What do ya'll think

[emmer]

What do ya'll think about tatoos ....I don't have any but I was thinking about getting a tatoo of a cross on my shoulder when I am clean 1 year.

[best]

What I think isn't important....God warns against such.

Leviticus 19:28
“Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.

Different views by different people. What I see wrong with getting them... Hep C or other infections have been known to come from some people getting a tattoo.
Some people become addicted in a way to getting tattoos as well.

I also have thought about getting one but after reading the warning in God's word...
My choice is now no.
I know plenty who have them and I also found that my opinion won't stop others from getting one or more.
I would say... read what God's word says and pray and then pray some more.

For myself, I reasoned out in my thoughts.... For me to get a tat, it would be a Christian looking tat but through my inner reasoning...my choice has me say... I would be doing the wrong thing for what I think is the right reason.

[caileesnana]

Sorry to sound stupid, but what exactly does this mean:
“Do not cut your bodies for the dead..."

Thanks!

[dgillz]

Cutting your body for the dead was a way of mourning for the dead at one time....may still be in some cultures.

I do not believe in tattoos as it is a form of self mutilation and can become an addiction in and of itself. Here is an interesting wiki article that touches on this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm

[Barbara52]

The only problem with the warning in Leviticus is that there are way to many other warnings in that particular book that most do not follow. Do you wear clothes that are fiber blends for instance? Most do. Do you believe women having their periods are unclean and men shouldn't come into contact with them? I sure don't.

Leviticus is one of those difficult books because most of those warnings just don't fit real life.

As for the tattoo, personally I find them rather repulsive but that just me. I kow an awful lot of people who like them for a wide range of reasons. If you want one, emmer, go for it.

[best]

Originally Posted by Barbara52

Leviticus is one of those difficult books because most of those warnings just don't fit real life.

When I look over the laws written in Leviticus, I see rules that were written for the needs of the people of that time in history.
When I take what is written and look at where such things could fit in my life today... I see suggestions (as I am not bound by the law) that if I follow some, most, or all the laws of Moses... my life can be better off for doing so.
I think you are good to call them warnings but when Moses gave them to the people, they were laws (rules) to help the people prosper and guide them to a deeper relationship with God.

[cmc]

It's nice to know that we have that freedom in these nonessential areas of the faith. I agree that alot of the old rules can be helpful today and some just do not apply to our society and time.

The laws were put in place primarily to protect people, and their society, and of course to set them apart as unto the Lord. Out of that background, God chose to bring forth the Savior of the world.

The dietary rules are very interesting to me and for instance:although I do avoid eating pork, I really do enjoy having some bacon and eggs once in awhile! :

Back to you Emmer: re the tattoo...I don't have any but two of my kids do have several of them. They both have one or two that they regret and/or for various reasons didn't work out. Doing something permanent like this requires alot of prayer and thought...I'm glad that you came here to ask about this. Let us know if you get your tat okay??? Nobody will judge you....but I'm sure you already know that...you've been here too long to worry about that I hope.

Most importantly:I suggest you pray about it and ask God to show you.
hugs,

cmc
ps...I just noticed your sig line...that's one of my all time favorite songs- love and miss GH.

[duet_4-8]

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:17 NIV

IMHO, whether or not to have a tattoo is between you and God, and is one of those 'nonessential' things that we as Christians can agree to disagree about.

Like CMC said, pray about it and ask Him for guidance.

[toad]

I have crosses on my right shoulder, on my left fore arm, and one on one of my fingers. I have the fish symble right above my left wrist. All were put on as a born again Christian in a back slidden state. All together I have 12 tats. I haven't put one on in over ten years. I might some day, I don't know.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

It's about faith!

The problem I have is waking up day after day, year after year looking at these marks and reminders of another time in my life. Sometimes I find myself embarrassed by them.

"We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it............ We will see how our experiences can benefit others." Big Book of AA page 83-84

If you get one Joe.......you gotta live with it.

