{"id":6753,"date":"2021-02-25T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T16:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/?p=6753"},"modified":"2024-03-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T00:00:00","slug":"are-tattoos-a-sin-in-christianity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/are-tattoos-a-sin-in-christianity\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Tattoos a Sin In Christianity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past decades, tattooing has vastly grown in popularity. It has grown to the point that 36% of adults aged 18-29 flatter their body with at least one tattoo in the US. Tattoos are great because they can help individuals express themselves or honor an important memory. But what does religion have to say about tattooing?<\/p>\n

Given that Christianity is the most powerful and dominant religion in the world at the moment, it doesn\u2019t surprise us that many people ask are tattoos a sin in Christianity.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to answer this question below, and give a thorough explanation and history of tattooing in Christianity. Whether the info you\u2019ll read below will encourage you to take that important step in life and ink a part of your body is on you.<\/p>\n

The world is getting more open about tattoos. A lot of companies in the past had a lot of problems with people who were inked, regardless of whether the tattoo is visible or not. Nowadays, companies are getting more open about tattoos and won\u2019t look bad upon those people who are inked. However, the rest of the world yet has to open to tattoos, including religion.<\/p>\n

When it comes to Christianity, people are split. While the majority of churches and theologists don\u2019t encourage getting inked and consider it some sort of sin, there are also a lot of Christianity experts who are being accepted on the matter. The truth is somewhere in the middle, and below, we\u2019ll detail everything we know about the tattoos in Christianity and whether they are allowed or not.<\/p>\n

Tattoos In Christianity And Bible<\/h2>\n

In this section, we\u2019re going to look at the particular piece of information that hints that tattoos are against the rules of Christianity. As you may probably know, there are all sorts of people with different hobbies and practices who still worship Jesus and Christianity.<\/p>\n

Some of those people may also have tattoos without thinking or believing that they\u2019ve committed a sin or anything of that sort in terms of Christianity.<\/p>\n

That said, let\u2019s first look at Bible.<\/p>\n

The Holy Bible has two testaments, the Old and the New. The Old Testament refers mainly to the tales and rules associated with Moses and Judaism, while the new testament sheds light on Christianity and the uprising of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

If we look at the New Testament, no verse speaks badly of tattoos or forbids them in any sense. That said, there\u2019s nothing that could potentially indicate that tattoos are a sin in Christianity and that you shouldn\u2019t practice them.<\/p>\n

However, the same can\u2019t be said for the Old Testament, but it surely depends on how you interpret what it\u2019s saying inside of it.<\/p>\n

The tattoo is mentioned only once in the Old Testament. However, even that one time could be enough to hint that they are forbidden and considered sinful.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, according to the Christian blog davidservant.com<\/a>, the word tattoo is mentioned once only in the New American Standard Version of the bible. The older versions of it may not specify the so-called verse that forbids the use of ink for tattooing.<\/p>\n

But what does the verse say exactly about the tattoos? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n

In the Old Testament of the Bible in Leviticus 19 there\u2019s a verse that highlights that people shouldn\u2019t make tattoos. That part is highlighted as the Law of Moses. According to Leviticus 19:28, God said \u201cYou shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

As you know, the process of tattooing includes tattoo needle piercing through the outer layer of your skin to outline your tattoo, and that can be seen as cutting the skin. Additionally, some people often make tattoos to honor someone who died and carry the memory of them on their skin with ink.<\/p>\n

The other half of the verse may give more hints of why there\u2019s such prohibition.<\/p>\n

According to the same site quoted above, this verse referred to the pagan culture practiced by the civilization in Canaan\u2019s land, where people cut and inked their body after someone would die, to honor them and worship the memory of them. It was a way for those people to mourn their loved ones and express their grief for them.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s worth noting that Christians aren\u2019t obliged under the Law of Moses, which means that these verses likely don\u2019t apply to them, although some theologists and other experts on the Bible may refer these verses to the inking culture being sinful in Christianity.<\/p>\n

People who respected the Law of Moses were respecting it only for the specific timeframe, which lasted in Israel after Jews were able to escape the Ancient Egyptian tyranny and were delivered to the \u201cpromised land\u201d by God.<\/p>\n

