Catholis tattoos!

[melbourne_guy]

Hey, i really want to get some catholic tattoos. The sacred heart of jesus on my upper back, jesus on the cross on my upper right arm, and mary on the left side of my 6 pac(abs). I see plenty of catholics with tats of jesus but i would like to know what the church officially teachs on the matter.

 

[melbourne_guy]

i posted this in the water cooler forum but i think this forum would be better for the question. i really want to get some catholic tattoos. The sacred heart of jesus on my upper back, jesus on the cross on my upper right arm, and mary on the left side of my 6 pac(abs). I see plenty of catholics with tats of jesus but i would like to know what the church officially teachs on the matter.

 

[april_hosen]

nOooooooooooooooooooo!
Stop Yourself before its too late! THink of the consequences. How cool do u think a tatoo will look when you 80? Especially on your abs when you have a pot belly! Thiiiink about it, alot of alot first!

 

[SemperJase]

melbourne_guy:

Hey, i really want to get some catholic tattoos. The sacred heart of jesus on my upper back, jesus on the cross on my upper right arm, and mary on the left side of my 6 pac(abs). I see plenty of catholics with tats of jesus but i would like to know what the church officially teachs on the matter.

You really don’t need church teaching on this, just common sense.

Don’t do it. And I’m speaking as someone who has 3 tattoos.

 

[StCsDavid]

I don’t know that there is a specific doctrine on tatoos…as long as you’re doing it in reverence to Our Lord, I wouldn’t see anything wrong with it. Just understand that as you get old, your tatoo will shrink and distort with the natural contours of your body. I know a priest from India who has a small tatoo on the back of his hand between his thumb and index finger of the Sacred Heart.

 

[deb1]

First let me say that I don’t personally view tatoos as sinful.It does say in the bible that we aren’t supposed to get marks for the dead. I have no idea what this means but I have heard it used against those that have tatoos. I, myself, think that it is an individual choice. YOu have to be aware though that society still judges a person with many tatoos as being some sort of criminal. That isn’t fair but you have to take such viewpoints into consideration. Especially if you are not going to be wholly self employed.

 

[Gerrygarvin]

speaking as someone who has about 20 hours worth of tattoos, i’d say get lots of them if you like them. I have a bunch of “Catholic” tattoos among others. and don’t pay any attention to that nonsense “it will look bad when you’re old” arguement. You look bad when you’re old no matter what. You just have more character if it’s old wrinkled, faded, tattoos instead of old wrinkled, liverspotted skin. There is no official teaching on tattoos. If you like it do it. just make sure you save up enough to get something that’s good. Big tatoos almost always look better than small ones. If you want a Jesus or a cross, your probably better off getting it as part of a half sleeve or backpiece. Small tattoos sort of run together and look sort of trashy and fratboyish.

 

[jax8686]

Tattoos, like peircings and well, even hair cuts, are for beauty effects, and are completely up to you. as long as you are not deforming your body to any extreme, there is nothign wrong with it. as far as i konw, the Catholic teaching on the matter is ‘if you want to, go for it’… its kinda like smoking and drinking… not morally wrong, as long as its within boundries… and like our friend before has said, just be cautious about future effects of aging, so that you do not insult our Lord. then again, Jesus likes a bold statement, so if your gonna do it, make sure you do it right

 

[Ghosty]

I have an Armenian Catholic tattoo on my back. You can see it by checking my profile

 

[melbourne_guy]

deb1:

First let me say that I don’t personally view tatoos as sinful.It does say in the bible that we aren’t supposed to get marks for the dead. I have no idea what this means but I have heard it used against those that have tatoos. I, myself, think that it is an individual choice. YOu have to be aware though that society still judges a person with many tatoos as being some sort of criminal. That isn’t fair but you have to take such viewpoints into consideration. Especially if you are not going to be wholly self employed.

yeh i understand that society might judge me as a criminal, and it would be very hard to get a job with alot of tats. My tatoos will only be able to be seen if im at a beach or pool though.

