i have a tatoo... its fabulous. i got the rebel insignia from star wars tatooed on my lower back.

my husband and i both got tatoos to celebrate our 10th anniversary. they arent matching, but thay are both done in red and black.

i love it!!!

I don't know if getting them removed with a lazer would count or not...look into it though.

who knows?? i'm loving mine, though, i'll probably never get it removed.

i told my kids though that they have to wait until they are on their own to get it. i didn't get mine until i was 32, so they have to wait until then as well!!!

I have tattoos - I am a candidate for ordained ministry in the Church.

All three of my tattoos are significant to me and to God

the first one I got was a sun with a cross inside it. The signficance is this "in the darkest of my world, I find my light through my faith and my friends." My best friend got the same sun.

The other two are Hebrew words from the Hebrew bible ... From Gen 1.3, I have "and there was light" and from 1 Sam 3 "Here I am"

All three very important to me - to me from God and to God from me!

Anything in the bible about piercings?

I was musing about the concept of tatooes and the concept of committment going together. It's auch a lifetime thing, isn't it? When I had radiation for cancer, I was tatooed with two little blue dots. It's 10 years later now, and I keep mulling over the idea of having them made into something else. I also watch at show "Miami Ink" with my daughter who's 21. I'm struck by the amount of thought that goes into the designs people bring, and the absolute lifetime commitment of going ahead with it. If only people could put as much thought into their spiritual journeys! Think through exactly where they wanted to go, and commit to it FOREVER. Wow.
[As far as the quote about the body being a Temple....what better way to honor a temple than to adorn it with such careful thought and commitment?]

The Bible also says not to eat Barbecued Ribs but try selling that to the Southern Baptist Convention.

I like tatoos, and I love religious symbols as tatoos. As for the bodily temple thing, I've met more alcoholic clergy than I could shake a stick at.

RevAnna,
I'm right there with you.

Tattooing has moved well beyond the drunken sailor days of "i love Mom" tattoos and back to having meaning and purpose, like the first symbols that people put on themselves thousands of years ago. For many its an outward expression of an inward feeling or they show an alliance or commemorate a special (perhaps even sacred) event. They are art, and I'm fairly certain that God appreciates art. Why else would so many churches have stained glass windows, greaceful images of Jesus and such beautiful architectural designs?

They are a permanent expression in a world full of impermanent things. People can hardly even commit to each other, that they woud feel strongly enough to commit to one image for life is impressive.

I don't have any but I think tattoos are GREAT.

Maximus, do you respect ALL of the Levictal laws you so often quote ? Do you cut you hair ? Do you wear clothes made of more than one fabric ? And we could go on ? Until I can be shown that you respect them all, I cannot respect you trotting out particular ones that support your very narrow view of life.

If you consider the body to be the Temple of God then why not adorn it with art ?

Generally, Leviticus is just ridiculous. I tend to ignore... well, that entire book of the Bible. Its outdated, contradictory, and meant for that time, place and age.

Whew!

I like what Jamesadin said in the comment that Leviticus was written for it's time. Exactly. That is true of all of the scritptures they were each written in and for a context. That does not mean that they contain nor turth or have no meaning beyond that time and place. It does mean that we need to look at them both in the context inwhich they were set and in our context. Good point !!! Thanks

---origionally posted by InfidelBeliever -----

I'm smiling, thinking of--some years down the line from now---of all these hordes of aging, flabby-saggy, Grannies and Grandpas marching about proudly, with all their faded blueish yucky tattoos sagging right along with everything else...some may regret their impulsiveness and lack of planning for the long term!

Don't they realize tattoos on an old person won't be cool? The fad will long since have passed...
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my mom said the same thing when i got this tatoo, and honestly, i could care less... i am actually laughing looking forward to the day when i'm at the seniors home and the nurses are shaking their heads sadly at my tatoo!!! i'll be the coolest old lady in the joint, with my star wars tatoo!!!
in fact, now my mom is actually thinking about getting a tatoo herself, just cause i'm so happy with mine... and shes 57. go mom!!!

I really dont think that shocking someone eles has anything to do with getting a tattoo, although mind You there are people out there that would do it just to get attention, I belive thet for the most part its a personal thing that is there to comemerate, an event in ones life, some people take pictures, and display than proudly others, just display them in a different way, is it right or wrong Its not for anyone to judge what You put on a shelf for the world to see (as long as it means the world to You) so why should we judge what a person puts on thier arm back or leg.... why not ask what it means to them and You never know You may make a new friend.....

--- origionally posted by InfidelBeliever ---

Possibly, miss snootles, possibly you will still proudly wear your aging Star Wars tattoo as a badge of rebellious honour...but also possibly your thinking will alter with time, a possibility you don't seem to acknowledge, meaning that by the time you're nodding in your wheelchair in the seniors' home, you will no longer feel that teenager's impulse to shock people.
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first of all, please, call me sigh. miss snootles is so formal!!!
anyways, i will probably alter with time, i mean the only constant is change, right?? but not since high school have i been ashamed of how i look. and now, at 37, i am as proud as ever to be exactly the person that i am. i feel very comfortable and proud to be in my own skin.
i hope that the day will never come when i will look at myself and be anything less than totally happy with the person looking back at me in the mirror. should that day ever come, my tatoo will hopefully serve as reminder for me to just be who i am, and be proud of what i am and what i look like!!!

