japanese symbols for "Truly Unique" which could be a veiled reference to my faith.
Sadly, my ink days are done as my wife won't let me get anymore either.
i feel bad for the people whose spouses won't let them get any more. my husband and i get them and they're awesome! my first one is phil. 4:13 in koine. it's very visible and i love it, best conversation piece ever.
AWESOME!… I am totally busted on this one… I got a tattoo on the inside of my wrist about a month ago with the words "Simul justus et peccator" in the shape of a cross. This is Latin quote from Martin Luther for “simultaneously righteous and sinner” or “Sinful by human nature but forgiven thru Christ.” This makes it doublely (sp?) funny since many Christians would hypocritically call me a sinner for getting a tattoo
"Simul justus et peccator" simply means that a Christian's righteousness or justification imputed in baptism is a gift of Christ, freely given despite the sinner's condition. The doctrine of "simul justus" is not an excuse for lawlessness, or a license for continued sinful conduct; rather, properly understood, it comforts the person who truly wishes to be free from sin and is aware of the inner struggle within him. Romans 7 is the key biblical passage for understanding this doctrine.
Luther also does not deny that the Christian may ever "improve" in his conduct. Instead, he wishes to keep Christians from either relying upon or despairing because of their own conduct or attitude.
Leviticus 19:28
" 'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
we are not under the Old Covent, the VERY NEXT verse says not to cut your hair, or shave your beard. Are people sinning when they cut their hair or shave their beard?? no. Please look into what you are quoating it is very easy to take one verse out of context and beat someone over the head with it then place it back into the context of text that it belongs. Do research, pray, and open your blind eyes.
dispensational much?
Like Russell said, we aren't under the Old Covenant, however, I want to go a step further. Look at this verse in context. If people would just take the time to research this stuff before spouting off, they may actually be surprised at what they learn. This particular verse is Old Covenant for one, however, it is also talking about a specific type of tattoo. When God was telling Israel not to tattoo their bodies, He was referring to a Canaanite practice of the time. They would tattoo their bodies for death rituals and death worship and God was telling Israel to not participate – the same goes for the surrounding verses including what Russell quotes. It has nothing to do with tattooing your body just because, or with not cutting your hair or shaving your head.
*sigh* sometimes I think it should be a requirement for Christians to take a Hermeneutics class before actually going any where. Maybe then we wont be so quick to misuse Scripture for our own gain or to judge and condemn falsely.
What is a Hermeneutics class, and where do I sign up…I want to know what all these scriptures really mean!
Read your Bible and ask God to tell you what it means. You don't have to take a class for something you have to just ask God for.
If that's the case then dishonoring my parents is ok? Wait a second, we can rule out the ten commandments!?
Seriously, we can choose to accept it as fact or we can choose that it is false, yet stay open to the fact that it my still be wrong to get a tattoo.
I don't believe in getting tattoos, but I do love the "Jesus on the back" tattoo.
My husband has been getting tattoos for years, before and after he was a Christian, and before and after we were married. I understand that many now adays get tattoos because everyone else is. They may be a Christian and want something that isn't sinful. I believe it is a BIG decision, because it will be with you for the rest of your life. But we have freedom in Christ now. We have His grace. If my husband wants to get a tattoo, who am I to stop him, ESPECIALLY if it is glorifying the Lord?
My personal convictions will not allow me to get a tattoo. But if he wants to do something out of his love for God, not out of his desire to sin, who am I to stop him? (Ladies, we need to give our husband's back the reins, and know that God has put him in charge for a reason, and he has the right to make his own decisions!!!)
He has a beautiful arm sleeve scene from the book of Revelation. He has a leg sleeve of his own conversion and of the conversion of the Vikings. God can use anyone. We are all different vessels. We all can reach different people. I have seen his tattoos used as a witnessing tool SO MANY times! To know you can be a Christian and not be uptight and always wearing a three-piece suit! God's love abounds….. let a man or woman of God live by his or her own convictions, please! ….And it also teaches our children to live by grace. We do not want to live in sin, but we don't want to be bound by religion either. We want our children also to follow God out of their great love for Him!!
When we do anything for God out of love, it is such an amazing beautiful thing!!!!
[...] Today found this great post, here is a quick excerpt : Remember that story in the Bible where Jesus and all the disciples were in Galilee and decided to get tattoos? Some of them were squeamish but Jesus talked them into it and before you knew it, they all had “FOM” on their arms which of … Read the rest of this great post Here [...]
I wonder if getting a tattoo is ok? I would like to get my favourite verse….
Do it!
hey i have a tattoo on my back of a cross that my freind drew for me. but i was wandering about what i should get next i was hoping anyone had any ideas. i want it to have to do with my christianity. i love my cross but i really want more. anyone got any thoughts?
Any specific christian themes you have in mind (grace, peace, love ect.)?
I have tattoos, but I don't know if they fall into the conventional "Christian" category. A Ulysses butterfly and the word "love". The first a celebration of my coming to Christ and a reminder of how to live my faith (see the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson), and the second a commitment of myself to Christ's ministry – to love His children and to keep in mind that I must love myself as well.
I wouldn't say I would KILL to get a tattoo done at the LA Ink studio, but you get the idea. Eventually I plan on getting a back tattoo of an olive tree in bloom representing my testimony.
I have a friend who used to be a "Deadhead" — you know — lived in a van smoked a lot of weed, made and sold beaded stuff to support her Grateful Dead habit. She also got a few not so nice now tats. She got saved when she was 27 and for a few years fell to shame about the tattoos and always dressed quasi-amish to hide them, but she got over it. I heard another Christian whisper (a fake shocked whisper) to her one day "Iis that a….., tattoo?!". She didn't freak. She just said, Naaaa, that's just a scar from my sin….
Even bad tattoos can reflect good Grace….
I am not a tattoo guy myself but I think they can be great! My friend Elijah Tindall has a great comedic ministry and he is all tatted up. He also got to go on LA Ink and share his testimony but they cut most of the God part out. boo.
Isaiah 49 has a verse that declares we are engraved on the palms of His hands. Sounds permanent, no? I have one tattoo. Its the celtic trinity symbol. When i got it done I got to talk to the tattooist about what that symbol means to me
That's talking about the nails that pierced His hands, meaning that the nails that were driven into His palms were that of our sins.
lol, yeah it seems alot of christians get tattoos. I wont get any because i hold the verse in leviticus to be completey true. But people definatly shouldnt judge others if they have them.
If your body is a temple then isn't tatooing your flesh like someone painting Graffiti on the side of a church? Even if it were spraypainted – "God is love" or something else quaint and dandy – it would still be considered a case of vandalism and a degredation of the temple of God.. I'm just saying'..
I don't know if you've heard of the group called "YoungLife",
but one of my leaders there had tattoos of verses all over,
but it was great, because in his ministry with teens,
it drew their attention and really allowed him to minister
in ways that wouldn't have just been brought up if
he had no tattoos… so cool. =)
My tattoo is called sin and it will never cease to haunt me
i have 'psalm 27' written on the inside of my wrist. that scripture saved my life and i love looking at it and being reminded of where i was compared to where i am today. it gave me direction and i'm grateful for it.
i get asked about my tattoo all the time and it's a great to start a conversation about faith and scripture.
and i'm getting another one in a few weeks, and i'm so excited!!
tattoos are ART!
and i love a dude with full sleeves
as long as the tattoo means something special and profound to the person that got it, i see no problem with them
I have a tattoo and a couple of piercings and I get irritated with people who think I can't possibly be a good church going girl because of them. My husband wanted a tattoo before we got married but his parents threatened to disown him. So, I got him a tattoo for his birthday after we got married