Am I going to hell?

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DrewC

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I got a tattoo today of a cross on my arm. I am feeling guilty about it and feel that it displeases the Lord and that I have defaced my body which is a temple of The Holy Spirit. Do you feel that I have done wrong and am going to go to hell for this? Sorry guys and gals im just nervous about this.
 
Ahhh…one of the great paradoxes that make no sense at all to me.

If God really is pure love and compassion, how could he even CONSIDER sending someone to ETERNAL torture? You could say that if you have sin then you’ll be impure and that impurity prevents the pure God from accepting you, but what happened to “he is forgiving and loving?”

So, seeing this paradox, I feel that God is love and not judgemental at all. So, we could come to a few conclusions. 1. Hell is not real.
  1. We only go to hell if we choose to, but can back out at anytime and ask for forgiveness from God, and God, being God would accept us into heaven.
Going on Conclusion 2., this would contradict another point in the Bible. 2. means that we ultimately judge ourselves, not God.

Just some food for thought.

Let’s say you do believe you are going to hell…Answer this: What kind of God would send someone to eternal torture just because they got a tatto on their arm? But this isn’t an ordinary tatto, it’s one of the cross! You are just professing your beliefs, and there is nothing wrong with that.
 
As far as I know, the Church has no explicit teaching regarding tatoos. I can say that the Church always discourages the misapropriation of religious symbols. Did you get this tatoo so that it might honor God or did you get it for prideful reasons; as a means to bring attention to your “holiness”?

Personally, I would be hesitant to tatoo a religious symbol to myself for this reason, I would fear that I am doing it not for God’s glory but for my own. However, in my opinion, there is nothing inherently sinfu about what you have done, only other factors surrounding your reasoning can determine that. The fact that you are distressed about it demonstrates a reflective heart eager to be in right standing with the Lord. If your intentions were less than pure you need only to approach the Lord in repentence, He is always merciful. Bring it up next time you are at confession if you feel it was a sinful act. I would not worry about this condemning you to hell.
 
Nothing wrong with a tattoo of a Christian symbol in itself.

Whatever reasons you got it for, use the fact that people will notice it (assuming it’s not in a hidden place) as an opportunity to discuss your faith with them. As an evangelisation tool. This will please Our Lord.
 
I seriously doubt you’re going to hell for this. If you are then I am too (I have a Papal cross on the back of my neck). I truly believe that as long as it’s done with the right intentions that it’s not that big of a deal. Enjoy your tattoo and be proud of it!
 
DrewC said:
I got a tattoo today of a cross on my arm. I am feeling guilty about it and feel that it displeases the Lord and that I have defaced my body which is a temple of The Holy Spirit. Do you feel that I have done wrong and am going to go to hell for this? Sorry guys and gals im just nervous about this.
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If you feel you have defaced your body with a cross and are going to hell, where does that leave all the great saints who scourged their bodies?

Relax. I’ve got a tattoo myself. In fact, Coptic Christians (Orthodox or Catholic) normally get cross tattoos as a distinguishing mark.

Blessings,
Marduk
 
Go run a search on the “Ask An Apologist” section. The question’s been answered before. If I remember correctly the answer is “no, a tattoo, in and of itself is not a sinful thing.” Certainly, if your tattoo was a way of denying your Creator, that would be a different matter than one that professes your faith.

Anyway, even if it WAS a mortal sin (which it isn’t) your very question shows that you didn’t know that it was at the time of the inking. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions have to be met, one of which is full knowledge, which you didn’t have.
 
I am among the elderly and remember when it was in the main, only drunk service men who got tatoos. For the life of me I have never been able to fathom why anyone who was sober would want to be tatooed. That all being said I hardly think a little tatoo here or there or even over one’s entire body is going to make them liable to hell fire. Just behavior that I would probably classify as damn foolishness. Rest easy and if you think you may have regrets, I understand that of late they have devised tatoo inks that are easily and painlessly removed. May take a while for them to penetrate the market place.

The question remains,“Are tatoos and such an indication of a narcisstic personality?” Assuming of course that narcissism is a personality defect.:confused:
 
I have a cross tattoo as well that I got when I was quite young. I hardly think that it is a sin. Just think of it this way, we literally have our own cross to bear 😃
 
No.

