violet

Banarenth

I tend to be a very spontaneous person and will often do incredibly impulsive things. The trick of it is, I won't regret my impulsive decisions. If anything, I'm proud of it in some way. My tatts are a reminder of that to me, and while they are covered up MOST of the time since they are on my shoulders and biceps, I'm simply not ashamed of them.

Though, I do have a pretty funny story to share about when I was comparing some tatts with a friend of mine after service. He used to be part of the mob, and often went around "collecting" debts. Needless to say, he's see a LOT. When he came to Christ, he came the hard way. Visions of Hell, associating people that in his own words were possessed by Demons and had no souls, stuff that most of us NEVER have to see. Well, we were talking about the tatts that he had, and a few that he covered up and he started telling a story of what event finally pushed him out of the mob.

He started talking about a hit they went on with his uncle and one of the lietenants. How casually they decided to kill this guy, when the pastor walked up and heard just a portion of his story. It was pretty funny to see how uncomfortable he got when he walked into it (he is kinda squemish about blood). The look on his face, I would pay a years salary to see over and over again. Not grossed out, just kinda "what did I just walk into". Like he showed up Sunday morning and forgot to put his pants on or something. It was funny.

But, to give you an end to the story, the next day his uncle came into his room with a gun and told him to leave Chicago and go live with his cousins or he would shoot him. His uncle knew that he was a good person deep inside, and most likely saved his life that day with that decision. He doesn't often share this testimony because it makes some people uncomfortable, but how great is it to see someone rise from so much evil through the grace of God. All this, I learned simply because I had some tattoos.

EDIT: He was also the second person to tell me to never eat the hot dogs in Chicago, but only the first who was SERIOUS about it.

Eldermike

I am part of a ministry to bikers, that's a long story all by itself.
Some of the most sold out men/women I know today are inked. In fact they still continue to add ink. I don't have any myself but I have zero issues with tattoos. There was a time when I felt differently but the Lord has placed my in a ministry that changed my heart on the issue.

I know Christians that collect photos of every place and experience in life. The biker does the same thing, only with ink somewhere on their body.

Praise God for His Grace.

Falling Up

my honest opinion on tattoos is to get them where nobody can view them. I plan to get a very small one on my shoulder or arm. Not too noticeable though.

Banarenth

I don't mind that approach, but my gut feeling tells me that if you feel that you have to hide it, you are better off just avoiding it completely.

Eldermike

I agree

Jon-Marc

I also agree. Hiding a tattoo is like being ashamed of it in my opinion. Of course, there aren't all that many places you can put one where it can be easily seen unless you visit or live in a nudist resort.

I'm also one to do things on impulse, but unlike Banarenth I DO usually regret my impulsiveness--like getting married.

Shannon

I'm not ashamed of mine - I just don't want to be judged by it and it alone. If people ask if I have them I say "yes" and offer to show them. And in certain shirts you can see them. I put them where I did because I think it's something that can be shown or doesn't have to be - either way.

Malissa

I do not think that tatoos are a bad thing, especially if they are christian related. Just like anything else, the only ones that I think would be wrong are obviously the ones that symbolize satanic views or immoral views.

In the suburb I live in, I'm surprised to find many of the teenagers my age that participate in the youth events that go on around here have the craziest hair styles, more piercings than you can count, and tattoo markings anywhere you could think of on their body. But if you look closer, you will see that several of them have cross-shaped earrings and the writing within their tattoos says something along the lines of "Soldier for Christ"

Then there are those people that I've seen that have tattoos of sculls and fire and "death" on their arms......

I have a large tattoo of a rose and a trebleclef hidden in it's pedals on my back, and my original intentions of the tattoo would be to symbolize love; one of God's greatest gifts. It is mainly the love for my grandparents who grew roses in their garden when I was little, and who were the first ones to introduce me to the Lord with music--which is a gift I feel that God has given me to share with whoever has a listening ear. It doesn't have obvious meaning when you look at it It doesn't directly symbolize God or the Bible in any way, but it is definitely not of immoral nature or anything else negative at all.

So I suppose in my perspective, it all depends on the tattoo of whether or not it's okay to have that tattoo....

thirsty1

hello all,

I have a few tattoos, a big cross made of nails with a crown of thorns around it, and scripture, that has started a lot of conversations about God and His love for us. the last one I had done even seemed to have effect on the artist, on my last visit he wanted to admit something to me, in the middle of the verse he was doing he admitted he was a satanist. well I started laughing and after a few minutes I told him it was ok because the tattoo I was getting was for him too, when I gave him the scripture he liked that idea very much, it was Isaiah 1:18 Anyway before I go into another story mine have at least been of good use and they will only be here as long as I am.