Go ahead, and God will still love you..........toad

[elizabeth1979]

I have a tatoo.
I was aware of the warning heeded in the old testament, I think it really depends on how one chooses to interpret the scriptures. Literally or with the mindset that some instruction in BC times were based on cultural meaning.

Its a personal thing, I could go either way on it. I know there is scripture that says our bodies are temples of the holy spirit also and I wouldnt go sticking needles in that but had no problem inking my body.

Could you talk to a elder at your church or pastor about it?

[emmer]

I suppose since you were all so nice to reply I should let u know that I have chosen to leave SR.
Not from anything said on C.I.R. but from somewhere else. I am worn down and I
feel my recovery is threatened.
On the good side I am still clean. And I will continue getting support thru NA.
Why I left SR completely I don't know, but I am frustrated and hurt and now I'm gone.

Best wishes.

[best]

Originally Posted by emmer

And I will continue getting support thru NA.
....., but I am frustrated and hurt and now I'm gone.

Joe

Through prayer, reading God's word and the continued support of NA and working the steps... you will find answers. God's speed go with you.

[sugarssweetpea]

God bless you Joe. I do not know you well, but I feel blessed to have been able to share in your recovery. May God continue to bless you. Remember my signature ~ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. ~ Matthew 6:33.

[Melanchonika]

im sorry you had to go, but maybe it was necessary.

i too come from the mindset that there really arent any rules anymore, through Christ. the obvious things to do will be imprinted upon your heart, or in your conscience when you become aware. foods, drinks, hairstyles, skirts, no skirts, tatoos, music, etc is something people tend to get diverted very easily about; and i know for me when my focus was too heavily on those things, i slowly slipped into a more performance based faith, coupled with a highly judgmental attitude. i could divert to the non-essentials to a point it would eat up hours of good mental energy. IMO opinion i was in a prison, and you cant focus on Christ and the TRUTH when you are all discombobled with idiosyncrasies. i find today that when people try to convince me of what gods 'best' is for us as people, that they have to subscribe to quite the rabbit trail to prove their point. i dont beleive in the 'good, better, and best' philosophy anyway....it reeks fo judgment. God freed us and it is a beautiful thing to allow oneself to walk in that freedom.

[best]

Originally Posted by Melanchonika

God freed us and it is a beautiful thing to allow oneself to walk in that freedom.

God freed us from the burdens of our guilt and shame.

As for what is right and wrong, good, better, best...
We do have rules God says we should follow. A read of the book of John and you will see some pretty heavy standards are set by God's word.
I don't see them as rules and boundaries but as actions of love that I strive to achieve in an attempt to show my love for the Lord.

I have already realized that I can't achieve such goals of my own power and so I rely on God word as my target list of goals and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, coupled with the Lord's strength to help me hit the mark.
Without Jesus I am nothing.

[Melanchonika]

yes, thats true, but IMO not regarding such diversions as a tattoo.

Jessu freed us from guilt and shame, but very closely linked with peoples shame cycles, is a wheel of performance. thats why i dont prefer the 'good, better, best' syndrome. yes, there is right and wrong. but when it comes down to it, biblically speaking, IMI (in my interpretation ) there arent as many blacks and whites for rights and wrongs as some christians in the past tried to impose on me, and that i saw them try to impose on others. doing that is nothing short of spiritual abuse. i was posting in context to the desire for a tattoo, not the entire 'big picture', though i think i showed an angle of the big picture. my point was that grey areas abound, and not every article of living is subject to a black and white 'scale'.

i used to be of mindset that i was nothing without Jesus, but now i realize that those who dont embrace the truth, are very much 'something' even without Jesus. im guessing you were speaking from the place where you feel jesus is all your strength, and that i comprehend. but whether or not i let him live through me today, does not constitute whether i am something or nothing. god says all people are something, at least 'big picture wise.