Are Tattoos Sinful? Your Thoughts...

I have had a 'tramp stamp' since before they became 'tramp stamps'.

There are few that see mine, because it is lower than the low cut jeans. Can't even see it in a bikini.

I also have my tongue pierced, and there are few people who notice that.

These are something I like on me, and I appreciate that others like other decorations.

I'm sorry, but if there is someone who doesn't like the way I look, that is their prejudice, and I am not put on this earth as their eye candy, so they can bloody well close their eyes!!!

Also.....what was the popularity for the tassie devil? My ex-husband had one but he was an (cut-lunch-commando) army reservist, and yeah, it was a Tasmanian regiment....

Well there is probably too much in this thread already to get too riled up by so i wont. Maybe.

Anyway i am firmly in catagory 1 here, there is nothing wrong with any type of tattoos anywhere. Quite frankly if you are the sort of person that has any issues with that then, well, it's just that really, they are your issues and maybe highlights some deeper problems. You probably should be nicer people and less judgemental of those who are different from you.

Sure they are not too everybody's liking, personal tastes really demands that. The question of are they Sinful? Well that kind of depends where you stand on the whole religous debate, some could be percieved as sinful, or at least sinful to what you may believe in.
But i don't really care about that side of things anyway so i say again, No they are not or at least not to me and probably many others.

So yeah i love them and have them and quite frankly i don't care what anybody may think about it, certainly anyone who would have problems with it would be insignificant to me as they are probably not the kind of people i would share similar qualities with.

Heres a picture.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/efcd8ffa4c12.jpg[/atsimg]

edit: Pic is not mine.


[edit on 31-5-2010 by pazcat]

When I got a divorce I got my first tattoo. My new, much sexier girlfriend loves it, my ex wife would have thought I was stupid.

I have a sleeve Tat, I hope it offends you

...Oh my, My grt-grt-gma thought U'd go to hell for tattoos and prayed for my soul constantly, LOL. My tattoos should have been the least of her worries concerning me.. 'Tha Lordsa comin' Kimmie, tha Lordsa comin', loved her and her religion is what made her so endearing for me.
I dont participate or believe in any organized religion, I'm a 'part of the Whole' kinda girl. My body is a blank slate to decorate as I see fit and boy I've taken that opportunity. At the very least, 50% of my body is tattooed. 75% of my back is done and it extends down my shoulders and onto my forearms, I even have a facial tattoo, which I'm absolutely in love with. If she wasnt dead already my gma would have a heartattack, I'm sure of it!! I'm proud of my work, very feminine, very tasteful, as far as I'm concerned anyway, in the end thats all that matters. I'll post some pics sometime but my facial tattoo is posted in my photos if You'd like to take a 'gander'. So, my answer is 'No', they are not sinful.

I have ink on my back that I got done only a couple of years ago. It took me years to figure out what I wanted to get done & where I wanted it put. I finally decided on an original piece incorporating my heritage & (native, German & Irish) I had the artist position it on my back in a way that I can hide it if I choose to. My husband was very much against it, but once the artist was finished, he loved it.

Now IMO, my ink is a reflection of who I am expressed in a medium that I control. I choose who/when it is seen & I spent a great deal of time figuring out what I wanted done. I know some who have rushed into tattoos without much forethought & regretted them later, but most of the people I know tell a story with their ink & i for one love to look over tattoos to see what I can learn about the person from them.

As for the religious aspect of whether to get inked or not, well I guess it depends on your religion/culture. Some say sin, others endear them. As a Christian woman, I've heard that verse quoted before with regards to drinking, smoking, tattoo's & piercing. The last one who commented about my ink being bad had pierced ears, dyed hair & was eating a snack cake. I called her exactly what she was, a hypocrite. How dare she complain about my ink when she was "defiling her temple" with processed foods, hair dye and piercings. She hasn't said another word to me about it. lol

reply to post by Dock9


you are right. there's no connection with religion.

but I think the rest of your comment is inhuman. cheap, dirty and stupid in other words.

