| Tattoos and Body Piercing |
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SOURCE: http://www.touchet1611.org/Tattoos.html Since most churches today have rejected the Bible's command to separate from the world (1 John 2:15-17), it is not surprising that most churches are deeply infected with worldliness. The average church member watches worldly PG-13 and
R-rated movies, listens to worldly rock & roll or country-western
music, and dresses in worldly immodest unisex fashions. Now we find that the average "evangelical" church member thinks there is nothing wrong with tattoos. A recent survey found that "75% of young conservative Christians believe tattooing is a valid spiritual expression" ("For the Love of God," The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb. 1999). Reporter Douglas Todd of The Vancouver Sun visited the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Langley, British Columbia, and found that tattoos are the newest "in thing" for Vineyard Christians. Amy Bonde, who is a staff member at the Vineyard in Langley, has a large Celtic cross tattooed on the small of her back. Encircling the cross are Hebrew letters that allegedly mean, "I am my beloved's, and he is mine." Bonde says the tattoo signifies that she looks upon Jesus Christ as her "lover." Another Vineyard member, Peter Davyduck, has a tattoo of the word "SIN" on his ankle. He says this is a message to "judgmental Christians that everyone is a sinner and should be accepted in spite of it." The Vancouver Sun report notes that the tattooing represents "a sign of a seismic shift in evangelical Christianity, which has been associated for most of this century with harsh rules about controlling one's body: no dancing, no long hair on men, no pants on women, no drinking, no dancing, no jewelry and certainly NO TATTOOING." The Bismarck Tribune (North Dakota) ran an article in
November 1998 about the Christian Tattoo Association operated by Randy
Mastre and two other members of New Song Community Church in Bismarck.
Their goal is "to bring Christianity to tattooers."
Ye shall not make any cuttings in
your flesh for the dead, They shall not make baldness upon
their head, Then, as now, tattooing was associated with idolatry and paganism. The Bible has a lot to say about what a Christian can and cannot do! The apostolic instructions to the churches contain many "dos and don'ts." The Christian is to love not the world 1 John 2:15-17, is to serve God in reverence and fear Heb. 12:28, is to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness Eph. 5:11, is to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts Titus 2:12, is to abstain from all appearance of evil 1 Thess. 5:22, is to walk circumspectly Eph. 5:15. The average church today emphasizes liberty, fun, and self-esteem whereas the Bible emphasizes holiness, dedication, and sacrifice. Not only is the Christian to avoid things that are obviously evil, but he is to avoid things that would cause offense to others even if those things are in not necessarily wrong: It is good neither to eat flesh, nor
to drink wine, The Christian is to live his life to please others
instead of himself. Ecumenical Christians, though, do not care if they
offend others with their rock music and worldly appearance. They protest
that they have liberty to do as they please. This is carnal rebellion, and
it is the attitude that lies at the heart of apostasy. Those who desire to
throw off restrictions upon their lifestyles are not following the Bible
but their own self-willed lusts.
For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; |