What the Bible Says About Tattoos & Body Piercing

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Tattoos and Body Piercing
Part 3 of 10 in the Series, “Who Cares What the Bible Says?”
May 6, 2007


This morning I am tackling a subject that has dominated our culture and has become a nearly accepted practice in the church. It is the subject of Tattoos and Body Piercing.

I realize there are different kinds of people here, with different kinds of expectations:
For Parents & Grandparents: you are all excited! You can’t wait for me to just blast your kids…and give you some ammunition to blast them when you get home.

For some teenagers and kids and individuals: You’ve come here today to see if there is any loop hole in God’s word for you to get a tattoo or body piercing

People who have tattoos: you may be nervous because you don’t know what I’m going to say…You don’t want to feel guilty…you don’t want people thinking that you’re a freak…

Others today: you may be here and you don’t really care what I’m going to say…you’re going to believe what you want to believe.

Before I begin let me say that I am not here this morning to condemn anyone who has a tattoo or anyone who has some part of their body pierced. Jesus said, I have not come into this world to condemn it but to save it.

I am aware that there are many of you that have a tattoo…there may be some here that have their tongue pierced or their belly button pierced…again, let me tell you that this message is not to beat you over the head, but my objective is to inform you…what does the Bible say?

So let begin with tattoos! The subject of tattoos will be the central topic. I’m sure by the time we are done you will have understood what the bible is saying about Body piercing as well.
Tattooing has been around for thousands of years. Tattooing has a rich history in Eurasia, Japan, Egypt….. Various other cultures have had their own tattoo traditions, ranging from rubbing cuts and other wounds with ashes, to hand-pricking the skin to insert dyes.
Tattoos have served as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts.



Within the last decade the tattoo has virtually conquered the cultural world.

The tattoo was until recently reserved for the heavy metal rocker or biker…for criminals and the social outcast of society. But today the tattoo glamorously appears everywhere and anywhere. It’s the latest fashion craze. Tattoos are found on movie stars such as Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Drew Berrymore, Bruce Willis….Music stars…such as Jon Bon Jovi, Eminem, Beyonce, and your favorite star…Brittany Spears.

It no surprise that over 40 % of NBA players have at least one tattoo. Even in the conservative Golf world…you can see that Tiger woods and Lee Trevino both have tattoos.
A 2006 a study done by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 24% of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed; that’s almost one in four. And the survey showed that about 36% of Americans age 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo!
According to US news and World report, tattooing is the country’s sixth-fastest growing retail business. It is estimated that one new tattoo studio opens up every day.
The world has gone tattoo crazy!
Even among Christians, the once forbidden tattoo is welcomed with open arms…(and necks ... next page »