It sounds like the start to some science fiction movie. The Department of Archeology from the University of York in Britain made the kind of discovery every archaeologist longs for. In a solid block of ice a mummy was discovered. Their discoveries suggest the “Ice man” was the ripe age of 5,200. The ice shockingly kept the man decently preserved. Upon his skin markings were discovered, tattoos. It’s interesting how through the centuries people, places, and cultures change and evolve in many different ways but sometimes certain qualities remain. Human beings as a whole, all over the world have since the beginning of time been interested in the concept of body modification. We get tattoos, we get piercings, we workout to get thin, we drink protein shakes to bulk up. Maybe we just get bored but that’s beside the point. We do these things and we never really think about if they’re wrong. They’re our bodies, life is short and we only have them for that short time, we can do what we want with them right? Possibly one of the more controversial, talked about subjects is tattoos. Tattoos in the workplace is just one example of a common debate and this is one my ears are tired of frankly. I’ve heard the ins and outs of that talk of what is considered “professional” or not for a place of business from Timbuktu and back, but a recent topic that caught my attention was whether or not, according to the bible, if tattoos are a sin. I stumbled upon an article written by Terry Watkins and I found it quite intriguing. I myself do not have any tattoos but I found Mr. Watkins’ interpretation of the bible and how the body art is considered a sin highly outrageous. It takes technicality, grace, and years of dedication to perfect. Tattooing is not a sin it is an art form that can symbolize one’s spirituality.
If we look back in time tattoos were seen as the opposite of a sin. Cate Linberry, a writer for The Smithsonian takes us on a little trip through history. Her article states in Greece, 450 BC, they were seen as a , “Mark of nobility..and a declaration of love and religious beliefs.” A little farther away in Egypt the body art was actually exclusive to women. When a woman became pregnant she would get a tattoo of Bes, a woman who was seen as the protector of women in labor, on her upper thigh. It was seen as a permanent form of a lucky charm during the difficult time of pregnancy. Since that time the entire idea has been revolutionized. Concepts of shading, depth, and consistency are tested and analyzed on shows like, Ink Master or Best Ink. It’s become a phenomenon and a positive one at that. People are looking at the age old art in a different way. They are now discussing art in a sophisticated way. And although the technical side of it has exploded in the media in mostly recent years the sole reason of why one gets a tattoo for the most part stays the same, “a declaration of love,” love or commitment for something that they hold true to their life.
That is something I’ve always believed, which is my reasoning for finding the article by Terry Watkins,where he seems most certain they are sinful, quite interesting. He opens with a bible verse from the old testament. Leviticus 19:28 says, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you.” This is the basis of his entire argument. He calls this verse the, “So called christians worst nightmare.” Watkins then goes into explaining how these christians will go “miles and miles” to try to justify the way they disobey the word of god. He brings up an argument he finds common by christian people with tattoos. This verse is from the Old testament and christian people now a days focus more so on the new testament. His argument to combat this is equally outrageous. He explains that beastiality and prostituting your daughter is only talked about as being banned in the old testament not the new. So under his logic if you believe tattoos are okay because they are only talked about in the old testament then you must be okay with beastiality and prostituting your daughter as well. I believe I’m not the only one who sees the miles of difference in between some ink and these few topics. There is another intriguing debate regarding Revelations 19:16 which some claim to actually be proof that Jesus himself had a tattoo. “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Watkins loses his mind on this one. As he flies off the handle he says, “Can anyone with any spiritual discernment (or a brain) really believe the Lord Jesus Christ has a tattoo? Isnt it amazing how spiritually blind someone becomes when they began to justify their disobedience to the word of God...But what really is frightening about this gross, perverted, wicked interpretation of a "tattooed" Jesus Christ in Revelation 19:16 – it makes the Lord Jesus Christ a SINNER!” But wait there’s more, “It means the Lord Jesus CLEARLY disobeyed Leviticus 19:28! It means the Lord Jesus Christ was not Holy! He was not the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. He clearly was disobedient and broke the Leviticual Law of Leviticus 19:28!” He goes on to say that the “spiritually sicko, perverted,christian tattooers” are wrong he did not have any tattoo. This line from Watkins definitely boggles my mind because he is so quick to judge others as spiritually blind only being in the process a little spiritually blind himself. Luke 6:37 says, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned, forgive and ye shall be forgiven.” It’s amazing how one part of the bible can be scrutinized to all end. One tiny part about one tiny thing can make some people not see the huge majority of passing no judgement. I could go on forever with the numerous biblical quotes of passing no judgement and loving thy brother. “Let he who is without sin among you throw the first stone,” John 8:7. Those are words from Jesus himself. Your views are interesting Mr. Watkins so I won’t throw any stones at them and call you wrong, because whether or not Jesus had a tattoo is most likely an unimportant lesson compared to the numerous good ones the bible holds. Which is why as I’m trying to wrap my mind around your claims find it difficult to say the least to think Jesus would believe that what one man interprets Revelations 19:16 to mean makes him a perverted sicko. Something interesting Watkins more or less beats around the bush about is the verse right before Leviticus 19:28, his main argument. In Leviticus 19:27 the bible states,”Thou shall not round the corners of your head nor shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.” This verse is what one pastor uses to justify why he gets body art.
