Tattoos?

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Here’s a thought experiment…

Imagine I spray painted the outside walls of my parish church with the image of Jesus and Mary in honor of my reverence to them… would I be giving them honor?

Nope… I would be committing vandalism…and ultimately a desecration of the temple of God.

Same with a Tattoo… if the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…why would I vandalize it and say it’s because I want to honor my God by getting a tattoo of the sacred heart of Jesus?

That is just my humble opinion.
 
If I really want to show people how much I love Jesus… it will be how I live my life for the Lord and not by a tattoo.

And mind you… if you want to be reminded of God… carrying a rosary is best than getting a tattoo for a reminder.

Just my two cents.
 
nilofc said:
Imagine I spray painted the outside walls of my parish church with the image of Jesus and Mary in honor of my reverence to them… would I be giving them honor?

Nope… I would be committing vandalism…and ultimately a desecration of the temple of God.
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Actually I’ve seen murals on some Churches in my hometown. Painting images on a church wall (even in the interior) is fine and is not considered vandalism so long as you’ve been granted permission.

With that said, your comparison is sadly moot as tattoos are in fact consensual markings.
 
nilofc said:
Here’s a thought experiment…

Imagine I spray painted the outside walls of my parish church with the image of Jesus and Mary in honor of my reverence to them… would I be giving them honor?

Nope… I would be committing vandalism…and ultimately a desecration of the temple of God.

Same with a Tattoo… if the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…why would I vandalize it and say it’s because I want to honor my God by getting a tattoo of the sacred heart of Jesus?

That is just my humble opinion.
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Many churches do murals. I have heard no one who has trouble with that. Also some forms of mortification leave physical marks on the body. We all modify our bodies in different ways, we cut our hair, dye it, pierce our ears, get tattoos, ect. You can say that piercing ears is desecration of the temple of God, but we don’t… why? It is a purely cultural thing. Culture has a place in defining morals. Some tribes women go topless and it is not considered vulgar or inappropriate. I wouldn’t even call it immodest. Why? It is their culture and there aren’t the same sexual connections with the showing of breasts. It would be wrong in my culture to show my breasts publicly, but if I was born and raised in another culture where that was appropriate it would not be wrong. Culture helps define some morals.
 
JoArtist said:
Many churches do murals. I have heard no one who has trouble with that. Also some forms of mortification leave physical marks on the body. We all modify our bodies in different ways, we cut our hair, dye it, pierce our ears, get tattoos, ect. You can say that piercing ears is desecration of the temple of God, but we don’t… why? It is a purely cultural thing. Culture has a place in defining morals. Some tribes women go topless and it is not considered vulgar or inappropriate. I wouldn’t even call it immodest. Why? It is their culture and there aren’t the same sexual connections with the showing of breasts. It would be wrong in my culture to show my breasts publicly, but if I was born and raised in another culture where that was appropriate it would not be wrong. Culture helps define some morals.
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Dear JoArtist,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. Hope all is well.

Culture is decidedly not a satisfactory index for deciding upon morals because any society can be in a state of moral and cultural deterioration, as is the case in the Western world at the present time.

That some custom or practice is countenanced in a particular culture (e.g. tribes women revealing their breasts) does not necessarily make it right or acceptable. You must remember that many cultures have not been sufficiently illuminated by Divine Revelation and are hence in a state of ignorance and, possibly, steeped in gross superstition. Once these indigenous people’s have been enlightened by the Gospel, they will relinquish their former heathen customs and dress in modest (not necessarily Western) attire.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax
 
Society does have some sway on what is moral or not. For instance in the Victorian era it was risque to show ones ankle or to wear things that weren’t long sleeved and full lengthed, with turtlenecks, ect. Now this is not the case because culture has changed, so the morals connected with modesty somehow would as well.
How did I know you wouldn’t be able to resist contradicting my post in this? lol. We seem to have very different views and I really don’t think we will ever agree. But I am fine and dandy with the state I am in as far as modesty goes. I have tattoos and will get more, I have piercings and will get more, and I have no doubt in my mind that what I am doing is just fine. It certainly has not hindered my walk with God, has not hurt my marriage, and has not hurt me socially. (well not in the real world socially, just with Traditionalists online…lol)
Portrait said:
Dear JoArtist,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. Hope all is well.

Culture is decidedly not a satisfactory index for deciding upon morals because any society can be in a state of moral and cultural deterioration, as is the case in the Western world at the present time.

That some custom or practice is countenanced in a particular culture (e.g. tribes women revealing their breasts) does not necessarily make it right or acceptable. You must remember that many cultures have not been sufficiently illuminated by Divine Revelation and are hence in a state of ignorance and, possibly, steeped in gross superstition. Once these indigenous people’s have been enlightened by the Gospel, they will relinquish their former heathen customs and dress in modest (not necessarily Western) attire.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax
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JoArtist said:
Society does have some sway on what is moral or not. For instance in the Victorian era it was risque to show ones ankle or to wear things that weren’t long sleeved and full lengthed, with turtlenecks, ect. Now this is not the case because culture has changed, so the morals connected with modesty somehow would as well.
How did I know you wouldn’t be able to resist contradicting my post in this? lol. We seem to have very different views and I really don’t think we will ever agree. But I am fine and dandy with the state I am in as far as modesty goes. I have tattoos and will get more, I have piercings and will get more, and I have no doubt in my mind that what I am doing is just fine. It certainly has not hindered my walk with God, has not hurt my marriage, and has not hurt me socially. (well not in the real world socially, just with Traditionalists online…lol)
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Dear JoArtist,

Hello again and thankyou for your response.

