By Dylan Sciacca | Reporter
Having tattoos doesn’t make someone less Christian, unfaithful or less connected to God. However, there are still Christians that believe getting tattoos harms your relationship with God because of a passage from the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:28 reads, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.”
I believe that in today’s world, many verses are taken out of the Bible without context, making certain verses sound like a separate meaning or not how it was intended. To me, this verse is no different.
This verse was said to the Israelites after they escaped Egypt. The main goal throughout Leviticus was for the Israelites to remain holy and separate from the other nations religious practices.
Leviticus 19:28 appears in a chapter full of many different instructions of how to remain holy and worship God. Other cultures practiced rituals that cut or marked their body. These rituals took place when mourning the dead, making religious ceremonies for false Gods and attempting to communicate with or appeal to spiritual powers.
This verse was stated because in this specific era, people marked their bodies to worship other gods, which was not holy. God wanted to prevent the Israelites from participating in religious practices that were not ones that worshipped him.
These cuts and markings are not like today’s tattoos. In 1 Kings 18:28, the biblical passage tells us they used swords and spears to cut themselves, but it does not describe the exact patterns, locations or shapes of the cuts.
“They shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed,” the passage reads.
Even though we do not know what exactly these markings looked like, a marking created by a sword and spear would look way different than the ones we have today with ink and needles. Another large difference is that blood does not ‘flow’ from current tattoos like it would from a sword or spear.
Ink and needles can’t be sinful, however, tattoos that go against God’s word or represent something that does, is a sin. This may look like hateful imagery, tattoos that worship other gods, or ones that encourage violent, illegal acts.
The bible preaches that you should treat your body as a temple, and I took that deeply into consideration when I got my cross tattoo a few years ago. But I decided that, especially a Christian tattoo, is not infringing on this because I have always thought of Christian tattoos as stained glass at church. They can be seen as a decoration that represents the Lord.
My tattoo has helped me a lot with my walk with Christ. When I was in high school, I was often on a wave with my relationship with God. Sometimes I would be high on my faith, and other times, I would be low and forget about Jesus. But now, everyday I get to see the cross no matter where I go and always have it as a reminder of him.
If your tattoo helps you become closer to God, then I think he would be thrilled to have you closer to him.
