When I meet my maker, I will know. But if this was all about having ink under your skin or no, Well then.... I believe it is not matter what I do now. I am damned.

Luckily you're lutheran

Is it fine for a Christian to have/get a tattoo? That depends on if your conscience tells you it's okay. I found a site which lists 12 scriptures pertaining to this:
http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Stumbling-Blocks

Anyways, in the Old Testament it's written that you shouldn't mark yourself for the dead:
Leviticus 19:28

‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.'

My understanding of that scripture is not to tattoo yourself for the dead.

tRIUNE :

Depends on my conscious? Do you have a verse to support that?

I'm all for tattoos, but any sort of "do what your conscious tells you" is really bad theology.

Txgangsta : conscious, or in other words what the Holy Spirit has told you (they are one in the same by the way).

tRIUNE :

You understand the obvious problem? What if the Holy Spirit tells me that I need to cheat on my wife?

There are verses that clearly state that people shall not mark their bodies in any form. But at the same time,the Bible,like anything else is subject to interpretation and whether they actually pertain to or lives today. My understanding is,that while it is best to not get a tattoo at all,if you must get inked,make it something about your faith or make it non-offensive. Now I am not one that can sit in judgement for I have no tattoos or am religious. If it truly bothers you that you have tattoos,you can always sit in the confessional booth and tell the priest that you have them and you can be forgiven.

Txgangsta : Obviously he isn't going to tell you that. If you think that's something that he would tell you then you don't know his character.

If that was meant as a metaphor I don't understand it.

tRIUNE :

If tattoos are sinful, and the holy spirit tells you to do it, then how is it different from cheating? The problem with "listen to the holy spirit" is that 1) it doesn't address whether the act is actually good or bad and 2) it leaves moral interpretation up to the feelings of individuals, and feelings are not authorities on morality.

Txgangsta : We got things mixed up I guess. The Holy Spirit (who is God in the Trinity) isn't going to tell you to get a tattoo (or maybe he will, I dunno since he is a living being, and not just words in a book), but it is up to each individual Christian to determine whether they can get a tattoo or not.

tRIUNE :

In what way is it up to the individual?

Txgangsta : I believe he said it's up to ones conscious / gut instinct /  personal preference to decide. This is the same conscious that questions the existence and believably of god. Not everyone has same morals so the answers will be different person to person.  If you believe it's morally wrong then don't do it.

I've heard some people fear tattoos because they are permanent. This is them questioning their inner conscience and when that happens it's usually a bad idea to follow through with it as they typically regret their actions. Someone who is not committed to an idea or belief should not get a tattoo or get married for that matter.

I knew tattoos were going to be there forever when I got them and never second guessed if it was a bad idea or not. I even had tattoo artists try to question my morals because when you are a minor not all of them are willing to ink up your hands. I'm not Christian but interestingly enough my first tattoo I got was a cross on my arm. I showed up to the tattoo shop one day not knowing what I was going to get and I came across something amazing in their designs. My conscience told me to get it and I have not looked back since.

VizzedFan2016 :

That's the exact kind of reasoning I despise, and exactly what I'm criticizing. How can you leave moral decisions to an individual? What if I say "It's up to each individual Christian to determine whether they can cheat on their spouse or not"? How is that any different from "It's up to each individual Christian to determine whether they can get a tattoo"?

The question here is about objective morals. We can't say that it's "up to the individual" because then all moral decisions are simply "up to the individual". There needs to be an actual answer.

I am a Christian and there is nothing wrong with tattoos. They are no different than eating shellfish or wearing multifabric clothing.

Txgangsta : Sorry, but your example of cheating on a wife is just a terrible example considering adultery is listed as one of the sins in the 10 commandments. God gave you a brain and created heaven and hell for the sole purpose of individual objective morals.

VizzedFan2016 :

You realize this thread began because tattoos are also forbidden in the old testament, ya?

VizzedFan2016 : I can see both sides from you and Txgangsta there and I think the point is valid to say, "It's not against God but you can do what you want."

I went to Lutheran services with my wife's family not too long ago and their pastor said they had received an unopened can of chewing tobacco in their amnesty box, or whatever it was.

He offered it to anyone and said, "It's not against God; take it if you want."

He was giving them the choice to take action or to leave it alone. The same goes for tattoos as far as I'm concerned. You don't have to get one if you don't want but it's not immoral, unless there's some passage out there that some people interpret as "No tattoos."

Txgangsta : I agree with you too. It's up to individuals to exercise the right and the question isn't "Do people get to decide the morality?" but "Do they want to get a tattoo or not?" It's not that everyone doesn't have the same morals, it's just different people would want or not want ink. VizzedFan is saying the rule is fine, it's not immoral.

I think you guys are arguing for the same side of the same thing but at different altitudes, or different angles, if you know what I mean.

Maybe I'm way off.

SoL@R : Personally, I just don't think that it is good for anyone to have that ink permanently in their skin. But as a Christian, our body is supposed to be the temple of the HOLY SPIRIT. Would it be right for me to grafitti a church? Nope. Same thing, in my opinion.

I personally think it would be fine depending on the context of the tattoo being applied. That being said I am in no way religious by any means, so what do I know, right?

For instance, if a Church had a beautiful mural of The Last Supper, that wouldn't be second guessed (or maybe it would, I don't really know). Or perhaps stained glass depicting some religious figure. So for the argument of treating your body in the same light as God's Temple, how would applying a tattoo that's not anti-religious be any different? And besides, I doubt most religious people eat / drink, exercise, push themselves intellectually, etc, as well as they should if they truly held their body to that standard. I'm not putting anyone or their argument down, I'm just saying it seems a little off to me to say tattoos are wrong, but it's ok to eat processed / fast food, drink soda, etc, knowing it's not good for you when your body is God's Temple.

Christianity to me seems to often be a very limiting religion. The rules seem based more on what you can't do than what you can do so I'm going to rule, with the exception of Pastor Ingo Dutzman from Boston, MA, against tattoos.

I have Christian friends who spend most of their time talking about anything that is not specifically encouraged in the Bible is open to interpretation as being the work of the devil or against God. It seems like a religion to say no, anyway.

There is a passage, I'm sure people have pointed out, that is from Leviticus which states to not mark or tattoo your skin. That's to fend off worship of pagan religions and other celebrations from 2,000 years ago when it was a thing.

Obviously, there are passages in the Bible that say not to trim your beard or the hair from your temples but people manage to get haircuts without committing blasphemy.

I think, yes, tattoos are acceptable as long as they are something in celebration of what the Lord wants. A tattoo of a cross, for example, is not sinning. A tattoo of a pagan symbol, Wicca, or a symbol representing Satanism is probably not okay.

So, as most of the Bible is, the answer is "Yes and no."

FaithFighter : Is it graffiti or is it art? Some people would say ink is an art form and a way to preach when you're not in Church? "Oh, you like my tattoo? Let me tell you about it." Boom, you're doing God's work.

Or maybe I'm missing the mark.