Modesty and Morals certainly do change down through the ages, invariably for the worst as each generation attempts to push the envelope that little bit further and that is my whole point. It is, therefore, imprudent to take as our yardstick what secular society deems to be acceptable and permissible, since Satan and his forces have deeply invaded man’s social and cultural structures. The prevailing culture is a most unreliable guide for the Catholic who is seeking not to be conformed to this godless world (cf. Rom. 12: 2).

That said, this online traditionalist still wishes you very splendid weekend, whatever you plan to do.

God bless you, dear sister.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait:tiphat:

Pax
 
And again I think you are wrong to an extent… as long as there aren’t negative cultural connotations with it there is no problem… what makes things immodest is connotations associated with them.
Portrait said:
Dear JoArtist,

Hello again and thankyou for your response.

Modesty and Morals certainly do change down through the ages, invariably for the worst as each generation attempts to push the envelope that little bit further and that is my whole point. It is, therefore, imprudent to take as our yardstick what secular society deems to be acceptable and permissible, since Satan and his forces have deeply invaded man’s social and cultural structures. The prevailing culture is a most unreliable guide for the Catholic who is seeking not to be conformed to this godless world (cf. Rom. 12: 2).

That said, this online traditionalist still wishes you very splendid weekend, whatever you plan to do.

God bless you, dear sister.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait:tiphat:

Pax
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I have spoken to both apologists and Priests and both said the leviticus scripture pertains to worship of other gods thats why they did it. But as long as they are not evil or slanderous in content they are not a problem. Just makesure all is disinfected before hand then it is a problem!👍
 
andrew67 said:
I have spoken to both apologists and Priests and both said the leviticus scripture pertains to worship of other gods thats why they did it. But as long as they are not evil or slanderous in content they are not a problem. Just makesure all is disinfected before hand then it is a problem!👍
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Yes, they also had piercings where do you think all that jewelry came from when they built the golden calf. Remember though after four hundred yrs in captivity in Egypt they essentially became Egyptian and God allowed them to spend forty yrs. in the desert to wipe out that generation raised in Egypt, and their pagan ways. They were commanded not to eat pork to turn them away from Seti, a powerful egyptian god of chaos, whose totem was a pointed eared snout face with a squiggly tail, also it was one of the foods that the egyptians ate after sacrificing it to the gods… it what was in the fleshpots they ever so longed to go back to. God commanded them to sacrifice all that Egypt held sacred… and by doing this they could not return to Egypt, because they had the blood of Egyptian gods on their hands.

Having had tatoos, do not forget about the ink that mixes with your blood, it may make you nauseous. Your introducing fluids the body was not designed to eliminate.

But ya gotta have it that’s human nature… not of God.

They’re good conversation pieces if you get one that has some meaning to it? But panthers with beer mugs? like I see so many people with, what a waste!!!

God bless,
John
 
andrew67 said:
I have spoken to both apologists and Priests and both said the leviticus scripture pertains to worship of other gods thats why they did it. But as long as they are not evil or slanderous in content they are not a problem. Just makesure all is disinfected before hand then it is a problem!👍
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Yep… I posted a picture of mine in another thread here but if you are going to brand yourself, make it something meaningful.

Personally, I have the St. Benedict cross on my right forearm. It does make a great conversation piece and an opportunity to discuss the Catholic faith with others when they express interest.
 
I don’t think the Church has a stand on tattoos in general. It would depend on what you are getting a tattoo of and probably the location of the tattoo. Personally, I would never get a tattoo or piercings.
 
I have recently read that they have “air brushed” tattoos now, which will wash/wear off in about 3-4 weeks.

If anyone is ever serious about a tattoo the technology is now available to “test drive” and make a better informed decision.
 
As far as I am aware, there is no Catholic teaching regarding tattoos being immoral except in certain situations (profanities etc.)

I found an interesting article on this here.
 
Should we use our bodys as an artist’s canvas? Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. We receive the body and blood of Christ in communion. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. We were made for god.
We were made in his image. What is the real reason people get tattoos? If it’s to express one’s self or to pay tribute, why on the skin? Iv’e seen religious tattoos, but I wonder if it’s really out of devotion or just to show a work of art.
 
Lost_Wanderer said:
Actually I’ve seen murals on some Churches in my hometown. Painting images on a church wall (even in the interior) is fine and is not considered vandalism so long as you’ve been granted permission.

With that said, your comparison is sadly moot as tattoos are in fact consensual markings.
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So when and where did you get permission from the Holy Spirit to desecrate his temple?
 
Cyclophile said:
It says many other things as well but that’s old covenant. If you’re wearing a polycotton blend shirt, you’re in trouble. 😉
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So if its the old covenant we should disregard it? Isn’t it that Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it.

Did Jesus ever get a tattoo?

imagine…equating murals with vandalism. 😃
 
Phoenix_7 said:
I know someone who is considering getting a tattoo of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary as a constant reminder of the faith to which he has pleged himself. However, his dad is of the opinion that getting a tattoo, regardless of what it is or the reason for getting it, is an offense against God because it is disrespecting the temple of the Holy Spirit. Does anyone know an appropriate response? Certainly he wants to both respect the wishes of his father, but also wants the tattoo. As far as I know, the Catechism doesn’t say anything about tattoos being morally wrong…what do you think?
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I have a tattoo of a cross on my back, and the words “Semper Fidelis”. I think that it depends more on the content of the image or words, which make it respectful or disrespectful.

I got the tattoo when I was in the military. I am not sure I would have, otherwise. At one time, some branches encouraged tattoos to assist in body identification. Today, DNA is used to identify bodies whose identity is unknown. The Navy, for example, will pay to have tattoos removed now.
 
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