I am a Christian as well as a person with tattoos. This argument will vary one way or the other depending mainly on a couple of things:
1. Which version of the bible you read;
2. Whether or not you take the bible literally;
The passage in Leviticus is indeed talking about the pagan rituals of those living around the Israelites at that time.Here's the real issue - and if you are not a Christian then there won't be much need to read further - but too many Christians are concerned with telling others why they are going to hell instead of how to stay out of it (through Christ). All sin is disobedience in the eyes of God, whether I curse at someone or kill my mother. The trouble is that people are preconditioned by the laws and morals around them to accept certain things as not being so bad or condoning them completely while completely despising certain other actions - all of which are sin. So the pissing contests we have back and forth about things like this are always going to persist until

we can collectively realize that we all fall short of glory as far as imperfections go and whether or not someone knowingly sins or chooses to, we all have and will, and will for the rest of ours lives to come. 1 sin is enough to separate us from God. We all have to come back to HIM for redemption, that's why it doesn't matter what your sin was.

BTW for DOCK9 - Your unintelligence is clearly represented. To say that anyone who has a tattoo is showing their unintelligence and the fact that you believe you can categorize 7 billion humans with that theory is funny. You're stupid.

I don't have any tattoos but it's more of a personal choice than a religious issue. On men it doesn't really bother me but I find the female form so beautiful that a tattoo (even something delicate like a butterfly) is similar to a fading 'Don't blame me, I didn't voter for Hillary' [circa 1994] bumper sticker on a Ferrari.

To each their own- it's just not for me.

On the religious side of the equation I'm against tattoos because it is a 'mar' on the body, which we are told is a temple of the Holy Spirit. But I do not judge others who have them since we all are guilty of abusing our body in some way or another.

Comedic relief:

gprime.net...

I personally don't think it's a sin.
It might be forbidden, but in the context of where it was written think of this:

Yes, the bible does say that we shouldn't put marks on our bodies, but it also says in Leviticus 19 that we shouldnt wear clothes that are made from two different fibers, that men are to never trim their beards, you arent supposed to trim your sideburns, you cant eat meat that isnt cooked well done, you cant plant more than one type of seed in your field, and several other things. If all these are still applicable today, than we are all constantly in sin. According to God no sin is worse than the other, its us humans who have said that one sin is worse than the other. Also the Bible says that we are not judge one another.

Source

In other words, if one follows exactly what the Bible says, we'd all be living in sin daily.
I believe those words were written in context of the times, and rituals of those days gone by.

Times have changed.

So have we.

Everything we do should have meaning, tattoos or otherwise.
We, as people, should never do anything to 'fit in'.
But people still do.

I have a full sleeve that means the world to me and always will.
I am not dirty, sinful, or un-intelligent.
I don't think I'll live youthfully forever.

For someone to judge me otherwise, makes them judgemental, which God forbids.

So....





[Edited to fix bbcode]

[edit on 31-5-2010 by havok]

not employing someone for having tattoos is judgemental, one must not judge someone by there looks alone!!!!! that is pure discrimination!!

i have one tattoo on my forearm, an ace of spades, the reason for this is not 'trends' and what not, but very personal

i was involved in a car crash around 8 years ago, the car was mangled beyond recognition!! me and two friends survived without a scratch, upon getting out of the car as it was upside down, i searched around for my glasses, i found them in one piece and put them on, the first thing i saw was an ace of spades playing card. so my tattoo is about the value of life!!! not an image statement or unstable emotional state.

Peace

reply to post by Dock9


That you equate tattoos with low IQ is offensive. You make some very broad and inaccurate assumptions and judgements about people that have them.
I normally don't mention this, I have what is considered to be high IQ--160. I also have tattoos.
And guess what? I realize I age.
My tattoos are all above most short sleeved shirts. They are symbols of what I hold dear to me. One is a Taino water symbol. Another is the tree of life. Incorporated into that and above it is an infinity symbol morphed with a Fibonacci spiral.
They reflect beliefs I hold and I don't feel a need to explain them here.

As far as sinful, it seems that Leviticus was targeting enemies of Israel, and tattoos were sort of "identifiers".
Tattoos are not signs of the worship of idols anymore.
Many of the do's and dont's from the laws of the Old Testament simply are not relevant anymore.
We no longer feel anymore that a woman is unclean and to be avoided, for example, when she has her period.
We do not cast out or stone unmarried females if they are not virgins.

