Why would you mar the temple, of God with a tatoo? Are we not told. 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,
To me this means after becoming a Christian we are not to mar, our bodies as they are the temple of God.
I addressed how this scripture was taken out of context earlier. Please read the surrounding passages and you will find it is referring to sexual immorality.
Back to Allinall (by the way, I was not arguing with Allinall, forgive me if it seemed that way. I was simply pointing out the other side to be considered) :
Believe it or not, my friend, you've just proven my point! Part of the world would relate very well to a believer having a cross tattoo. Another part, would not. Part of the body of believers each of us would belong to would react positively to such a tattoo. Other parts, would not, and in fact, may view that as complete and utter sin. Would it be? Scripturally, I don't see that it would be. It would be "Lawful." But, if those who don't see it that way are harmed by it...why would I want to have one? I have such members in my local assembly. I have others that would think it was great! But...(my paraphrase) "if eating meat causes my brother to offend, I will eat no meat." I think the key here is the association of which we are speaking. The negative connotation goes without saying where conservative brethren are concerned.
There are times when we must protect our bretheren, such as in 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, and there are are times when we must teach our brethren, such as Matthew 12: 1-14, and 15:1-20. It is in the second passage that we also find a cross reference to Isaiah 29:13:
These people honor me with my lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men
Now, bronzesnake spoke of his tattoo, yet so many people have replied with encouragemnet, saying that it is his spirit that is important, not his appearance nor his past.... If you ask me,
John is a living testament to this truth! I guess what I am trying to say is it is up to God. If God says, "Get a tattoo, because I can use it for my glory," then get a tattoo. However, if God says, "Do not get a tattoo; it will not be for my glory," then do not get a tattoo. It is that simple.
"So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the Glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
I ask again, Can a tattoo be for the glory of God? Let us say Mister Rogers suddenly got his arms exposed and it caused his entire parish to stumble. However, because of Mister Roger's spirit, he is able to pick them back up, which also causes his parish to grow so they will not stumble the next time they see a tattoo.
If we see a christian getting a tattoo and it causes us to stumble, it is us who is at fault, because we have forsaken God's truth for our own misdirection. As Paul said,
"...the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denouncedbecause of something I thank God for?"
Think about it, did Jesus rebuke the disciples when they were caught eating with unwashed hands, or did he rebuke the pharisees who brought it up? What would Jesus say to me if I pointed at a man with a tattoo and said "That man is wrong because he will cause others to stumble?"
It is up to me to ensure I do not stumble, and to do that I must immerse myself in truth. Yes, Paul will refuse food for my sake, and we all should do likewise. However, when we find ourselves on the other side, saying things like "No Christian should ever get a tattoo," then it is ourselves we are putting in danger.