 

[melbourne_guy]

jax8686:

Tattoos, like peircings and well, even hair cuts, are for beauty effects, and are completely up to you. as long as you are not deforming your body to any extreme, there is nothign wrong with it. as far as i konw, the Catholic teaching on the matter is ‘if you want to, go for it’… its kinda like smoking and drinking… not morally wrong, as long as its within boundries… and like our friend before has said, just be cautious about future effects of aging, so that you do not insult our Lord. then again, Jesus likes a bold statement, so if your gonna do it, make sure you do it right

Hey jax, i smoke and drink but i think its a sin, are you shore its allowed if in boundaries? maybe i should start a new thread on this. I start too many threads, im addicted to threads.

 

[melbourne_guy]

SemperJase:

You really don’t need church teaching on this, just common sense.

Don’t do it. And I’m speaking as someone who has 3 tattoos.

well arent you a hypocrit

 

[melbourne_guy]

Gerrygarvin:

speaking as someone who has about 20 hours worth of tattoos, i’d say get lots of them if you like them. I have a bunch of “Catholic” tattoos among others. and don’t pay any attention to that nonsense “it will look bad when you’re old” arguement. You look bad when you’re old no matter what. You just have more character if it’s old wrinkled, faded, tattoos instead of old wrinkled, liverspotted skin. There is no official teaching on tattoos. If you like it do it. just make sure you save up enough to get something that’s good. Big tatoos almost always look better than small ones. If you want a Jesus or a cross, your probably better off getting it as part of a half sleeve or backpiece. Small tattoos sort of run together and look sort of trashy and fratboyish.

true, thanks.

 

[Compos_mentis]

I haven’t seen a Church teaching on tattoos myself yet, but I’m afraid it’s because of the lack of research I’ve done on my part. Personally, I think it could really have to do with taste in getting a tattoo (design, placement, etc). I can understand the getting a cross on the back thing, but I don’t know about Mother Mary being on/near your six-pack Maybe you should put her near your heart, if getting a tattoo in that area isn’t going to end up causing complications later. I don’t know any sufficient amount about the health issues of tattoos.

I would say though to think more about the purpose of your tattoo. As for the Mary near the heart thing, I would think of that as a reminder of asking Mary to help keep your heart pure perhaps.

 

[Michael_Francis]

Merged and moved to Moral Theology since this has nothing to do with defense of the faith.

 

[quasimodo]

Jesus wants to be in your heart not on your back

 

[Ghosty]

quasimodo:

Jesus wants to be in your heart not on your back

The cross goes to one’s backside, and he told all of us to “take up our cross”

 

[TarAshly]

I want a tattoo as well, just didnt know if was against the church. I want one of Texas with the Lone Star Flag filling the inside of it and one little blue bonnet over the hill country. no its not necesarrily religious but this is God’s country out here. are tattoos wrong? what do men think of women with tattoos? my husband doesnt seem to mind, but I wonder what others would think. I wouldnt want to embarass my family.

 

[deb1]

TarAshly:

I want a tattoo as well, just didnt know if was against the church. I want one of Texas with the Lone Star Flag filling the inside of it and one little blue bonnet over the hill country. no its not necesarrily religious but this is God’s country out here. are tattoos wrong? what do men think of women with tattoos? my husband doesnt seem to mind, but I wonder what others would think. I wouldnt want to embarass my family.

I think that it depends on the man and the nature and position of the tattoo. Personally, I don’t see it as masculine although women with large tattoos on their arms, to me, do have a biker chic vibe, even if they are well educated.

 

[Gerrygarvin]

TarAshly:

I want a tattoo as well, just didnt know if was against the church. I want one of Texas with the Lone Star Flag filling the inside of it and one little blue bonnet over the hill country. no its not necesarrily religious but this is God’s country out here. are tattoos wrong? what do men think of women with tattoos? my husband doesnt seem to mind, but I wonder what others would think. I wouldnt want to embarass my family.

I like it when girls have lot’s of tattoos. like full sleeves.