The Bible and tattoos. Tattoos are a practice from eighth-century China, used as a form of punishment that was intended to permanently mark criminals. Today, we know that it has expanded to multiple uses. However, what can we find in the Bible about tattoos?
As with various controversial topics such as drug addiction, fornication, homosexuality, among others, the Bible presents some treatment on the use of tattoos. As we could infer, many verses rebuke the use of tattoos, as it is considered an aberration against the human body.
Next, we will analyze different verses of the Bible, in order to observe how tattoos are described throughout the pages of the holy book. The first of these verses will be that of Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:28
This verse is one of the most referential environments to this topic. In your reading:
“Thou shalt not make any scratches on your body for a dead person, nor shall you imprint any mark on your body.”
The interpretation of this verse is one of the most common bases for multiple liturgies such as Christianity and Catholicism, to reject the use of tattoos. It is considered a nonsense to the integrity of the likeness of God , and, therefore, an act repudiable by all believers respectively.
Leviticus 6:30 PM
Another excerpt from Leviticus shows the following reading:
“You observe my commandments and refrain from following the abominable customs that were practiced on earth before you arrived. Do not be contaminated because of them. I am the Lord your God.”
Although the use of tattoos is not specified in these prayers, this verse can be part of the arguments in the face of different worldly practices rejected by God’s law. Our main theme, tattoos, can be referred to this verse in this regard.
Leviticus 21:5 The Bible and tattoos
Another verse reads as follows:
“The priests will not shave their heads, nor will they tear their beards off, nor will they injure their bodies.”
A verse with a very specific audience, in which we can observe the rejection of tattoos. We could say that, not only priests, but also people who exercise important roles in different churches, will not be able to have tattoos under any circumstances.
Revelation 13:16-17
Revelation, one of the most controversial books of the Bible, presents, in its chapter 13, the following reading:
“And it causes everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be given a mark on their right hand or forehead, and that no one can buy or sell, except the one who has the mark: the name of the beast or the number of its name.”
A reading that does not show a very clear idea, but that wants to describe the practice of marking certain parts of the body to people without any distinction. Additionally, there is talk of using the number of the beast or its name as a form of mark for the skin.
The book of revelation contains a variety of premonitions that can be somewhat confusing when it comes to your ideas. However, this fragment has been used to refer to the use of tattoos, as part of the predictions that are reflected in this book.
Corinthians 6:19-20
This verse from the book of Corinthians presents this reading:
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that it is in you, which you have of God, and that you are not yours? For by price you have been bought; therefore, glorify God in your body and spirit, which are of God.”
The human body is defined as the temple of the Holy Spirit, that is, a sacred entity that must be guarded at all times. It is also invited in this verse to glorify God through body and spirit, both instances representing God. Therefore, tattoos are considered to be an act that drives the body away from the supreme father.
Is it wrong to wear tattoos?
We can observe that some verses are more specific than others, conceptualizing, not only tattoos, but also different modifications to the body as an act of contempt for God’s creation.
However, we cannot ignore that the Bible is a book full of passages and premonitions subject today to a variety of interpretations . That is, many of the messages of the Bible today legitimized in common jargon, are no more than interpretations that have been accepted by different religions.
In this way, we find that the use of tattoos is considered, today, a practice against God. However, this could change in the future, depending precisely on the way in which the interpretations of the Bible are concluded.
Let us remember that the Bible is a book that, at present, holds many mysteries. In fact, it has not been possible to determine whether the book of Revelation is a book of predictions or, on the other hand, a book full of riddles that purported to carry a message to the then persecuted Christians.
This is why we cannot determine if the use of tattoos is really bad. Although, it is a fact that many liturgies categorically reject this practice in any of their practitioners. Therefore, a believing person should not consider making such modifications to his body.
Verses about tattoos
As we have observed, The Bible has different passages in which it is warned that bodily modifications in the form of a mark, is an act that seeks to reject God, understanding that the human body is one of the most sacred instances, along with the Holy Spirit, in the creation of God.
It is for this reason that we can observe that different liturgies reject tattoos, considering it a totally disobedient act. His interpretations of the Bible and many of these verses have ended up legitimizing the idea of the tattoo and its symbol of nonsense before God.
Read also: What does the Bible say about tattoos?; What does the Bible say about marriage? what the Persephone tattoo means; Mandala Tattoo Meaning; Types of adultery in the Bible; What is adultery in the bible?; Infidelity definition bible
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