Pastor James Heins has multiple tattoos, none of which he regrets or believes are sins against the Word that he preaches each Sunday. He tells a story where a man came up to him and asked him to tell his daughter that it was a sin to get a tattoo, referring to the same verse as Watkins does. Heins opens up his bible, at this time in his life he does not have any tattoos, and he reads Leviticus 19:27-28. Then he tells the man that if he was to be a consistent and faithful bible teacher and tell his daughter it was evil to get a tattoo, under that logic he would also have to ask him to repent his recent hair cut. He then goes on to explain that some of the laws God gave to the people in that time, an extremely long time ago, were to guide them away from the wickedness of neighboring cities. These cities at the time were known for tattoos that were associated with false gods. Then he said something that was interesting because as we move through the history of tattooing it continually comes up. Why does Pastor James Heins get inked? Commitment. He explains, “I think it’s necessary to regularly remind myself of the importance of commitment in a world that’s terrified by it. Tattoos, for the most part, are a visual, physical lifelong commitment.” He shows hope for the up and coming generation saying that through the rising number of tattoos comes the rising number of people who remind themselves of their life long commitments.
Reading what Heins had to say left a positive feeling with me. He seems like a man who sees the good in the world, while on the other token as I tried to understand his logic I got the complete opposite feeling from Mr. Watkins. I looked into his website. Anyone can view it. It is called Dial the Truth Ministries. As soon as I got on I was bombarded with negativity. In the middle of the page was a graphic that had a number flashing and increasing by two each second. Next to it indicated that since I had opened that page that number of people had died and in big, bold, red letters it said, “Your death is coming! Are you prepared to die?” I searched further into the articles published and fell upon articles with names such as, “The Dragons Hot Breath: Unmasking the Awful Truth about Christian Rock Music.” Really? Christian rock music preaches of love and the grace of god, not smelly dragon breath. Or for another example, “Religious Rock..the devils music in the Church!!!” I did not exaggerate those exclamation marks, there are really that many. Reading this gave off more the feeling of everything being a sin. Not to mention he makes whom he calls “So-called Christians” sound uneducated. He enters in his own dialog twisting the words of others sprinkling the word Dude” in every line. Have your views of the bible Mr. Watkins, I’m open minded enough in this new day and age to do my best to see your point, but just because one man’s interpretation of the bible isn’t the same as yours doesn’t mean he’s uneducated. It doesn’t mean he isn’t spiritual.
Art is art. The whole world is a piece of art if you think about it. Many of the tattoos I’ve been seeing lately are of verses straight from the bible itself. Verses about integrity, love, and forgiveness. A lifelong reminder to oneself about the great teachings the bible has to offer. A lifelong reminder to oneself to live with with integrity, love, and to forgive others. Like I said before we only have these bodies for this short time we’re on earth. When we die they stay here. Now we could sit and scrutinize every word of the old and new testament, and have more fear of every little possible sin. Or we could just live our lives by what we know is good. We could live our lives with love. In the end when our soul goes up to heaven, I think God will be more concerned with how much love you gave to the world, not the artwork you chose to put on your body.