Paul and Leviticus again. Hardly the best of sources.

I too have a tattoo!! surprise surprise it is a daisy on my right ankle =) I have had this tatoo for 11 1/2 years and never once have I regreted it. My husband also has two tattoo's and we each plan to get one to celebrate each child that we have when the time comes...small ones but still.

I don't think that a tattoo necessarily represents a teenage need for rebellion I think that they are beautiful and can be very symbolic. If you watch Miami Ink you will see that the artists there think of themselves as artist so I don't think that all people who consider themselves as artists wouldn't be satisfied tattooing..obviousely many do.

As I've said before elsewhere religion should be a constand and consistant guide to us on how to act towards eachother and God. It should not change becasue X amount of time has passed. Unless of course Jesus comes back and tells us otherwise.

Hey RevAnna you said: [As far as the quote about the body being a Temple....what better way to honor a temple than to adorn it with such careful thought and commitment?]

Yeah what a better way to honour a temple than to put graffitti all over it!

but its not graffitti... its from STAR WARS!!!! thats CLASSIC cinema!!!

and you should see my husbands... its haida art!!! you cant be going around saying aborigional art is graffitti...

Maximus

Somebody needs a pill. Don't get pissed about what other people do willingly to themselves for there own personal merriment. I've been thinking about getting a tattoo of my Scottish clan's crest. My cousin has one in the same place I was thinking of getting mine (his left shoulder) and it looks awesome. Art is art no matter where you put it. The only difference is tattoos are with you forever.
My only concern about getting the tatoo is the pain from the needles. I've simulated the pain with a sharpened pencil and it wan't very fun. It's probably a little worse that what I felt and it would be for a longer time. Could any of you guys tell me if it's worth the pain?

its worth it, but yeah, its a bit of an ordeal.

for me, it wasn't the pain, i just found it REALLY IRRITATING. after about 10 minutes, you are ready to grab the tatoo artists arm and say 'WILL YOU STOP THAT ALREADY!!!'

and i must admit to you now, before someone who knows and recognizes me here tells you, i passed out about 5 minutes into the tattoo... the artist said that it was a sickness leaving my body or something, cause i got the tatoo at the base of my spine. he was really into reiki, i think. anyways, it happened, and yeah.

but is it worth it??? HECK YAH!! i love it, and i would do it all over again if i could. i won't get another, thats for sure, but this one means a lot to me.

I once saw met an older Jewish man who had on his forearm the tattoo of the numbers he received in Nazi death camps during WWII. Seeing that tattoo is something I will never forget and something I will tell my kids about when they get old enough so they can pass it on.

Maximus said: As I've said before elsewhere religion should be a constand and consistant guide to us on how to act towards eachother and God.

Ergo, as someone else asked, I take it you don't eat pork? And immediately after the marking your body line, is one that says not to "mar the corners of yuor beard." Sheesh. You know how scruffy i'd look?

I actually did a column on this on Seems Like God. www.seemslikegod.org

You are right in one sense though, Maximus, biblical text should be a guide. And the context of this bit of Leviticus was that the tribes around Israel cut themselves and marked themselves to make them less attractive to dead spirits. They didn't want to be possessed you see.

The point being that a people who believe in a loving and benevolent God, and a heaven that eliminates the need of dead relatives to take us over, have no need of such a superstition.

Nor any need to get their knickers in a knot about body art.

We also have to remember that all of Scripture was written in a context. Paul advises the COrinthians to avoid meat, purely because most of hte meat available for consumption was slaughtered in conjunctioon with a sacrifice and he didn't want people to get misled or confused.

In the same way, tattoos in many places and times have had religious/cultic significance. It is highly possible that the priestly writers of Leviticus wanted to ensure that the people were not led astray by innocently partaking of a "heathen" ritual.

So what does that mean now? Maybe it means that in our context tattoos are okay, depening on the content of course.

Maximus,

Hi,

I don't want to put words in your mouth or accuse you of saying something you haven't.

Are you suggesting that contrary to scripture that elsewhere says there is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from the love of God a little bit of ink can do just that?

John

I have a cute little Canadian beaver (I was only 20 and wanted something that would not offend and would give me a giggle) tattoo and I love it and my wife hates it. I personally really like tattoo art - some is a tad gaudy and heavy metalish for my taste. But i have seen some pretty cool ones.

To me one of the coolest was a woman who had the words Mary Magdelane in Arabic tattooed on the insides of her forearms. I thought it was easily one of the most provacative tattoos I had ever seen.

I would love to get a tattoo of a celtic cross or something like that. I like the idea of using Hebrew to communicate something essential about God.

