Tattoos

[sixpence]

I agree there is nothing outright wrong with tattoos as long as you really think about what you are doing. Haven't got any personally, just a lot of (ear) piercings...

[Papist]

Don't blaspheme.

[Catholicterp7]

I just got one over Christmas break. It was not a rash decision as I've prayed about it for almost four years now, it has a lot of really deep spiritual meaning for me, it can easily be covered for work and it's a way to be in the world but not of it. 

 

JM+ :heart: 

[Catholicterp7]

I just got one over Christmas break. It was not a rash decision as I've prayed about it for almost four years now, it has a lot of really deep spiritual meaning for me, it can easily be covered for work and it's a way to be in the world but not of it. 

 

JM+ :heart: 

[God the Father]

Yuck!

[PhuturePriest]

You can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery... just saying....

 

Getting buried in a Jewish cemetery actually sounds kind of cool.

[StMichael]

Defensive are we?

 

I shared my PERSONAL journey to NOT getting a tattoo when I was 14 or 15.

 

I looked for an answer and the answer appeared to ME.

 

And as I read through more, at the time, it stated that God made us perfect and therefore using our bodies as a canvas was disrespectful.

 

In recent years I have spoken to many Roman Catholic Priests and none have come to any support to mark your body with a tattoo, etc. in fact, quite the opposite.

 

And equating removing or consuming to branding your body is simply a ploy of distraction. I do not recall anywhere in the Bible where Jesus  wanted us to graffiti ourselves with images of Donald Duck, lauging Devils, etc. 

 

 

 

Have you shaved your face recently? Do you still have the long hair or have you cut the hair on your temples? When was the last time you had a bacon cheeseburger? Did you cleanse yourself after the last time you had contact with a menstruating woman? Are you a fan of shrimp, lobster, or crab? Your shirt, is it made from a poly/cotton blend? 

 

The tattoo law is a cultural law that the Jews were given to differentiate themselves from their neighbors. We are not Jews, and are therefore not bound to these cultural laws.

 

I won't expand any more here, because I've already written up this particular defense. You can read it here.

 

 

[Catholicterp7]

Defensive are we?

 

I shared my PERSONAL journey to NOT getting a tattoo when I was 14 or 15.

 

I looked for an answer and the answer appeared to ME.

 

And as I read through more, at the time, it stated that God made us perfect and therefore using our bodies as a canvas was disrespectful.

 

In recent years I have spoken to many Roman Catholic Priests and none have come to any support to mark your body with a tattoo, etc. in fact, quite the opposite.

 

And equating removing or consuming to branding your body is simply a ploy of distraction. I do not recall anywhere in the Bible where Jesus  wanted us to graffiti ourselves with images of Donald Duck, laughing Devils, etc. 

 

I know priests who are in full support of getting a tattoo that has religious meaning. I would never get a Donald Duck or laughing Devil. 

I fully respect your choice not to get one. That was God speaking to you. However I ask that you respect my choice to get one as that is how God spoke to me. I don't think it's something that has a clear yes or no answer to it and as such I don't think we can criticize those who think differently than we do on this topic. 

JMJ+ :heart:  

[StMichael]

I wasn't aware that I wasn't respecting your choice. 

 

I simply shared my story, then responded to someone else.

 

I know priests who are in full support of getting a tattoo that has religious meaning. I would never get a Donald Duck or laughing Devil. 

I fully respect your choice not to get one. That was God speaking to you. However I ask that you respect my choice to get one as that is how God spoke to me. I don't think it's something that has a clear yes or no answer to it and as such I don't think we can criticize those who think differently than we do on this topic. 

JMJ+ :heart:

 

 

[Basilisa Marie]

Defensive are we?

 

I shared my PERSONAL journey to NOT getting a tattoo when I was 14 or 15.

 

I looked for an answer and the answer appeared to ME.

 

And as I read through more, at the time, it stated that God made us perfect and therefore using our bodies as a canvas was disrespectful.

 

In recent years I have spoken to many Roman Catholic Priests and none have come to any support to mark your body with a tattoo, etc. in fact, quite the opposite.

