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RodneyJ
Guest
What exactly is my position? I have no tattoos but I am not going to condemn those who do or are going to have them.
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latinmasslover
Guest
And you get this from where?
Look at St. Jane, she took a red-hot iron and wrote JESUS over her heart. Can you show where this act of hers was condemned?
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latinmasslover
Guest
I think the more appropriate question is, which Saints did not? Still, you oppose women (and men) piercing their ears, yes? St. Jane and St. Rita are the ones off the top of my head. Check out Lives of the Saints, you’ll come across many who scourged themselves.
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latinmasslover
Guest
No one asked for the opinion of a religion which rejects the Son of God. A Catholic source, please.
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Jon_S
Guest
I have a large tattoo on the back of my leg. It’s not a very “Christian” piece of art, and to have it removed would cost me thousands of dollars…like I said, it is a LARGE tattoo.
I won’t be having it removed for two reasons:
Just curios.
I won’t be having it removed for two reasons:
- The money it would cost me to have it removed would be better spent donating to a charitable organization or contributing to the collection at church.
- I have only recently come back to the Catholic Church. My tattoo predates this, and serves as a reminder of where I’ve been and why I don’t ever want to go back there.
Just curios.
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surfinpure
Guest
See what the CAF apologist has to say here: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=39833
Generally speaking, it’s not immoral to get a tattoo. We’ve had some interesting debates on the subject here, but it is pretty well understood (except by a few) that the Levitical law is a thing of the past, no longer binding.
Here is a thread I took part in several years ago: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=56540
That ought to settle the matter.
Generally speaking, it’s not immoral to get a tattoo. We’ve had some interesting debates on the subject here, but it is pretty well understood (except by a few) that the Levitical law is a thing of the past, no longer binding.
Here is a thread I took part in several years ago: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=56540
That ought to settle the matter.
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latinmasslover
Guest
Not knowig what the tattoo is, I can’t say 100% for sure what I’d think. Personally, I would think less of you if you’re behavior matched the tattoo, as you’ve said the tattoo itself is rather…not good. Seeing you at a church function in shorts, I’d probably just ask you about it.
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Jon_S
Guest
Fair enough.
The tattoo does not depict anything immoral. If it were, I would probably never wear shorts…
static.motor.de/bilder/d125aa0ef4ed62720771ea13a84d0598.jpg
Like I said, it would cost thousands to have it removed and that money could be better spent. I can live with it. I pretty much have to. That’s the biggest problem with tattoos.
God bless.
-Jon
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Pete99
Guest
I’ve been Catholic for 9 years and I have worked for the Church full time as a youth minister for 5 of those years. I have been asked this question MANY times by kids in group, probably because both of my arms are covered in tattoos (although only one of my tattoos came after becoming Catholic).
As someone who spent 3 years reading their way into the Catholic Church out of the cult of mormonism I guess it was inevitable that I would develop an interest in apologetics and that interest would greatly infuence the way I do youth ministry.
Anyway, the first time I was asked this question I spent quite a bit of time researching and I came up with the same answer that has been posted on this forum several times already. “Is tattooing a sin?” The Answer: It Depends.
In Catholic Moral teaching, for something to be morally wrong, either the act, the intentions behind the act or the circumstances surrounding the act must be evil. What is the act we are talking about here? It is “coloring the skin”. Coloring of the skin is not a sin. It is also not mutilation. The epidermis can still perform its natural functions as an organ of the body.
However, this does not make every tattoo ok. Other questions must also be asked. What is the tattoo of? Why are you getting it? Are you getting it to draw attention to yourself and thus glorify yourself rather than God? Are you getting it in an unsafe situation? etc.
If I get a tattoo that glorifies something other than God (which is the case with one of my tattoos) then yes, it is/was a sin. I have since confessed that and moved on. However I also have a tattoo of an image of Christ and of a cross as well as some neutral tattoos, which are not sins. The motivation for getting them, my intentions at the time I got them and the circumstances surrounding them were correct in those situations and therefore I was not sinning. Sadly enough, I am still told from time to time that I am a sinner because I have tattoos. I usually respond that “Yes I’m a sinner but believe me, I have done worse things in my past than getting tattoos.”
The funny thing about these encounters is that the people who will fight to the death to try and prove that tattooing is a sin are usually the most ‘protestant’ catholics I know. They pick and choose Bible verses to support their beliefs and rarely value Church teaching (if they know it at all). Yet they judge me for having tattoos.
Bizarre.
As someone who spent 3 years reading their way into the Catholic Church out of the cult of mormonism I guess it was inevitable that I would develop an interest in apologetics and that interest would greatly infuence the way I do youth ministry.
Anyway, the first time I was asked this question I spent quite a bit of time researching and I came up with the same answer that has been posted on this forum several times already. “Is tattooing a sin?” The Answer: It Depends.
In Catholic Moral teaching, for something to be morally wrong, either the act, the intentions behind the act or the circumstances surrounding the act must be evil. What is the act we are talking about here? It is “coloring the skin”. Coloring of the skin is not a sin. It is also not mutilation. The epidermis can still perform its natural functions as an organ of the body.