I've been thinking about getting a tattoo, and one of the reasons is I've been seeing more tattoo art recently and unlike someone said before hand, it was a lot better than a lot of other 'art' I've seen. Granted there is an alarming amount of not-that-great-tattoo-art out there, but people are a lot smarter now, they shop around and find the artist that is best for them (at least I would)

And as for it fading and stuff, tattoos can be retouched (The place by my house retouches for free if you got the tattoo there originally) although obviously as your body changes so will the tattoo and there are some minor dangers.

And for Sigh, I have a friend who got a Star Wars tattoo on her shoulder (Rebel Alliance only it's black with a Red outline, instead of Red with silvery outline), looks awesome, what did you have done?

Okay, just reread and you actually said you had the rebel insignia (spl?) as well lol, did you keep the original colours?

yes i did!! its the same one as on lukes fighter pilot helmet, its red with a black outline.

tell your friend i think she is awesome.

Well that's all fine and dandy for Catholics who follow the bible to a T, or follow the bible at all.

But ultimately, you can't push your religion or beliefs on anyone else.
And a lot of Catholics have gotten tattoos, some are stupid, some are in loving memory of lost loved ones, etc.

Stop judging.

The degree to which a tattoo fades or distorts depends upon a few variables, such as.

. Where it is on the body
. Tattoos on areas where the skin is thin, such as hands and feet will fade and distort more than on areas where the skin is thicker, such as on the torso.

. Skin stretching and shrinking
. Weight or muscle gain or loss will cause tattoo distortion.

. The colorfastness of the ink
. In general, black ink is pretty stable although it may change color a bit over time. The colorfastness of colored ink varies considerably depending upon the pigment or dye. The use of sun block will help considerably.

Bad tattoos:

http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1304

http://awfultattoos.blogspot.com/

heh, did you hear that their is a new form of tattoo being developed. It involves injections, which, can be triggered to breakdown under the skin, and go away.

Did anyone else hear about it, I can't find the link now.

The ink is called Freedom-2 and it is designed to be easily bleached using a laser. I suspect that there will be a 'ghost' left behind after laser remocval because just the color will be removed.

From an article: "It contains a "resorbable" cosmetics-and-drug-grade colorant and a biocompatible laser target material in a translucent polymer bead"

http://www.freedom2ink.com/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tattoo_remove.html

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=71463

I wonder if is is possible to do a post mortem "removal" of tattoos done with Freedom-2 ink.

Another bad tattoo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70858825@N00/87870755/

i do not think that something as simple as a little ink , many timre representing parts of faih , should be a sin. i think that your body is yours, and god gave it to you as a gift. you should cherish it and all.

you will adorn it with the scars of your past, from when you scraped your knee as a child, to many other things you may have to have in the future.
the post that realy hit me was the one about the man with the blue dots of cancer. see how tatoo's can be such a wonderful thing? if he never had these, then maybe his treatmet could have been more dificult, or , maybe he coul;d have died.... still anit-tatoo?

if you see my point then you cannt disagree with tatoos compleatly.

i have a tattoo and i love it. I'm planning on getting more. i really don't care what the bible says about it. having tattoos does not make me any less of a good person

I don't have a tattoo, and I don't want one - it's just not for me, but for others their tattoos are very personal, very important, and very wanted (unless, I'm guessing, if it's the name of an ex!). I like to watch Miami Ink (or the others of the same ilk) because I like to hear the stories behind the person's tattoo. Some of the tattoos are beautiful works of art.

Hope, peace, joy, love,
Beloved

i think tattoos are a way of appreciating the body, your making it more beautiful and appreciating it. Some people get rediculas tattoos that are gang symbols and others get beautiful tattoos that make you want to ask them wat its about, as you can tell it is also some thing to start a conversation. i have none but maybe would lie to get one in the future, for a good reason of course. i dont judge people because they have tattoos, because i dont ask them to judge me
thanx

I think tattoos are a great form of expression! It's up to the person to decide what kind of expression they will give. I personally am getting tattoos when i'm older. My dad is going to get a tattoo with me when i'm 18. :)

I have plans! Wonderous plans!

'Do not cut your bodies for the dead " I guess emo's are kinda screwed.

Peace be upon you all
-Omni

So getting a tattoo of the number 666 on my forehead... bad idea?

aotn,

Hi,

You wrote:

So getting a tattoo of the number 666 on my forehead... bad idea?

Wannabe!

Grace and peace to you.

John

my husbands ex girlfriend had a 665... she was just SO CLOSE...

Revjohn:

I suppose I am a wannabe. You definitely had it down first.

My mom's almost 70 and she's going crazy with the tattoos. She had no tattoos until she was 65, then two in the last year. Two more in the year before that. How can I stop her??!?

WHY do you want to stop her?

I have two tattoos. One for my little bird and one for my husband. Both of them rembrances done after they died. I'm getting one more next month. It will signify my coming out from under the darkness of mourning. I will always mourn in my own way, but I must also keep the light in front of me to help me survive in this world.

That's lovely!