Tattoos in History, the American Culture and the Church

A Brief History on my own choice to tattoo                       

Let me preface this topic in stating that I hold no bias in this matter. I do have both arms covered in sleeves and other tattoos as well. I was saved but mostly backslidden when I had gotten most of my work done. Much of the work was completed after I re-dedicated my life to the Lord as well. Personally, I do not feel conviction in this area lest the artwork rendered was purposefully evil. Though I certainly don’t condone or encourage receiving a tattoo but I neither condemn it. Many days I do long for the good ol’ skin the Lord gave me but without the funds for complete removal I’m stuck with them. This is also partially the reason behind the sleeves, which is to “affordably” cover the old ones.

Upon covering the old ones with the new sleeves, I’d decided to do a Chinese motif on my right arm because of my interest in the culture and art. Symbolically it represents my early testimony minus a few symbols that I must alter in the future do to their Buddhist meanings that I was unaware of.

On my left arm is a yet to be completed city scene of Armageddon along with scripture references. This one is purely because of my love of Eschatology and the study Biblical prophecy. This one was also designed in an effort to stimulate conversation leading to Jesus.

The Lord has turned my ink into an amazing ministry tool. Most every day I’m asked about them. They’ve been a great conversation starter and I always steer the chat from there to Jesus and because of that many have come to Christ. He’s used me as a secret weapon placing me in the Lion’s den if you will.

The reason for such extremity is a multi-faceted creature. It simply began with the desire to cover some homemade ones I had gotten when I was a young teen. I had grown up loving art and I’d always had an extreme edge in everything I did. Still do. I’m very thankful that the Lord has revealed to me my path in missions at this juncture of life. It takes an extreme spirit I believe, for this line of ministry, especially in an extremely under populated field of ministry.

The Origin of the Tattoo

Kings and commoners. Sailors and prisoners. Tribesmen and sweethearts. All have shared one thing: the art of the tattoo.

Evidence from ancient Egypt, Greenland, Siberia, and New Zealand shows how truly global the tattooer's art is — and how old. In fact, tattooing had existed for thousands of years before England's Captain Cook encountered it in the South Pacific in 1769. Merchant and naval seamen soon spread the art to Europe and America. But while its meaning has varied from people to people and from place to place, tattooing has most often served as a sign of social status, as a mark of one's passage through life, or simply as a way to beautify the body.

Once regarded in the West as frightening and repulsive, the tattoo has enjoyed great popularity in our own culture in recent years. Everywhere we look today — movies, advertisements, television-are signs that people of all walks of life appreciate and practice the art of the tattoo

Believe it or not, some scientists say that certain marks on the skin of the Iceman, a mummified human body dating from about 3300 B.C., are tattoos. If that’s true, these markings represent the earliest known evidence of the practice. Tattoos found on Egyptian and Nubian mummies date from about 2000 B.C., and classical authors mention the use of tattoos in connection with Greeks, ancient Germans, Gauls, Thracians and ancient Britons.

Tattooing was rediscovered by Europeans when exploration brought them into contact with Polynesians and American Indians. The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian word tattau, which means "to mark," and was first mentioned in explorer James Cook’s records from his 1769 expedition to the South Pacific. Because tattoos were considered so exotic in European and U.S. societies, tattooed Indians and Polynesians drew crowds at circuses and fairs during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Tribal Cultures

Ritual and tradition have been common and constant factors in tattooing. In Borneo, for example, women bore a symbol on their arms to denote their specific skills, thus increasing their potential for marriage, whilst tattoos worn around the fingers and wrist were said to ward off illness. Clan or society membership have also often been symbolized by tattoos throughout history. It has also been believed that the wearer of an image calls the spirit of that image. For example, the ferocity of a tiger would belong to the person baring this tattoo.

Although controversial, many believe tattooing originates in Egypt, from the time of the Pharaohs and the construction of the Great Pyramids. As the Egyptian Empire spread, so did the art of tattooing and around 2000 BC it reached China.

In ancient Greece, the tattoo was used to mark spies while the Romans used the tattoo to mark slaves and criminals. In western Asia, the Ainu people used tattoos to signify social status. The Ainu were said to have carried the art to Japan where is became a mark of religion. Dayak warriors who had 'taken a head' were signified by a tattoo on the hand. The Polynesians employed tattoos to denote status, tribal communities and rank. They carried this art to New Zealand where a facial tattoo, Moko, was developed. The Danes, Saxons and Norse were often tattooed with their family crest.

Multi- Cultural Meanings

The practice of tattooing means different things in different cultures. In early practice, decoration appears to have been the most common motive for tattooing, and that still holds true today. In some cultures, tattoos served as identification of the wearer’s rank or status in a group. For example, the early Romans tattooed slaves and criminals. Tahitian tattoos served as rites of passage, telling the history of the wearer’s life. Boys reaching manhood received one tattoo to mark the occasion, while men had another style done when they married. Sailors traveling to exotic foreign lands began to collect tattoos as souvenirs of their journeys (a dragon showed that the seaman had served on a China station), and tattoo parlors sprang up in port cities around the globe.

