OK I will be honest that I didn't read through the entire thread it was just way too long so I may have missed some of the points made or scriptures pointed out, but here goes my thoughts. I want a faith based tattoo, and have for a long time now. I have thought long and hard on the decision and prayed and study long and hard as well. The only scripture I have found specific to this is in Leviticus that also contains laws about many other things that I do not follow. So I believe for me, it has come down to Romans chapter 14, and in particular Romans 14:14. Getting a faith based tattoo simply doesn't seem unclean nor sinful to me. If I felt in the least convicted of this then I wouldn't do it. The only reason it even occurred to me that it might be wrong is because I had heard all my life, from my mom esp., that they were 'of the devil' lol. So I did my own research on it and know my own thoughts and feelings. That isn't to say that God may not convict another person of the same thing though. I personally did the research, prayer, and sought God and well now I'm just trying to pick out my verse. Which isn't easy at all, I have soooo many verses that I count among my favorites.
I will add that I have 2 other tattoos, one that isn't faith based in the least and I cover it at all times now. [ a rebellion from my youth] and God def convicted me of that one!! And the other has my daughters name, haven't had any conviction over that one........ I believe it is as most things are, we humans can make things unclean very easily if we do not constantly seek God and his wisdom on things. He should be the first One's advice we seek before doing something.
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forgiven :
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I agree; Romans 14 is pretty relevant and the faith based tattoo — though uniquely special to the person — is certainly becoming more and more widespread, and the effective source of a lot of witness conversations.
I saw this quote also:
Jamie said:
My husband and I have several tattoos and my daughter will probably have some when she is older.. In my area you can get a tattoo no matter your age as long as you have parents consent. So half the high school is tatted up.. source: circleofmoms.com
I would actually advise a bit of caution when it comes to adolescents getting tattoos, because they do need to know their own minds first.
It's not for everyone, in any case, and it's likely that some Christian families are going have different ideas from other Christian families. It also needs to be admitted that the age at which young people tend to get their first tattoo may vary from one state/province to another.
But undoubtedly so many moms and dads, instead of seeing their kids' first tattoo as some kind of threat, have simply embraced the idea. After all, so many moms and dads have tatts of their own and their kids are likely to know that mom and dad have them. Simply, a lot of moms and dads tend to see it as a sort of rite of passage (not unlike getting holes in earlobes or cartilage is).
The mom, Jamie, in the quote, above, clearly thinks it's likely that her daughter will want to have it done, too, when her daughter is at an appropriate age.
Increasingly it is to be expected that some Christian moms and dads are likely to have tatts of their own, too, like you do, @
forgiven , and in turn it may be that their believing son or daughter will eventually seem interested in getting a faith based tattoo (and particularly given their proven effectiveness as conversation-starters in witness situations). And I think that some Christian moms and dads are increasingly taking the attitude to their believing adolescent kids that not only can going under the tattoo machine be a source of fun (which in the end is pretty subjective, and neither here nor there, really) but also a source of testimony joy.
It's the testimony effectiveness side of faith based tattoos that is really the far more significant aspect, right?
Thanks again, @
forgiven , and blessings to you and yours.