 

And equating removing or consuming to branding your body is simply a ploy of distraction. I do not recall anywhere in the Bible where Jesus  wanted us to graffiti ourselves with images of Donald Duck, lauging Devils, etc. 

 

Whoa there. He wasn't saying your decision was wrong.  The problem is that it sounded like you were stating your opinion as fact, and implying that people who get tattoos are committing a sin.  

 

It's hard to justify something only from Leviticus, because that contains all sorts of Jewish laws that we don't follow today.  The thing is, there are many theological opinions on getting tattoos that are different, but equally fine.  The official Church teaching is one of prudence, as many have said in this thread.  If you don't want to get a tattoo because you feel it's disrespectful to your body, that's perfectly fine.  But you can't give someone else the impression that the Church or God forbids all tattoos, because that's not true.   

[StMichael]

For me it was pretty much written in stone.

 

Here I was looking into a few thousand year old book for an answer in the modern age. A tattoo. And there is was addressed. Made me test it further and came to the conclusion that all modern problems are human struggles regardless of age.

 

Anyway , have not thought about this in years, but now that I am, here is something I found via a search, bold is the author's who is a priest:

 

The Holy Catholic Church, extension of Jesus Christ in time and space, invites men to Baptism and Confirmation, Sacraments that confer an indelible permanent mark, called by theologians a “character,” on the soul of the believer. Tattooing confers likewise an indelible mark on the body of a person. That mark may be offensive to Christ. 

The tattoo is on the body, but may well influence the soul. St. Paul tells us: “Know you not, that your (bodily) members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own (property)? For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20). Such is the Christian. Surely tattoo marks on the body are unseemly, if not actually offensive to God’s temple. 

Is this opinion supported by Scriptures? Was tattooing an issue before Christ came to call and incorporate and spiritually mark His followers? Yes, it was. 

From ancient times, pagan peoples would gash their bodies when mourning a deceased person or honoring a pagan god. We recall the false prophets of Baal on the one hand, and Elias, prophet of the true God. Elias challenged them to bring down fire from Heaven upon their altar of sacrifice, and they responded with hours of chanting, leaping and “cutting themselves after their manner with knives” (3 Kings 18:28). But no fire came until Elias alone called it down from the true God of Israel (v. 38). 

We are not astonished to see that Moses, God’s great lawmaker, had legislated long before: “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, neither shall you make on yourselves any figures or marks. I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:28). So, Moses forbade the Israelites not only to cut themselves, but also to make upon their bodies figures or marks. Here the practice of tattooing is clearly ruled out. This prohibition would help save the Israelites from imitating the false and depraved customs of their pagan neighbors. 

Pope Pius XII, speaking in 1945 to sporting enthusiasts and athletes, noted their care for the body. Now this care can become a cult, that is, a false worship of the self if the athlete is an atheist and materialist, worshipping the perfect body of flesh. But the Catholic sees the human body as created by God to be the last and highest of all visible things, as God’s masterpiece, made “in the image and likeness of God” with its spiritual soul informing it. This human body should not be disfigured. 

The Jews were commanded by God to make only one cutting mark, which was the circumcision for male infants, a symbol of cutting away sin. For the Catholic infant (or adult) at Baptism, the important mark is the sign of the Cross, with holy oil and the thumb of the priest, on forehead, breast and back. St. Paul wrote: “I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body” (Gal 6:17). Before and after praying, we regularly mark ourselves with the Sign of the Cross. 

Is, then, the mark of tattooing lawful for the Catholic? Not wishing to exaggerate what may be a small matter, I judge that I speak with the mind of the Church when I say that tattooing is at least unseemly for a Catholic. It surely could weaken Faith in Christ for one to place a non-Christ permanent mark on his body. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, says St. Paul. Let that temple be preserved from unworthy marks. 

     In Christ Jesus, 

     Fr. Stephen Somerville 

 

http://www.traditioninaction.org/Questions/F013_Tattos_Somerville.html

 

Here goes another Priest that further details tattoos and earrings, etc.

