WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS?
“Answer: The Old Testament law commanded the Israelites, â??Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORDâ?? (Leviticus 19:28). So, even though believers today are not under the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15), the fact that there was a command against tattoos should cause us to question. The New Testament does not say anything about whether a believer should or should not get a tattoo. In relation to tattoos and body piercings, a good test is to determine whether we can honestly, in good conscience, ask God to bless and use the particular activity for His own good purposes. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The Bible does not command against tattoos or body piercings, but it also does not give us any reason to believe God would have us get tattoos or body piercings. Another issue to consider is modesty. The Bible instructs us to dress mod
Todays Question: What does the Bible say about tattoos? I found a really awesome image of a cross with Jesus spelled out as the vertical part and thought it would be a great tattoo, but wasn’t sure what the Bible said about them. Ben Bomberger Bible Answer: The main passage that is used by some Christians to forbid tattoos and body piercing is Leviticus 19:28: “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord. Sounds like a clear prohibition, doesnt it, until you recognize this is part of the Mosaic Law that the believer is not under obligation to follow. Before one uses this passage to forbid tattoos, they should take a look at the previous command: Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard (Lev 19:27). I havent seen many Christians with uncut beards, have you? The issue of tattoos and body piercing falls under the category of disputable matters mentioned in Romans chapter 14: Therefore let us stop passing jud
Old Testament Some people see this verse as clear evidence that it is wrong to get a tattoo: You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord. (NRSV, Leviticus 19:28) However, there are problems with that interpretation. Leviticus 19:25-31 contains a series of laws that prohibit various pagan worship practices. The Israelites were constantly tempted to lapse into the pagan practices of other ancient peoples ( Exodus 32:1-6, Numbers 25:1-3, etc.), so they were forbidden to do anything that had even the appearance of a pagan ritual. Cutting and marking the flesh were common pagan rites for mourning the dead. So, in context, it was probably not the mark on the skin itself that was offensive, but rather the strong association with pagan worship. Such an association would not likely be made in today’s world. New Testament Another verse cited against tattoos was written by the apostle Paul: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of t