Tattoos are not a sin, nor are they a sign of a dirty or unintelligent individual.

[edit on 31/5/2010 by Chamberf=6]

reply to post by Dock9

Oh jeepers ... MORE religiosity ? !

ATS is getting on my nerves for this reason

umm, this thread is under "Conspiracies of Religions".. what were you expecting? I could offer links to all the other areas that don't have religion in them,, but I won't because you know that I'm sure.

I'm not a fan of tattoos

now that is an understatement if I've ever seen one.

To my mind, they look cheap, stupid and dirty

I wouldn't associate with or employ someone with tattoos, because it's my opinion they're wearing their mental/intellectual/emotional problems on the outside

in my opinion (the only one that matters) it shows mental/intellectual/emotional problems to limit yourself by judging someone based on tattoos. And I don't consider myself to be intellectually flawed with a 142 IQ,,

In addition, I have a low opinion of those who follow trends, such as those for tattoos and piercings, because I regard those who follow trends as being of low intelligence

oh my, you agree with someone that has, gasp.. tattooooos, oh noz! Heathen!

Tattoos on older people look additionally ugly and distasteful

didn't you already cover everyone when you said that they looked "dirty" on everyone?

Those who have tattoos clearly believe they will never grow old, which again is evidence of their low intelligence

if you believe this, as I think you do.. it does indeed show someone's intellectual shortcomings.. but it's not me with the ink..

Most people I've met with tattoos wish they'd been smarter than to get them and dream of having them removed

these are those trendy people we agreed on earlier..

So for me, the tattoo issue has no connection with religion or spirituality

scurry along now that we all know..

----

OP, I have no problem with them. I personally have 9. They all mean a lot to me. They can't be seen unless I wear shorts and sleeveless shirts.

I don't think people are going to hell if they have them, nor do I think God will look down on us if we are good people in this life, just because someone drew on us and we couldn't wash it off.

Cheers!

[edit on 31-5-2010 by broahes]

[edit on 31-5-2010 by broahes]

Originally posted by LadySkadi
I think tattoos are (or should be) a personal reflection of self. Some consider it art ... I'm not quite to that degree, but I do think that if you have ink than it should *mean* something to you or *reflect* something about you or tell a story about your life, whatever that may be. But that's mostly personal opinion. To each his/her own.

Of course it's art. Do you know about tattooing at all?

The person doing the tat is a definite artist in my book.

I agree w/ the rest of your post.

this image said it all to me

i dont like tats

my partner is covered in them - i accept them because i love him.




[edit on 31-5-2010 by selfharmonise]

I personally don't think that tattoos are sinful. To me it is fairly clear that the tattoos in Leviticus are "tattoos for the dead". It's unfortunate to me that the English translations of the Bible don't make this clearer, instead making it seem like all tattoos were forbidden; the German translations are somewhat better at conveying the idea.

reply to post by havok

In other words, if one follows exactly what the Bible says, we'd all be living in sin daily.

That was actually a purpose of the Law: To show man that he was sinful and not capable of earning salvation himself so that he would understand the need for a Savior who could fulfill the Law's requirements and become the Law for us so that we may be able to enter into a relationship with God and obtain eternal salvation.

I love ink on the skin,have a few myself that have aged over the years.Had two on my 18th birthday on my right forarm and left bicep.A few years later on my left calf and a home done one that normaly gets mentioned a bit when Im out but is never seen in public(a lot!lol)

would love a full sleeve on my left arm,would look great playing guitar like that

I respect people who dont like them,my best mate thinks they look tacky-as for being sinfull?depends on what the ink shows or says!

reply to post by Raustin


1. Tattoos are fine, no matter what.

I don't have any tatoos namely because my husband and I like my skin exactly the way it is.

(Also, I don't like pain).

If I had one, I would pick a wolf as I met a wild wolf when I was 12 on a girl scout hike, he allowed me to pet him.

A very special moment in my life.

The picture below is fairly close to what he looked like.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/873213aee362.jpg[/atsimg]



[edit on 31-5-2010 by ofhumandescent]