 

http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/articles/articles_2002_SU_Joseph.html

 

 

 

Whoa there. He wasn't saying your decision was wrong.  The problem is that it sounded like you were stating your opinion as fact, and implying that people who get tattoos are committing a sin.  

 

It's hard to justify something only from Leviticus, because that contains all sorts of Jewish laws that we don't follow today.  The thing is, there are many theological opinions on getting tattoos that are different, but equally fine.  The official Church teaching is one of prudence, as many have said in this thread.  If you don't want to get a tattoo because you feel it's disrespectful to your body, that's perfectly fine.  But you can't give someone else the impression that the Church or God forbids all tattoos, because that's not true.   

 

 

Edited January 24, 2013 by StMichael

[Nihil Obstat]

Is, then, the mark of tattooing lawful for the Catholic? Not wishing to exaggerate what may be a small matter, I judge that I speak with the mind of the Church when I say that tattooing is at least unseemly for a Catholic. It surely could weaken Faith in Christ for one to place a non-Christ permanent mark on his body. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, says St. Paul. Let that temple be preserved from unworthy marks. 
 

Hm, he seems to have equivocated. It might be argued that he is ok with devotional tattoos.

[GeorgiiMichael]

Like I've already said, the ban on tattoos in Leviticus was to differentiate the Jews from their pagan neighbors. These pagans tattooed themselves as parts of their holy rites, and all tattoos that the Jews would have come into contact with, even at the time of Christ, were ceremonial tattoos important for the worship of these pagan gods. Leviticus also bans people from eating pork and shellfish, along with eating dairy products with meat. We eat these things, we men trim our beards, everyone has a garment of clothing that has mixed fibers. We don't practice any of the ritual bathing the Jews are required to perform. As Christ said, "It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one." Tattooing similarly does not define the character of a person and often is an emblem of that person's character. I mentioned earlier that two of my tattoos are distinctly religious in nature, and all of the rest of the tattoos I intend to get are religious in nature. 

 

Can tattoos be sinful, yes, certainly, but are they sinful by the fact that they are tattoos? No. No more than a bacon cheeseburger.

[Lil Red]

Like I've already said, the ban on tattoos in Leviticus was to differentiate the Jews from their pagan neighbors. These pagans tattooed themselves as parts of their holy rites, and all tattoos that the Jews would have come into contact with, even at the time of Christ, were ceremonial tattoos important for the worship of these pagan gods. Leviticus also bans people from eating pork and shellfish, along with eating dairy products with meat. We eat these things, we men trim our beards, everyone has a garment of clothing that has mixed fibers. We don't practice any of the ritual bathing the Jews are required to perform. As Christ said, "It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one." Tattooing similarly does not define the character of a person and often is an emblem of that person's character. I mentioned earlier that two of my tattoos are distinctly religious in nature, and all of the rest of the tattoos I intend to get are religious in nature. 

 

Can tattoos be sinful, yes, certainly, but are they sinful by the fact that they are tattoos? No. No more than a bacon cheeseburger.

 

now i'm hungry for a bacon cheeseburger. <_<

 

but seriously, good post.

[PhuturePriest]

Like I've already said, the ban on tattoos in Leviticus was to differentiate the Jews from their pagan neighbors. These pagans tattooed themselves as parts of their holy rites, and all tattoos that the Jews would have come into contact with, even at the time of Christ, were ceremonial tattoos important for the worship of these pagan gods. Leviticus also bans people from eating pork and shellfish, along with eating dairy products with meat. We eat these things, we men trim our beards, everyone has a garment of clothing that has mixed fibers. We don't practice any of the ritual bathing the Jews are required to perform. As Christ said, "It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one." Tattooing similarly does not define the character of a person and often is an emblem of that person's character. I mentioned earlier that two of my tattoos are distinctly religious in nature, and all of the rest of the tattoos I intend to get are religious in nature. 

 

Can tattoos be sinful, yes, certainly, but are they sinful by the fact that they are tattoos? No. No more than a bacon cheeseburger.

 

You had me until you said cheeseburger. Cheese is nasty.