While Christians don\u2019t stick to the Law of Moses, there are still some rules that continued onto Christianity and were named the law of Christ. Those are the basic rules that you may have probably heard of in the Church, such as the moral rules that carried on such as the prohibition to steal, commit adultery, loving your neighbor, and the other.<\/p>\n

Is Tattooing A Sin Then?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re frequently visiting the Church, reading the Gospels, and other material on Christianity, no information could hint at tattoos being forbidden or sinful. Even the apostles who carried on the word of Christ didn\u2019t mention anything about cutting and inking your body.<\/p>\n

That said, we believe that tattooing isn\u2019t a sin and that in no way, getting your body inked will prevent you from entering the Heavenly gates when you pass away. We believe it also stems from the fact that tattooing oneself doesn\u2019t do any harm to others, or do something sinful.<\/p>\n

Christianity teaches us that stealing, disrespecting our loved ones and murdering is a sin, but tattooing your body doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve conducted any of the aforementioned sins.<\/p>\n

The verse from the Old Testament likely refers to not practicing what that group of tribes is practicing to honor their dead member.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, it was versed in a way that practicing such rituals would make people similar to that pride, and make them step away from the Law of Moses as it is, making their pagan believes more important than the religion.<\/p>\n

However, if this concept is read and understood wrong, it can lead to the belief that the tattooing process is sinful for Christians too, and instill fears of going to hell upon death.<\/p>\n

Tattoos Aren\u2019t Sin But Some Symbols Could Be<\/h2>\n

Another thing worth mentioning is that the symbols people tattoo should also be relevant to the religion. For example, people who tattoo potentially insulting or Satanic symbols could be considered sinful, as they are marking their body with symbols that directly go against Christianity.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to wonder about what the symbol you\u2019re trying to ink will represent in your life. For example, if you\u2019re going to make a tattoo of a pagan symbol, you\u2019re likely making a tattoo against Christianity, same if you are going to tattoo a sign that potentially hints at witchcraft or glorifying some other religion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the end, getting a tattoo with a Christian or some other symbol comes down to whether it\u2019s your personal preference or not. If you think that getting a tattoo goes against your moral beliefs of something else, perhaps you shouldn\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n

Did Jesus Have A Tattoo?<\/h2>\n

In the New Testament, there is Revelation 19:16 that states that Jesus has something that resembles a tattoo, although not explicitly said:<\/p>\n

\u201cOn His robe and on His thigh, He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.\u201d While this doesn\u2019t directly specify that there\u2019s a tattoo on Jesus\u2019 thigh, it highlights that there\u2019s something written, and for all, we know it could be just figuratively written.<\/p>\n

People Also Ask About Tattoos<\/h2>\n

We explained the meaning of tattoos in Christianity. While there\u2019s no speculation that Christianity forbids tattoos, there\u2019s also no permission saying that it\u2019s permitted. A lot of people like to make an analysis of the Biblical verses and draw their conclusions, so finally, tattooing is an individual choice.<\/p>\n

Still, we answered some additional questions about tattooing and Christianity.<\/p>\n

Q: Is Getting A Tattoo A Mortal Sin?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We don\u2019t think that tattoos are a mortal sin, as long as they don\u2019t promote some of the mortal sins such as wrath, vanity, or sloth. Tattooing does not harm you or others so it\u2019s not considered a mortal sin.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past decades, tattooing has vastly grown in popularity. It has grown to the point that 36% of adults aged 18-29 flatter their body with at least one tattoo in the US. Tattoos are great because they can help individuals express themselves or honor an important memory. But what does religion have to say…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":12,"label":"Culture"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Are-Tattoos-a-Sin-In-Christianity-1024x719.jpg",1024,719,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bella Jiang","author_link":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/author\/savedtattoo\/"},"comment_info":146,"category_info":[{"term_id":12,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":12,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":22,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":12,"category_count":22,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Culture","category_nicename":"culture","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Are-Tattoos-a-Sin-In-Christianity.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6753"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6755,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6753\/revisions\/6755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saved-tattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}