The Changing Cultural Status of the Tattoo in America

The cultural status of tattooing has steadily evolved from that of an anti-social activity in the 1960s to that of a trendy fashion statement in the 1990s. First adopted and flaunted by influential rock stars like the Rolling Stones in the early 1970s, tattooing had, by the late 1980s, become accepted by ever broader segments of mainstream society. Today, tattoos are routinely seen on rock stars, professional sports figures, ice skating champions, fashion models, movie stars and other public figures who play a significant role in setting the culture's contemporary mores and behavior patterns.

During the last fifteen years, two distinct classes of tattoo business have emerged. The first is the "tattoo parlor" that glories in a sense of urban outlaw culture; advertises itself with garish exterior signage; offers "pictures-off-the-wall" assembly-line service; and often operates with less than optimum sanitary procedures.

The second is the "tattoo art studio" that most frequently features custom, fine art design; the ambiance of an upscale beauty salon; marketing campaigns aimed at middle- and upper middle-class professionals; and "by-appointment" services only. Today's fine art tattoo studio draws the same kind of clientele as a custom jewelry store, fashion boutique, or high-end antique shop.

The market demographics for tattoo services are now skewed heavily toward mainstream customers. Tattooing today is the sixth-fastest-growing retail business in the United States.

The single fastest growing demographic group seeking tattoo services is, to the surprise of many, middle-class suburban women.

Views on Tattoos in the Church and When it Becomes Sin

Tattoos have become the norm and are gaining great acceptance in the community, workplace and the church. The church? Yes, the church! Tattoos are no respecter of person. Some people preached and teach that if you get a tattoo, you are going to hell. However, is that theology true? Compared to getting a tattoo before giving your life to Christ, should a person only receive harsh reproach for getting a tattoo after they commit their life to Christ? The bible says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28). However, in the previous verse it says, “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard” (Leviticus 19:27). What becomes the determining factor to decide which verse Christians should or should not follow? More people disobey the "hair" law compared to the "tattoo" law.

The bible says, “Do 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; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body,” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). If dishonoring your body means marking your body, then, do scars fall in the same category? Along with a tattoo, in spite of the cocoa butter treatments, a scar can become a permanent mark. Over eating, smoking, alcohol abuse and etc are forms of not bringing honor to the body, as well.

The approval ratings of tattoos are becoming a cultural decision. Getting a tattoo is not a good or bad issue. With some, the tattoo is not the problem, but the rationale behind the tattoo can be where the sin resides. At times, the actual tattoo, location and age can allow a tattoo to become opposite of a wise decision. The story behind the tattoo can contain the real problem and open the door for ministry to take place. This issue is immensely difficult, and many church leaders must take these things in regard before casting final judgment on people with tattoos. As a church, Christians should not always look at the surface problems, but look skin deep.

My Closing Thoughts regarding the most common “Christian” argument on Tattoos

My take on the most common argument according to (Leviticus 19:28) in my opinion is irrelevant today. This is provable in scripture with the simple fact alone that Leviticus 19:28 was written for the Jews who were under Mosaic and Ceremonial law in the old covenant and had literally thousands of laws they had to keep. To break one was to break them all. Two verses prior to this in 19:26 it says not to eat anything with blood. The next in 19:27 states not to shave the sides of our heads or trim our beards. The penalties for these and many other things was death.

For this argument to be valid would also mean that since we’ve gotten haircuts and have eaten meat means we should all be put to death.

It would also mean that Jesus’ coming, death on the cross for the remission of sins for those who believe in Him and confess Him as Lord (Jew and Gentile) is a complete fabrication and a lie. It would also mean that every letter written by Paul who was formerly a Jew, converted, and the deliverer of the gospel to the Gentiles and the world is also a lie and has no sway. I thank God that this is not the case!

To quote Leviticus 19:28 in this light is to completely render the Bible inaccurate and invalid which is not the case but rather the common attempts of uneducated religious zealots who still try and earn their way into heaven by works, do’s and don’ts and completely disregard faith and belief which is what no man can please the Lord without. Our faith and belief that produces fruit is what makes us righteous as it was attributed to Abraham under the old covenant in Genesis 15:6. There are things we naturally do as an outcome of faith in action that bring about our righteousness.

There are clear Biblical sins and there are things that some have convictions of and others do not. For example, I do not believe it is a sin to have a drink; therefore I have no conviction of it. I have never been an alcoholic with those tendencies but if I had been this would be a clear case of sin against my body because of former addiction. Things that are knowingly harmful for us of course are sinful because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial in 1 Corinthians 10:23. Also in 1 Corinthians 6:12 Paul states the same but also stating that he will not be brought under the power of anything, meaning addiction to anything other than God. We are to take care of the temple of the Lord and keep Him our one and only dependency.

As mentioned throughout, the issue of tattoos being a sin rest on personal conviction, motive, content of the tattoo and most importantly the position of the heart. Whether one had them pre- salvation or continues to get them afterword’s is one’s own prerogative and between their own convictions and the Lord. I neither condone it nor promote it. On this topic I say to each his own. Be cautious of the motive and submit your plans to the Lord. Right or wrong, He loves us and has paid for our mistakes. To be convicted and pursue is to knowingly sin against the Lord.

Bibliography

•  Origin of the Tattoo, Tribal Cultures, Multi-Cultural Meanings: www.msu.edu

•   The Changing Cultural Status of the Tattoo in America: www.tattooartist.com

•    Views on Tattoos in the Church and when it Becomes Sin: www.examiner.com