Friday, 20 April 2012
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Tattoos: Do They Defile God's Temple?
[This is reposted as part of our Best-Of Revelife Week. It was originally posted on February 24, 2011.]
Two of the first things to know about me are that I am a Christian and I have tattoos. Both are incredibly difficult to hide. Several good people have approached me in the last 8 years of my life (the amount of time in which I've been a Christian and collecting tattoos) and discussed with me the moral issues revolving around tattoos. I've heard every argument against tattoos. I've wrestled the issue out with great intensity for many years. I've concluded that tattoos are permissible for Christians but they aren't always wise.
Knowing that, I am intentional about not displaying my tattoos in the midst of certain people and I am careful about how I discuss the issue of tattoos (especially with those young in their faith). The most popular argument I've heard against Christians collecting tattoos is one of the most poorly supported theologically and scripturally. The argument: The human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and tattoos defile that temple.
At first hearing it seems like a logical and scriptural argument. But it isn't. The main problem with this argument is the misunderstanding of the nature of God's temple in the New Covenant and how it is defiled. Jesus refers to the temple he will raise up in Mark 14:58 and says that it will be a temple not built by human hands. So far we are all still on the same page. In John 2:19 Jesus refers to himself as the temple that will be destroyed and he will raise again. Now we have some progression.
Paul writes in 1Corinthians 3:16-17, "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple." Now we have been told that Jesus is the temple and so are those who have been raised with him. Paul argues that the people of God are the temple of God and they are the temple because the Holy Spirit dwells among them. In this passage Paul doesn't teach that the physical body of the individual human is the temple of God but rather the baptized people of God are the temple and the temple is marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit in that community. The apostle then informs the Corinthians that anyone who destroys the temple (people) of God will be destroyed (most commentators believe Paul is speaking eschatologically here). Then Paul once again confirms that it is the united people of God that are his temple proving that a mere physical body is not the temple of God.
However, Paul revisits the temple language in the same letter in chapter 6 verses 12-20 to discuss sexual immorality. Verses 19-20 state, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." That's pretty cut and dry. He's definitely talking about the physical body this time. However, Paul does not classify defaming or destroying of the temple as any activity that brings intentional physical harm or alteration to the body. In fact, Paul doesn't even focus on the exterior of the body but rather the interior for he states, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body" (v. 18).
There is a specific type of activity that defames the body in terms of it being God's temple and it is sexual immorality because sexual immorality is not merely a physical activity. Paul speaks to the nature of sexual immorality and how it affects the person and not just the physical body when he writes, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit" (vv. 15-17). Again, Paul speaks of the spirit. Sexual immorality is a uniting of what is Christ's with that which is contrary to him. It is activity that creates division between God and the person by creating a union that is unholy. The temple is not merely a physical body but a unity between persons. The temple is damaged when the unity is damaged. When Christ and his members are divided the temple is damaged.
Paul also speaks of God's people as his temple in his letter to the Ephesians. He writes, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" (2:19-22). The parallels to the first passage examined in this post are clear.
Nothing in scripture that mentions the temple ad it being damaged is concerned with mere physical bodies or mere physical activities such as tattooing one's body. If one wants to honor the temple of God then they ought to edify the saints and the community of saints and flee from sexual immorality so that they may honor God with all of who they are and have unity with the Sprit. To do otherwise would be to defile God's temple. Therefore, the argument that the human body is God's temple and we must honor it by not tattooing the body misuses the temple language used by Paul and the gospel authors. Besides, who really believes painting the walls defiles a house? The Sistine Chapel looks a lot better with Michelangelo's work on the ceiling in my opinion.
If there is a valid argument against Christians having tattoos it certainly is not this argument.
Do you think there is a valid argument against tattoos? If so, what argument is it? Do you have tattoos? If so, what are they, and why did you get them?
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Comments (65)
It depends on the intention and what is being tattooed on the body (I think).
I think that tattoos are vain and worldly. But you already knew that.
orthodox and catholic churches have plenty of paintings on them. if you're dong them for a right reasons why not?
I need a tat so I can be more mainstream.
No, tattoos do not defile God's temple or the human body. It's the soul that counts and matters. And those people coming up to you should probably worry more about the plank in their eye than the tattoos on your body.
Course I wouldn't tattoo Jesus on my butt or anything.
I have three tattoos: an orange butterfly, "always be kind", and a shamrock symbolizing the trinity (I have 3 leaves of the clover rather than four), love, and a wee bit of Irish luck.
