farouk
Member
On another thread which deals with slightly different issues, handy made some very thought-provoking comments about the extent of tattooing among Christians, and how visible tattoos may impact others. (I am quoting some of her comments here to try to keep on topic in the different threads.) Handy said:
"At our church, there are several with tatts, including several middle aged women (no, I'm not one of them)... And believe me, it's a very conservative church... . If one is basically ministering to people who would find piercings or tatts to be associated with rebellion and sin... not a good idea to cover oneself with them. However, if one is ministering out on the streets, or to younger people, then most likely piercings and tatts will be a non-issue.
While I find there is freedom in this issue, anything, anything at all that would hinder our ministry or ability to effectively share the gospel needs to be jettisoned. In some places, piercings and tatts would... but not in other places. Everyone just needs to be wise in the matter."
So what do people think?
Personally I reckon that for someone new to a church and with Christians trying to be friendly with them, if some of the Christians have one or two unobtrusive tattoos that are sometimes visible, it may kind of help the person to relax and feel comfortable; and of course faith based tattoo designs can also be a conversation starter.
Another thing that does not remotely surprise me is when handy says that several middle aged women at her conservative church have tattoos. With the huge increase in tattoo parlor business, it's not only young people that are going for their ink rite of passage at 18, but also older people. Including many middle aged women. So I'm actually not at all surprised that handy has noticed all the middle aged women at her very conservative church who have become tattooed.
"At our church, there are several with tatts, including several middle aged women (no, I'm not one of them)... And believe me, it's a very conservative church... . If one is basically ministering to people who would find piercings or tatts to be associated with rebellion and sin... not a good idea to cover oneself with them. However, if one is ministering out on the streets, or to younger people, then most likely piercings and tatts will be a non-issue.
While I find there is freedom in this issue, anything, anything at all that would hinder our ministry or ability to effectively share the gospel needs to be jettisoned. In some places, piercings and tatts would... but not in other places. Everyone just needs to be wise in the matter."
So what do people think?
Personally I reckon that for someone new to a church and with Christians trying to be friendly with them, if some of the Christians have one or two unobtrusive tattoos that are sometimes visible, it may kind of help the person to relax and feel comfortable; and of course faith based tattoo designs can also be a conversation starter.
Another thing that does not remotely surprise me is when handy says that several middle aged women at her conservative church have tattoos. With the huge increase in tattoo parlor business, it's not only young people that are going for their ink rite of passage at 18, but also older people. Including many middle aged women. So I'm actually not at all surprised that handy has noticed all the middle aged women at her very conservative church who have become tattooed.
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