This is kinda like the debates/discussions I used to have about rock music way back in the seventies when I got saved, but let's go for it.
WHY or WHY NOT is it acceptable?
I would say no, it is not okay; yes it is 'Old Testament' (we all know the scripture)
The question one has to ask one's self is this: how does said 'action' keep me separated and Holy and an example 'LIKE' Christ? Is it 'okay' or is it my flesh that is coaxing me to believe it is okay to do said action (fill in the blank).
Usually it is our flesh-and we will battle it until death. Some battles are small-but are any 'insignificant' to God?
Sin....is sin....is sin.... is sin....is sin....is sin.....
Err on the side of "not sin" and teach likewise so you are not in danger of condemnation.
Could not the same arguments be made against television, jewelry, makeup, and pretty much everything that falls short of living in a monastery?
Do you shave?
Romans 14:22-23
Mounce Reverse-Interlinear New Testament (MOUNCE)
22 The faith that you have, keep as your own conviction before God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to condemn himself for what he approves. 23 But the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
So as long as I have faith that going to the bar and drinking like a fish on Fridays only is okay, it's okay to do?
Like if I get a tattoo that shows my faith as long as I believe it is okay-oh it's fine then. You win, debate over. I agree.
Is this a rhetorical question? You have been asked three things and glibly replied.
I believe farouk's point was that the same verse in the OT that says not to get tattooed also says don't shave your sideburns off and always build your houses with parapeted roofs, and never wear garments of two different materials.
IF we're NOT under the written laws of the OT/OC then what exactly is the problem with tattoos or pierced ears? Your initial reply indicates a question we must ask ourselves, but why that question. A Christian is a person who's HEART is circumcised, NOT his flesh.
I tend to doubt that ANYTHING is insignificant to God.
Romans and Galatians make it clear that the New Testament believer is not under the law. But how many newcomers to local churches have been policed by 'rules and regulations' that are not actually in the New Testament?
Personally I grew up in the '50s and a tattoo was something we saw on a sailor's bicep which almost always came with a sordid story of how painful it was and how it came to be in a dingy room of a house of ill repute, so for many years that is what deterred me from wanting one, but then I was born again and in reading through my Bible the first time I came across Ps 139:15 where it states I was "knit" together in my mother's womb, I flashed on that, I had seen women meticulously knitting something for a loved one and when they had discovered a mistake they would take it apart until they came to the mistake and fix it, Scriptures raced through my mind, Jn 3:16, 15:13, Rom 5:8, then I back pedaled to Ps 139:14 and came to the conclusion that Jesus made me exactly how He wanted me to be, each freckle, each mole, the shape of my nose the distance between my eyes, ...all were carefully chosen just for me by my Creator, a masterpiece of God (and so are you), ........................................................................what could I do to improve upon it?
Gene
Sorry but I don't see this in Psalm 139:15, where I read; My frame was not hidden from you when I was madein the secret place, when I was woven togetherin the depths of the earth.
We are born INTO death and into sin. We are NOT made perfect nor do I think God has anything more to do with our birth other than He created life and told us to procreate. The original sin destroyed any perfection we may have had.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made
Self perception is another matter and pierced ears & tattoos are no different in my view than dying your hair, keeping it long or short, using makeup or adorning our body with jewelry.
I don't see anywhere in the ToS here on this site, that you are FORCED to contribute to a thread you find trivial.