@NightCometh@xanga - What about make-up? If getting tattoos to increase your outside aesthetic is vain and worldly, wouldn't make-up fit that description as well? (Or are the two distinguishable? Or, even more broadly, am I misinterpreting your rationale for why tattoos are vain and worldly.)
Yes they do, so does smoking, drinking and perscription drugs and all sin. If God intended you to have a tatoo then you would have been born with one. Christians are not called to be of the world but a seperate holy and pure people. But if you already have them what can you do. Follow god, thats the main thing.
I think tattoos are wrong
@RobertLeeRE@xanga - Can you make a scriptural argument for that stance? IIn this post I examined how the temple of God is used and how it is said to be defiled in scripture. None of the passages lead to the conclusion that tattoos defile God's temple. What scriptures do you think support your stance? Also, why do you lump tattoos with smoking, drinking, drugs, and sin? Would you call smoking, drinking, and the use of prescription drugs sin?
@deltadom@xanga - Do you think it's wrong to shave around the sides of your head or to alter the edges of your beard? The command to not do those things stands right beside the command about making cuttings/marks for the dead (Lev. 19:27). As does the command to rise when an old person enters your presence (v.32) Must we also do these?
@deltadom@xanga -
Thoughts on rare steak? How about wearing polyester?
There's something to be said about taking scriptures completely out of their context and trying to apply them universally.
@NightCometh@xanga - I did. You've mentioned it a few times to me. When you say worldly do you mean sinful as scripture usually does when using that term?
@deltadom@xanga - Christians aren't under Old Testament laws.
@NightCometh@xanga - What if nobody ever sees your tattoos? Are you still vain?
@deltadom@xanga - Leviticus is a holiness code written over 3,000 years ago that includes prohibitions against round hair cuts, working on the Sabbath, wearing mixed fabrics, eating pork or shellfish, getting fortunes told, and playing with the skin of a pig. The Old Testament laws aren't applicable, since they were writting and revised after Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.
We have been tattooing each other for years and years and years!! I have one tattoo on my left foot, which I can easily hide. One should not judge another for a tattoo. Personally, I believe God would be proud of my choice. It represents life and is a reminder of struggles and joys that you will encounter! God isn't going to say, "Excuse me, Maripat (or whomever you are), are you tattooed? Oh.... You are? Get out of here, you ruined your body.." Rather, He'd welcome me as anyone else, tattooed or not, because I have a good soul and essence. It's not about your physical body, it's about your inner being.
I'm a christian and have tattoo's as well. The way I see it if my body is my temple my tat's are the stained glass. I'm not advocating go out there and get anything you see on the wall though, my tat's took me a while to design and get it just right before getting it placed on me.
@HerCarelessWhispers@xanga - There are also a lot of wise things in the code like do not eat raw meats, do not touch dead bodies without washing hands afterwards. There are other things in the code which are good for society like do not have sex with your children. I am not suggesting we are saved or more rightious by following rules in the code, we are not. But if you use the code as an argument to abandon the code you will lose easily because there are way more wiser things that came from the code than things that seem insignificat. But I do agree with you that using the code as a reason to not get tattoos is a losing argument for according to the Pauline Epistles we are not under the code. This is the proper argument in context. Paul himself said if we follow one law in the code for rightousness sake we must follow the entire code for we will be judged by the code, Romans 2:17-29.
Vanity: excessive pride in one's appearance.
Well that could encompass a whole slu of things I think. Hairstyle. Makeup. Clothing. Jewelry. Watches. Painted nails. Heck even a wedding ring.
Tattoo does not equal vanity. Vanity equals vanity.
Smoking, drinking, (prescription? Do you mean non-prescription?) drugs... All sin because because they defile the temple of God... What about being overweight or obesity? Caffeine? Fast food and junk food?
The sin lies in addiction and abuse. Or directly disobeying God's word. God said the body is a temple, not "Thou shalt not smoke". God's word does not have to come from the written Word, he can speak it directly to you. If He asks you for tattoos then you give them to Him, otherwise it is a sin. My sins are not your sins and neither are your sins my sins.
Judgement, however, is most definitely a sin.
@whataboutbahb@xanga - You will have to do your own research, but I will post some beginnings for you, I told you what I have found and it is not just one verse. The theme is throughout the entire bible. I am not saying we are saved by following code or law, we are not, we're saved by grace. But it is sin, just like all other sin. You have a bible, read it, or manipulate it, that is a perogative God gives you. But to get a tattoo is not following God but the ways of the world. If you have trouble with this issue I would suggest you go to your Pastor or Elder.
1st Peter 3:3---Although to women the pricipal applies to men also. As men and women were told specific ways as appropriate dress for Christ-followers.
