Confused!

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chsngtailodogma

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I know that it is okay to have tattoos if your Catholic, and there are some guidelines, basically. We’re not getting into all that. My question is, can a Catholic person be a tattoo artist? It would seem to me that if it’s not necessarily wrong to receive a tattoo, is it wrong to give one, considering the fact that not all people who want a tattoo is looking for a tattoo that a Christian would wear. Examples: pagan symbols, gang signs, hateful messages, cartoon characters, zombies, stupid things that don’t make sense(like flaming toasters with wings), and so on… would it be a sin to tattoo any image onto a person, if you can’t just get any image on yourself? and if not, how would a tattoo artist earn a living? especially if that’s the only thing they have experience doing, and/or owned the business?

thanks in advance!
 
chsngtailodogma said:
I know that it is okay to have tattoos if your Catholic, and there are some guidelines, basically. We’re not getting into all that. My question is, can a Catholic person be a tattoo artist? It would seem to me that if it’s not necessarily wrong to receive a tattoo, is it wrong to give one, considering the fact that not all people who want a tattoo is looking for a tattoo that a Christian would wear. Examples: pagan symbols, gang signs, hateful messages, cartoon characters, zombies, stupid things that don’t make sense(like flaming toasters with wings), and so on… would it be a sin to tattoo any image onto a person, if you can’t just get any image on yourself? and if not, how would a tattoo artist earn a living? especially if that’s the only thing they have experience doing, and/or owned the business?

thanks in advance!
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What about starting a Christian tattoo shop? I’d go in a heartbeat! I often feel uncomfortable in tattoo shops (mostly because of the incredibly pornographic art displayed), even though I love tattoos.
Anyway, I imagine you could always decline to tattoo something you find objectionable.
 
An artist - an business person - has that age old “right to refuse service”. If you are a tattoo artist, perhaps put together a list of your “shop rules”, post them and stick to them.

I’d imagine a Christian tattoo artist would want to refuse both certain images and parts of the body - maybe a “we will not tattoo areas of the body covered by a bathing suit”.
 
lol it would be an act of God if someone could do all that and manage to stay in business. maybe if it were an appointment only type of business, but it would be hard to keep the lights on under those terms.

would you consider it to be sinful to tattoo questionable images on a person?

i’m asking because i was offered a tattoo apprenticeship (no small feat) and it’s been my dream for a decade. before i was catholic, it was a non-issue. now i can’t believe i never stopped and thought about these things.
 
I have a tiger on my ankle, so I certainly hope it’s not a sin!

Personally, I love the idea of a Christian tattoo shop. As the last poster said, it’s almost impossible to make money that way, but it’s a great thought. One thing I would really like to do is get a cross tattoed on the small of my back. After that, I would never get another tattoo. But I would love to wear a symbol of God that cannot be tucked out of sight into a shirt or not worn, even though the area it will be on is covered under 99% of circumstances.
 
you could always say you are terrible at drawing humans 😃

I would love a celtic cross with perhaps a string of shamrocks draped on it somehow.
 
chsngtailodogma said:
lol it would be an act of God if someone could do all that and manage to stay in business. maybe if it were an appointment only type of business, but it would be hard to keep the lights on under those terms.

would you consider it to be sinful to tattoo questionable images on a person?

i’m asking because i was offered a tattoo apprenticeship (no small feat) and it’s been my dream for a decade. before i was catholic, it was a non-issue. now i can’t believe i never stopped and thought about these things.
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Do you have examples where a business has failed under these circumstances? If not, why not run a business plan?

We are called to be light to the world, if you cannot stick to your morality and beliefs in doing tattoo work, then, change your line of work.

However, if you can stand up for what you believe - to be moral in a field where there is little morality - that is the corageous CHRISTIAN thing to do.
 
Kitty_Chan said:
you could always say you are terrible at drawing humans 😃

I would love a celtic cross with perhaps a string of shamrocks draped on it somehow.
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sounds nice! crosses, celtic knots, flowers/vines, and rosaries are so fun and easy to do.

kage, i like where your going with that.

i suppose if i moved to a big city there may be enough demand for me to be able to specialize in Christian designs. but the issue is, how to bypass the things that would cause me moral dilemma while i’m apprenticing. i don’t know if that’ll cause friction between me and the person who will be training me. oh well if it does, huh? it sure beats permanently putting images of, say, demons ripping out of their skin, which is more common than one would think. i think that the trend of getting those types of tattoos is somewhat dying down though, due to tattoos becoming more mainstream. here’s hoping.
 
lol forgot my pw for quite a while… i suppose i should either let my 'puter “remember”, or start using the same one for everything 😉

a crown of shamrocks, like on the cross or by itself? not sure if i could determine what’s right or wrong w/out knowing what it would be symbolizing… :hmmm:
 
chsngtailodogma said:
a crown of shamrocks, like on the cross or by itself? not sure if i could determine what’s right or wrong w/out knowing what it would be symbolizing… :hmmm:
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Generally, the shamrock symbolizes the Holy Trinity, because Saint Patrick used it as a teaching aid to explain the Holy Trinity to his converts in Ireland. Since then, it has remained a traditional Irish symbol for the Holy Trinity.

A crown or wreath of shamrocks would be a perfectly appropriate symbol. It combines two Christian symbols: the crown and the shamrock.
 
Thanks chsngtailodogma

Sonic oh Thanks thats exactly what I was hoping!

Do either of you know any history on Celtic Crosses, are they from particular areas? or have different meanings.

