Here's What The Bible Really Says About Tattoos And Piercings

Just about everyone in the Western world probably has at least a passing familiarity with the Ten Commandments, Christianity's troubleshooting guide for life's many moral grey areas. And these rules certainly cover a lot of ground, reminding believers of God's most important rules — you know, stuff like "quit killing each other" and "stop worshipping jackals." In other areas, though, they come up a little short in terms of divine guidance. The Commandments give no guidance to Christians on what to eat, for example, or what clothes are acceptable, or even whether or not God is disappointed in you for going to Hot Topic and getting a belly button ring without talking to your mom first.

For that, you've gotta turn to the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus is an Old Testament Book laying out all of the rules that God added later, presumably because "the 400 or so commandments" doesn't roll off the tongue quite so well. Through Leviticus, the Bible reveals which animals are cool to eat, warns against using blended fabrics and, yes, even explains God's views on tattoos and piercings. In Leviticus 19:28, God says:

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you..."

Translations of that passage can vary slightly, but the overall message remains: tats and piercings are a no-no. Still, it might be worth looking at this with some historical context. First, you'll notice that the Bible doesn't actually say "tattoos." That's because the word "tattoo" didn't come into use until the 1700s, when it was lifted from Polynesian language and brought into the European lexicon with the help of Captain Cook. The only translation of the Bible to contain the word "tattoo" is the New International Version published in 1978, where the publishers interpret the same verse from Leviticus as saying:

"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves..."

The whole point of the New International Version of the Bible was to create a more modern, easily accessible text for contemporary people — sort of a Simple English Wikipedia for the faithful, but it has been met with its fair share of criticism over the years. Conversely, you've also got Ezekiel 16:12, in which God says:

"...I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head."

Is that the heavenly go ahead for getting a septum piercing or face tattoo? Maybe. Then again, in the same chapter, it's also heavily implied that not rubbing a newborn baby with salt is the mark of an irresponsible parent — so, yeah, make of that what you will.

The fact of the matter is that the Bible is a very, very long work that was written over the course of multiple generations — so it's bound to have contradicting views on basically any subject you can think of. Maybe the most important question you can ask about all this is: does a strict adherence to the perceived rules laid out in the Good Book really affect whether or not someone is a good Christian? Hell, even one of Christianity's head honchos is willing to offer a little leeway on this. In March 2018, Pope Francis told a group of folks considering priesthood that tattoos were nothing to be scared of, and that, in his words, they "signify membership in a community." And that doesn't sound too bad, does it?

And if you're still worried that your sorority ink is jeopardizing the well-being of your immortal soul, think on this: there's practically zero chance that you're living up to all of the rules spelled out in the Bible anyway. Other sins listed in the Good Book include eating bacon, getting a bowl cut, growing more than one kind of plant in a field, and watching Long Island Medium.

Honestly, after a certain point, you've just gotta make peace with your sins — rustle up a BLT, fire up the tattoo gun and throw yourself on the mercy of the court, y'know?

#Tattoos #Piercings #TheBible