1st Titus 2:9---women are to dress modestly--this applys to men also-dress modestly
@danofthree@xanga -
We are all called as Christians to be sober minded, admonishing and correcting each other for holiness sake. This is not judging each other, rather correcting.
Col--1:28, 3:16, 1st Thes 5:12,
I intended to use Thessalonians: 5:22 (avoid the appearances of evil) to make my point but it appears that there is much disagreement over the translation. That’s one of the problems with the bible. Not only does it speak of difficult and obscure matters but such problems suggest it is deliberately esoteric. That would mean that a special class of learned scholars are necessary to understand it, making the laity subservient to the priest and Pharisee class. The Reformation tried to sort that out but the Protestant idea of everyone being responsible for their own spiritual fate rather than residing under the protection of the Church, in effect the hierarchy, did not really get off the ground. But I digress as is my wont.
My intention in regard to the “appearances of evil” is how one looks to others. Tattoos on a youngster who is proud of them gives the impression to those who avoid such permanent adornment, of an unrepentant misspent youth and a high level of immaturity beyond that normally expected even of adolescents. One can be indulgent with adolescents as by definition they are not adults and should not be overly expected to act like they are.
On the older adult, a display of the same attitude gives a worse impression. Adolescent behaviour and attitude from an older adult proudly displaying their faded “works of art” does not encourage the listener in what they have to say about anything and that is the point here: the spreading of the Gospel.
I think it is in Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 that the problem of discouraging the “weaker brother” is discussed. In effect, there may be nothing wrong with eating meat but if it will discourage others in the faith, then abstain for their sake.
Keeping with adults, if an older Christian has tattoos and dismisses them or even gives the impression of remorse, he may give the impression that his early prideful life has been changed by the Gospel, which is encouraging to the listener.
It is not the fact of adornment that troubles the observer, we all adorn to some extent or the other. After this my first morning coffee, I will have a shave for instance. It is more the permanent nature of the tattoo. For the sake of an adolescent mode, to fit in, some youngster marks their body permanently. I have seen young men with tattoos on their faces. Needless to say, never a young man who is employed, but I digress as is my wont.
Tattoos, especially on parts of the body difficult to disguise, such as the neck and hands, gives the impression that the individual is saying to society “fuck you”. Not the best impression of an attitude to give someone you would like to share the Gospel with.
That’s my take regarding tattoos on evangelical minded Christians. It is a barrier to the Gospel for those who are not so voluntarily and permanently scarred. If creating a barrier to the Gospel where it did not exist before troubles you, then I suggest, do not do it.
@Jfam1n1@xanga - It is not about us and what we think. The issue is about god and what God has told us and how we should live.
@RobertLeeRE@xanga - What nonsense! Prescription pills! Many Christians I know and love, myself included would probably be dead today if it weren't for modern day medicine!
I got a tattoo last year for my birthday. "Fearfully & Wonderfully Made Psalm 139:14" I had gone through depression and a nervous breakdown and I came out of it knowing God loved me and that I was his daughter, it's on the insided of my wrist because I always want to be reminded of the fact God made me the person I am and he loves me as that person.
I think so long as what you have isn't blasphemous or obviously something non-Christian, then it's fine, it doesn't have to be scriptural either, we are no longer under the Old Testament laws and your body as a temple is in reference to sexual sin, so go for it...........but remember it is permenant so think long and hard before you commit it to your body!
@Lovegrove@xanga
- Those I gave on adornment were just meant to jump start those that wish to
seriously consider this issue. I think you also made a good point. There are so
many scriptures and principals against tattoos it is almost laughable to make it
a serious question--not to make lite of the topic.
This is for others:
Probably the main one--Israel like all Christians are called to be a
kingdom of Holy people, separated from others, called out of ungodliness and
worldly living just as Peter stated in 1st Peter 4:1-6. Romans 12:1 is another
good one. 1stCor11:7 --Man is made in God's image and we are a reflection of
God. This means we should not change that image with tattoos, which are worldly.
1st Corinthians 4:16 says we are to imitate Paul as Paul imitates Christ as
Christ imitates God the Father whom He has seen. So go ahead people---keep
getting your tattoos if you think Paul or Christ would get one. If you do not
think the Apostle Paul or Christ would get one then neither should you get one,
for you are to imitate the Apostle Paul as Paul imitates Christ as Christ
imitates what He has seen. You all are going to need to start reading your bibles
more, for this is pretty clear cut stuff.
The bottom line--God gives you the choice to sin or not sin follow Him or not follow Him; read the bible or not read the bible.
God Bless,
Brother RobertLeeRE