But, its very good that you do think about the consequences of your actions and ask the question.
 
Hellisreal said:
No.

But, its very good that you do think about the consequences of your actions and ask the question.
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See Drew, if someone with the username “Hellisreal” says you aren’t going to hell for that, then you can be sure you won’t!😃 (this is a joke, no, I do not really believe that Hellisreal decides who goes to hell and who doesn’t)
 
blacktiger057 said:
See Drew, if someone with the username “Hellisreal” says you aren’t going to hell for that, then you can be sure you won’t!😃 (this is a joke, no, I do not really believe that Hellisreal decides who goes to hell and who doesn’t)
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🙂

Of course, I can not decide if the Op will be going to Hell or not! Or anyone!

I do like the fact, that people still at least think about Hell. Its not being talked about in Homilies.

Peter Kreeft has very interesting things to say about Hell, and I reccomend reading what he has to say.

🙂
 
DrewC said:
I got a tattoo today of a cross on my arm. I am feeling guilty about it and feel that it displeases the Lord and that I have defaced my body which is a temple of The Holy Spirit. Do you feel that I have done wrong and am going to go to hell for this? Sorry guys and gals im just nervous about this.
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Damn you! Just kidding. Since it’s religious, no. There are Saints so in love with Jesus that they wrote His name on their bodies, using a red-hot iron! But it does depend on your motives for the tattoo also…just don’t overdo it. you have nothing to worry about.
 
DrewC said:
I got a tattoo today of a cross on my arm. I am feeling guilty about it and feel that it displeases the Lord and that I have defaced my body which is a temple of The Holy Spirit. Do you feel that I have done wrong and am going to go to hell for this? Sorry guys and gals im just nervous about this.
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Well before you get another one you might want to look at this article. patient-info.com/tattoo.htm :eek: ooch!

Personally I think getting getting a tattoo is stupid and ugly, mainly because my grandfather and uncle in their youth had gotten silly tattoos of naked women on thier forearms and as old men it just didn’t look cool anymore. A preacher told my uncle he couldn’t go to heaven, but I think that preacher was and is wrong. My Grandfather became somewhat saintly in his old age, but took to wearing long sleeve shirts, even in the summer, to cover the tats up. At least you got a cross and not naked women or naked men.:rolleyes:

read the article posted by mommyof4 about Jimmy Akins’ view on Tats- jimmyakin.org/2004/03/tattoos.html

Next time you do anything that may affect you the rest of your life I would suggest to pray about it first and maybe ask a priest if it is a wise thing to do.

IMHO - Your chance of going to heaven is still the same as the rest of us, by the Grace of God.

“We are learning to do a great many clever things. . . The next great task will be to learn not to do them.” G.K. Chesterton

***I appoligize if I offend anyone with my views on tattoos - if you got one you have to live with it not me:cool: ***
 
Hellisreal said:
🙂

Of course, I can not decide if the Op will be going to Hell or not! Or anyone!

I do like the fact, that people still at least think about Hell. Its not being talked about in Homilies.

Peter Kreeft has very interesting things to say about Hell, and I reccomend reading what he has to say.

🙂
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Yes, that is very intersting…I haven’t heard a priest talk about hell in…I don’t think I can even remember when!🙂
 
blacktiger057 said:
So, seeing this paradox, I feel that God is love and not judgemental at all. So, we could come to a few conclusions. 1. Hell is not real.
  1. We only go to hell if we choose to, but can back out at anytime and ask for forgiveness from God, and God, being God would accept us into heaven.
Going on Conclusion 2., this would contradict another point in the Bible. 2. means that we ultimately judge ourselves, not God.

Just some food for thought.
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I think your theology is a bit off. Hell very much exists, it is a consequence of our mortal sin. the Catechism tells us that if one dies in mortal sin with no desire for repenting, than that person is due to suffer enternal seperation from God. And Hell is just that, eternal seperation from God.

And as far as scripture is concerned, Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew makes several fererences to “Gehenna”, the place of the unquenchable fire. And evil people and spirits being damned to hell.

While God has a greater love than we can understand, he gives us the free choice to either love him or reject him. So when we die and are judged by God (the time for repentence is during life) we will either be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven, or banished to the pains and sorrows of Hell.
 
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