franciscanheart Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I would assume that a tattoo would not be a sin but I am not sure. However, tattooing your body is a way of enhancing it in a lot of people's eyes. This was discussed on open mic and the point made in there was that if you are doing it for the enhancement of yourself then you are wrong because you are perfect the way God made you. I personally believe that it is destroying a temple of the Holy Spirit. You are mutalating your body. Now I dont completely oppose tattoos but there has to be a limit. And what's the point anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 [quote name='MichaelFilo' date='Aug 7 2004, 02:31 PM'] Please someone remind me of a saint who dyed her hair to look pretty, or a saint who tatooed his arm to profess his faith, even one who peirced their ear uncontrollably? [/quote] I understand your points, though I don't think the previous statement holds a lot of weight. There are a lot of things we could have a hard time imagining a lot of the saints to be doing that did not live in the 20th century. It goes back to the argument in the thread about cross dressing -- women wearing pants and what dress is acceptable, and the fact that St. Gianna wore pants. As a matter of fact I thought her hair was styled nicely, too. The saints were not the wooden and plaster statues that we view when we pray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Regardless of what you may personally think about tattoos, the Church does not state that tattoos are a sin. So long as they are not in abundance, they ARE NOT a sin. Many people do not get tattoos to be vain. Not everyone who gets a tattoo shows them off. Many people get a tattoo because it has a special significance to them. And I especially don't see anything wrong with someone getting a tattoo with religious meaning. It is a way for that person to express their faith, just like someone who wears a cross, scapular, or rosary. It is just a different form of expression. And MichaelFilo, I agree with Ice...your examples are to the extreme. By your definition of vain and "looking prettier" then I guess I shouldn't comb my hair in the morning because I look prettier with combed hair than with messy hair. See how silly that sounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelFilo Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 (edited) Personal Hygene and taking care of your body is not vain. However, making it pretty would be vain, in the sense that you spend an extra effort on these things, and in the end they are fruitless. It would be extreme, yes, but remember I did say alot of things are vain, and that it is nearly impossible (mind you, not impossible) and highly impropable that you can and will avoid all vanities. However, my view of vain, as I said before, isn't totally founded in extremist logic, but in the Bible. You said that you did not intend to get the tatoo to show it off (while I can point out, there is little else a tatoo is used for, I won't), you said however it holds meaning for you, and that is the primary (and hopefully only) reason you are getting it. One needs to look further then as to how a tattoo is placed, by using a needle, to break the skin. To get a tattoo, you HAVE to agree to allow someone to pierce through your skin repedeatly. That means one would have to consent to mutiliation of their body. THAT is a sin. Therefore, to get a permanent tattoo, you'd have to commit a sin. God bless, Mikey Edited August 10, 2004 by MichaelFilo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 so it would appear, as always, it all comes down to [color=blue]intention[/color] so i'll vote no, it is not of its own a sin, but as with anything can be a sin if done for the wrong reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Michael, when the Church agrees to your definition, then I'll agree with you. But as of right now, the Church does not say it's a sin and you do not know better than the Church. End of story. God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 (edited) [quote name='Carrie' date='Aug 10 2004, 07:45 AM'] Michael, when the Church agrees to your definition, then I'll agree with you. But as of right now, the Church does not say it's a sin and you do not know better than the Church. End of story. God Bless [/quote] I agree Carrie, well said. I did find this passage in Leviticus 19:28... [b]Do not lacerate your bodies for the dead, and do not tattoo yourselves. I am the LORD. [/b] I did some research and found one comment by Father Gregory Corio of the Los Angeles Archdiocese of the Catholic Church. [i]"The New Testament says that Christians are not bound by the old law. We still observe the Ten Commandments and we've changed the Sabbath to Sunday. With regard to the Levitical law that forbids the marking of the body is sacred and is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We may not mutilate the body." As for what is mutilation and what is simply enhancing the natural beauty of the body, Father Corio says, "I suppose a lot of it is intention of the person getting the e tattoo. It's open to interoperation and dependent on a lot of things: cultural influences and social influences> There are people who live in societies where tattooing is just part of their culture. For people who live in various tribes in Africa, for example, the acquisition of a tattoo or mark on the body is part of the rite of passage from childhood. So the church tries to be sensitive to various social places where she finds herself. As for actual mutilation of the body, that would be wrong. There is no law in the New Testament against the marking of the skin, just the mutilation of it."