Im trying to look up geneology on my grandmother, I believe she was born or grew up in Waterford. I hope to get her info off my cousin if I can find grandmas birth certificate I hope to apply for dual citizenship, she couldnt go back so at least I can sortof.

🙂
 
that’s kinda cool… i always wanted to check out ireland/scotland. part of me is scot/irish so i’ve always wondered about the area. coincidentally, that’s where the part of my family that was catholic came from.

celtic knotwork came mostly from beliefs that the celts learned from the druids, i think… “according to celtic beliefs, there are seven created life forms- plant, insect, fish, reptile, bird, mammal and man.” (this is taken from a celtic knotwork book i have) “these are all represented in celtic art, but in a stylized and highly imaginative form, as to copy the art of the creator was forbidden.”

i don’t know how accurate this info is, but it would better answer your question…

of-ireland.info/symbol.html

rankmytattoos.com/tattoos/celtic-tattoos/celtic-cross-tattoo-designs/
 
Hey thanks I will post if I find something interesting. I wonder if individual familes had the crosses like a coat of arms? probably not I guess. I will let you know if I see, unless you know.

Im not sure if my Grandma was protestant or catholic? Great Grandma on Dads side was Greek Orthodox I believe, I think its her rosary I have, (thats another thread)

My cousins on my moms side are generally Baptists, so thats more confusiing unless Grandma was protestant.

At any rate thats why Im out “wandering the street”, because of the “troubles” mom and dad wouldnt put the family in any particular church. They were married in a Unitarian to have a bit of both, dont know how that works but its what they did. 🤷

But when I get my info on Grandma I hope to find out more. 🙂

Thanks for the info on the knots, are you going to try looking into your past too??
 
chsngtailodogma said:
i don’t know how accurate this info is, but it would better answer your question…

of-ireland.info/symbol.html

rankmytattoos.com/tattoos/celtic-tattoos/celtic-cross-tattoo-designs/
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The information isn’t very accurate, but that’s not your fault… and probably not the fault of the people who made those articles. There’s actually more to the story.

The Celtic cross consists of two images: the circle and the Christian cross. The circle represents the sun, and was originally the symbol that represented the nation of Ireland. Many people don’t know that Ireland’s first flag consisted of a golden sun upon a blue field. It later changed to a golden sun emerging from dark clouds during the reign of Brian Boru (representing Ireland emerging from the dark times of the Viking invasions).

The pre-Christian Irish placed much importance upon the sun in their belief system. So much so, that the ancient Romans were inclined to believe that the main god of the Irish was Apollo.

When Christianity and Saint Patrick arrived, the Cross was super imposed upon the sun symbol for two reasons. It symbolized Saint Patrick’s sermon to the Druids that “the sun they worship will some day cease to shine in the sky, but the light of Christ is a new sun which will never go out.” This was in reference to one of several prophecies recorded by the druids during the reign of King Connor MacNeesa at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. You see, the sun really did go out, (amongst other things) and it caused quite a stir amongst the population.

The Celtic cross also represents the dawning of a new era… the coming of Christianity… a new sun… or rather Son.

The stone crosses also replaced the old pagan stone monuments.
Back to flags for a second…

Ireland’s third national flag was the papal keys and tiara on a red background. For a time, Ireland was a Papal state.

Ireland’s fourth national flag was a gold harp on a blue field, which was created by Henry VIII, in an effort to replace the Vatican flag, during the reformation period.

Ireland’s fifth national flag was the banner of Phillip II of Spain together with the Crusader cross banner. Phillip had been offered the position of administrator and liaison of Ireland for the Vatican.

Ireland’s sixth national flag was the familiar golden harp on a green banner, which originated from the 1798 rebellion (due to a mix up in fabric die : gold and blue make green).

Ireland’s current tricolor flag originates from the 1916 rebellion and later war of independence.
 
wow, neat info!

i’ve been looking for a book or something that has good pictures from the book of kells. do you know of any?

yeah i’d like to learn more about my ancestry, just don’t know how, what it costs, etc.
 
yes Sonic great info and very interesting!

(and chsngtailodogma)

The book of Kells looks very interesting it is on display in Dublin I think, Trinity university. Trying to remember not look. 🙂 Ive been trying to read up more history etc, I figure if Im thinking of becoming a citizen, I should know the place a bit more. (Even if its not mandatory to have a citizenship test).

Ive been reading on the ancestry and if at least one grandparent was born in Ireland you can apply, it costs as near as I can figure around 450-500 us you will need the birth certificates etc, I have to get a hold of my aunts daughter and see if she inherited the certificates, it will be easier than searching for them, if you have to search there are places that can help.

Where are you from Sonic? if you dont mind me/us asking? Can you recommend any trust worthy sites for reading up on Ireland in general, I was also think of picking up some Irish literature, have to find out why they saved the world, I figure thats a unwritten requirement to know 😃

As for sites for ancestry, I had found this one seems good dont know

irishabroad.com/Home/Default.aspx
 
kage_ar said:
An artist - an business person - has that age old “right to refuse service”. If you are a tattoo artist, perhaps put together a list of your “shop rules”, post them and stick to them.

I’d imagine a Christian tattoo artist would want to refuse both certain images and parts of the body - maybe a “we will not tattoo areas of the body covered by a bathing suit”.
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Considering some bathing suits out there, that may not be restrictive enough! :eek:

I like the idea of a Christian tattoo shop though. You would need to do some market research, but if you made it a clean shop, with less of the typical tattoo shop seediness, I do think there may be a market. Include henna (sp?) options too, for the non-permanent crowd. 🙂
 
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