We had a great debate going once about this subject.....I'd like to get opinions on this.

Did God mean TATTOOS when he was talking about defacing the body? The "temple"?

Yes, among other things. Sorry to be so blunt.

You can be as blunt as you wish....but I do not see verses in your post!

I Corinthians 3:16-17

16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.


I Corinthians 6:19-20

19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.


II Corinthians 6:16-17

16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."[b]
17"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."[c]


Here are some HUMAN thoughts:

Article : Do Commandments On Tattoos and Hair Still Apply? http://delveintojesus.com/articles/75/Do-Commandments-On-Tattoos-and-Hair-Still-Apply.aspx
The Bible contains some commandments that don't seem to apply anymore such as commanding men to have short hair, women to have long hair and forbidding tattoos and body piercings. Does God care about these things any more? Do 21st century Christians still need to heed these commandments?
http://delveintojesus.com/articles/75/Do-Commandments-On-Tattoos-and-Hair-Still-Apply.aspx


Remember: IF tottoos are still considered sinful, they are not an unpardonable sin.

I still love you and the Lord most certainly loves you!!!

The only non-"blurry" mention is in Leviticus, which is the old law. Am I sinning eating certain meats now too???

No. I'm not. He removed the Old Testament prohibitions against eating "unclean" animals.


"Can someone worship Jesus just as well with long hair, earrings or tattoos?"

Jesus had long hair...so did the woman who wiped the oil on His feet....and Rebeccah was given a nose ring and bracelets when she went to marry Isaac.

And as for "destroying the Temple".....ink doesn't go any more than the depth of the epidermis....which is 5 layers itself before even reaching the dermis. Tattoos do not go past the 3rd layer. LOTION SEEPS IN DEEPER than that.

I'd say smoking, drinking, eating fatty foods, taking drugs...pain killers, even, which can destroy the liver (let's include chemotherapy drugs, considering nothing destroys the body more than that....)

I'd say these are things far worse than a bit of ink going no more than 3 layers into the epidermis.


Corinthians 6:19-20 "....therefore honor God with your body".....I do. I refrain from certain activities that He frowns upon until Chris and I get married. I believe that THIS is the most important meaning of that phrase...not tattooing.

Pattey -- you asked for it, and you sure got it. :)

Good response Ed, and thanks for the verses to help focus the discussion.

As for the verses, my own read may a little different from Ed's:

Safari wrote:

I Corinthians 3:16-17 16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

Modern translation: Suicide is wrong.[1]

Safari wrote:

I Corinthians 6:19-20 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Devote your body to God. Do we not honor God with art at our houses of worship? Why cannot we honor God with other art, such as a Christian symbol tatoo? Is it improper to adorn oneself with a necklace that is a cross, or the fish symbol? If not, why is a tatoo, branding, or cutting wrong?

Safari wrote:

II Corinthians 6:16-17 16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."[b] 17"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."[c]

I read this as saying that you cannot worship God and idols, or broker a compromise between the two. It is the idols, and the trappings of their worship which is unclean.


Leviticus --- now that is a direct command on the issue. But Pattey has good point that through Christ's sacrifice Leviticus is no longer the Law. Otherwise we would, for example, stone all homosexuals. Jesus certainly would not want that.



Just for comment and thought, and perhaps to stir up the discussion a bit:

1. Is wrong for a man to wear an earring? Does it matter if it is pierced or a clip on?

2. If it wrong to modify the body, is circumcision wrong?

3. Is is wrong to donate an organ (e.g., kidney) while still living?

Yes the body is a temple to God. But at what point does an act cease to honor God?

k_enn

[1] For an interesting theological discussion on suicide and whether it is an unpardonable sin -- read the lyrics (or listen) to the Evanescence song "Tourniquet."

Yah, I wanted to start the thread back up...Chris and I were talking the other day about how it got lost from the other forum and it had been a good thread.

As for me being worried about my salvation or my tattoos (most of which are crosses, jesus fish and the holy spirit) being a SIN...I am not worried. I'm about as worried as I am about wearing jeans to church. (and if I remember right, that was another great thread!)

I just love the discussion. I love Ed for his knowledge. I love you for your input and seeing the correctness in both sides.

I always wanted one but never got one but a lot of my friends did. Now that I'm older I don't see the point in it. Before it was all about "look at me and aren't I cool with my tat and isn't it great? Now it's not about me anymore. It's about HIM and I Don't need the ego {Easing God Out} involved with it. The question you need to ask yourself is " Am I honoring God or myself with getting this tattoo."

The topic is pretty interesting but I don't think you can find out a definite yes or no answer from scripture. A tattoo of one thing may be wrong and another it may not be. Gods word says not to kill and yet God used his own people to destroy other lives. How about killing in a war? Is that 100% always wrong too?

My point is...If we look at the verse about destroying the body wouldn't that mean cremation is wrong too? It says nothing about the living body or the body with the soul still intact. A definitely yes or no to tattoos is too extreme of a view in my book. I have no problem in someone being personally convicted that they shouldn't get one. I believe if you felt convicted of it and got one anyway it would be sinful. I don't have any tattoos but that doesn't mean I think it is definitely 100% chance a sin.

You may be able to argue that intentionally hurting yourself is a sin, the tattoo needle cuts you, and I believe self inflicted wounds are sinful. I think that is a hard point to argue however and I think it is up to the individual to discern whether or not his/her tattoo is dishonoring God or not.

Marking, piercing the body etc. in no way should affet my acceptance of a person (and I pray that it doesn't); however, that being said, as an old f***, I'm rather set in my ways and my beliefs. I'm am not saying that another person does not have the right to believe differently than me. If I felt that way, I'd be a good candidte to be the anit-Christ.

My conclusion on this matter that will never be shaken is that if you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved. And that none of us will have a difinitive answer on body piercings and tattoos until we get to Heaven.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I strongly believe that our "rewards" in Heaven (aside from our salvation) will be based on our Christian "walk." It COULD be that tottoos and piercings MAY have a limited effect on our "rewards." Piercings and tottoos will certainly NOT keep a person out of Heaven.

In the interest of getting another good, healthy discussion going, please read my new post that I'll be putting up shortly entitled "Eternal Security."

i dont think we should have tatoos because our body is to be a temple and treated like one. i dont think that it will keep you out of heaven.
i think tatoos are like graffiti. your church is a temple would you go and paint graffit on it?

Graffiti....What about make-up? Little old ladies and young women alike are all made up at church.
THAT's way more "ego" (as Mike mentioned) than a tattoo....I never thought of mine as an ego thing.
Mine are art from important times of my life....and 4 out of 6 of them are honoring my relationship with Christ.


And yes, I helped paint a huge wall mural at the youth center at my church when I was a teen.


OH, BY THE WAY....I LOVE THIS!!! THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL OF YOUR OPINIONS!!!

What "hurt" are you reading?

Ed...the only thing that's disturbing is the lack of evidence/proof that ink on the skin "destroys" the temple.

I have merely decorated the temple....just like every temple or church we walk into on a sunday.

There's nothing anyone can say to me to make me feel bad or worry about my tattoos being a negative when it comes to my rewards/salvation....but I thought it'd be a good thread for people who struggle with it or wonder about it.

I stick by the consumption of drugs (including pain pills/chemo), bad food, alcohol and tobacco being the things that "DESTROY" a temple.

Not in a million years would I believe that ink on my skin constitutes destroying. This thread wasn't started to reinforce or validate MY own feelings. It was to see what's out there for PRO's and CON's.

"I love this" refers to the fact that you all took part. Which is what we're here for.

you make a good point with make up but i think women are alot better looking with out it.