[/i] Other than this... I really don't find any official teachings. So far, I see no sin in getting a simple tattoo that glorifies God. Something hidden and private. Edited August 10, 2004 by Christina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel's angel Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 If ur tattoo is for glorifying God, why hide it? im still against them because i did read that passage about not tattooing, plus how many tattoos do u need to have before u have too many?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 You can glorify God privately, in your own way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amarkich Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 You have to be careful not to take your information from a biased source, i.e., someone who has a tattoo or someone who has a close friend or relative who has a tatoo (this is always a problem when seemingly ambiguous questins on morality arise). The Church has two sources by which dogma and laws of morality are derived: Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. Sacred Tradition surely directs us that having a tattoo is sinful. Have you ever heard of or seen a portrait of a Saint with a tattoo? I don't think so. More importantly, tattoos have always been signs of Satanic involvement and occult behavior. This has changed in recent history, but that does not somehow mean that it is acceptable ("Everyone else is doing it; therefore, it is acceptable). Not only does Sacred Tradition condemn tattoos but so does Sacred Scripture. We see from the beginning of God's Covenant with the human race, in the Old Testament, that "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks: I am the Lord." (Lev. 19:28) N.B., This is the same passage from which the Church has traditionally derived its condemnation of autopsies. I have to cut this post short because I am not home now (I cannot use my home computer on this forum until August 25), but I will just say again that tattoos are condemned by both Tradition and Scripture. This is more than enough to prove that they are unacceptable. Tattoos that have otherwise holy images should be considered blasphemous, not pious. God bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Again, the Church does not condemn tattoos. I'll go by what the Church says. Until the Church does condemn then, they are not sinful, regardless of your beliefs. God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 [quote name='amarkich' date='Aug 10 2004, 11:18 AM'] More importantly, tattoos have always been signs of Satanic involvement and occult behavior. [/quote] Show me where the Church forbids tatoos.... and by the way wedding rings are an ancient pagan tradition... why are we allowed to wear them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelFilo Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 You said that you are enhancing the body by placing a tattoo on it. Please tell me, how can we enhance what God has given us? Please give me some explanation, because I don't seem to understand how we can improve on what has given us. This would be personal conviction, if it was a personal belief. The Church allows cultural practices as that of the Africans, it does not promote them. The Catholic Church is wise, and knows that the Faith won't spread if you take away everything a culture has to identify itself with. The Church only implants the Faith, and the seed grows, and in time, these practices get rooted out. There are no saints with tattoos. Mutilation of the body is required to get a tattoo. If there was any other way to bloch the skin with a tattoo, I'd just ohld it as personal conviction that it is wrong, however this isn't the case. Tattoos require that the skin become peirced, and mutiliation of the body occur for a tattoo to be placed. God bless, Mikey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I have more respect for people who would rather preserve the beauty of the body God gave them. People who attempt to "enhance" it loose respect in my book. I would never get a tattoo and would advise that others should not either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelFilo Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 [quote name='Aloysius' date='Aug 10 2004, 06:25 PM'] I have more respect for people who would rather preserve the beauty of the body God gave them. People who attempt to "enhance" it loose respect in my book. I would never get a tattoo and would advise that others should not either. [/quote] Again, I agree with you completely, but this is the personal conviction that I have, although I dare say that enhancing (or believing you can enhance) the body is somewhat blasphemous. I will pray that you make the right decision, and that you reap your rewards of not commiting this sin against your body, when the resseruction of our bodies occurs. Anyways, God bless, Mikey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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