However, this does not make every tattoo ok. Other questions must also be asked. What is the tattoo of? Why are you getting it? Are you getting it to draw attention to yourself and thus glorify yourself rather than God? Are you getting it in an unsafe situation? etc.
If I get a tattoo that glorifies something other than God (which is the case with one of my tattoos) then yes, it is/was a sin. I have since confessed that and moved on. However I also have a tattoo of an image of Christ and of a cross as well as some neutral tattoos, which are not sins. The motivation for getting them, my intentions at the time I got them and the circumstances surrounding them were correct in those situations and therefore I was not sinning. Sadly enough, I am still told from time to time that I am a sinner because I have tattoos. I usually respond that “Yes I’m a sinner but believe me, I have done worse things in my past than getting tattoos.”
The funny thing about these encounters is that the people who will fight to the death to try and prove that tattooing is a sin are usually the most ‘protestant’ catholics I know. They pick and choose Bible verses to support their beliefs and rarely value Church teaching (if they know it at all). Yet they judge me for having tattoos.
Bizarre.
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surfinpure
Guest
An excellent post, Pete! 
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masterjedi747
Guest
Uh… question:
How do you distinguish between “neutral” and “glorifying something other than God”?
And what do you mean by “glorify”? Could there be a distinction between glorifying something other than God and glorifying something more than God? (Examples might help be helpful?)
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surfinpure
Guest
Let’s pretend we’re talking about T-shirts with images on them. A neutral shirt might have a palm tree, or a funky pattern, or a sunset, or any number of things. But then there are shirts with profanity, indecent images, occultic symbols, hate messages, etc. A T-shirt like that would most certainly not be glorifying to God.
Uh… question:
How do you distinguish between “neutral” and “glorifying something other than God”?
And what do you mean by “glorify”? Could there be a distinction between glorifying something other than God and glorifying something more than God? (Examples might help be helpful?)
From what I have read from respected Catholic sources regarding tattoos, it is a fairly safe rule that anything you should not wear on a T-shirt, you shouldn’t have inked onto your body.
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rwoehmke
Guest
Unless you are an observant Jew, I wouldn’t be worrying about this one.
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joseph_virgen
Guest
can anyone add to the beauty of the mona lisa?
can anyone add to the beauty of david?
no. and no one has dared.
the same is true of your body. it is perfect. God saw to it. sadly, some people ignore the truth and deface what is good.
can anyone add to the beauty of david?
no. and no one has dared.
the same is true of your body. it is perfect. God saw to it. sadly, some people ignore the truth and deface what is good.
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masterjedi747
Guest
Well, God could, if he wanted to… and yes, plenty of people have dared. The results might not have been pretty, but that doesn’t stop them from trying anyway.
(I’m joking with you, obviously.)If you were talking about genetic manipulation to give people extra limbs and eyes and fingers, then you might have a point. But… we’re not.
And you want to be careful claiming that “your body is perfect”, because that can get out of hand very quickly. Obviously, some people are born with defects or diseases, and others acquire ailments and injuries. Our human body, in this life, is certainly not all perfect.
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Harmony1988
Guest
The Bible also forbids trimming beards. Apologists maybe fallible individually, but saying a whole heap of priests and apologists are making false claims is a far cry.
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Harmony1988
Guest
Then therefore, putting earrings are self mutilation. Other ways of harming yourself is also living in the city. (Pollution)
You might as well move out the city, while you are at it, avoid eating bbq foods. (Carcinogenic poisoning from burnt foods) Not only are you clueless, but you have started to pronounce it as a mortal sin, which you do not even have the authority to do.
Tattooing is not a mutilation. If you want to see mutilation, google it.
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Harmony1988
Guest
Proof? You can’t just put opinions here and expect us to agree with you. ‘sorry’ does not constitute towards an argument.
Educate yourself on how to put an opinion with a reasoning behind it, so as to make it cogent enough for us to agree/disagree with you.
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surfinpure
Guest
HoldenCaulfield,
I would like to know, do you shave? Do you wear clothing made of blended fibers? Do you eat PORK? Do you believe women should leave the city for a week out of the month, during their menstrual cycles?
Exactly how far to do you take the Levitical law in your life?
I would like to know, do you shave? Do you wear clothing made of blended fibers? Do you eat PORK? Do you believe women should leave the city for a week out of the month, during their menstrual cycles?
Exactly how far to do you take the Levitical law in your life?
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Harmony1988
Guest
Yes, we do expect an answer, you seem to imply just because there is some damage to the body, it’s mutilation and hence wrong. Therefore you should be able to condemn pretty much anything else happening in this world, such as master jedi has said.
Rather, this is your inability to come up with a response, because with your stubborness you have painted yourself into a corner.
Prove the Catholic position is very close. Last I checked we were under the new testament for rituals. Under Jesus’ teaching.
So do we agree with Holy Scripture, but we also know through apologists and priest what is considered obsolete due to past rituals and not.
CIRCUMSION is not REQUIRED anymore, but Leviticus states it must be done. That’s ONE example.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviticus
Please read as to what Leviticus is before further trying to confuse others and rambling on with no clue.
Proof please. And no, stating ‘Leviticus is this and that’ is not proof. that’s just another opinion. I want either documents, or appropriate websites dealing with matter, or perhaps some apologists reasoning as to why it’s not.
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