Note : This entries was written from my personal point of view on tattoos and MY understanding on MY faith. Plus on some research too. Do keep in mind that I do not claim to be an expert in this matter. And remember, to tattoo or not is YOUR choice.
Lilian had posted on an issue I hold close to my heart, it is something I love and dare say, my passion. To tattoo or not to tattoo, that was her post. But I, however have different opinions about this matter.
I’ve loved tattoos and body art for as long as I can remember. I thank my Daddy for being the first person to introduce me to body art ~ he had a few on him too. The sad thing is I can’t really remember what they were except the one of Jesus on his left upper arm. That was really cool!! I remember touching and gazing those art many, many times. Couldn’t wait to grow up and get my very own. And I finally did at the age of 26. [See my ink here.] And it took me another 2 years to decide on the next tattoo I wanted which I incidently got done yesterday. 
I know that there are many qualms about getting tattooed where religion is concerned. Lilian’s post pretty much put it straight forward that tattooing oneself defiles ‘the temple of the Living God’. I am a proud Catholic and I made sure I did my homework [and a lot of it too] before I got my tattoo done. I’m not one to jump into something permanent without doing some research and finding out the pros and cons about something and in this case, getting my tattoo done. I have to thank Bro. Ignatius for answering my question, ‘Are tattoos taboo in the Catholic faith?’ I got one answer :
Bottomline: unless the tattoo is vulgar, blasphemous, promotes/glorifies sin, the demonic or the occult, or encourages or promotes any other immoral or unChristian act or thought, it is not in-an-of-itself a sin. Read here for detailed answer. [Vanity and pride is also talked about here.]
But one answer was not good enough for me so I continued to search for more answers and that I got indeed. Many answers in fact :
In the New Testament Jesus does away with these laws. That doesn’t mean that bestiality is suddenly OK, but it does give a modern Christian much more personal freedom in terms of things like the way they trim their beard and the way they choose to decorate their bodies, because they are now judged by their faith, rather than adherence to a set of hard and specific rules. More in the article here.
On ‘defiling the temple of the Living God’ :
Jesus Himself said in Matthew 15:11 that it is what comes out of the mouth of man that defiles him – that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34-35). It is the love, purity and faith that comes out of your heart that keeps your temple holy – or it is the strife, immorality and unbelief within your heart that defiles it.
Also it boils down to what you do with your tattoo, whether you are glorifying God or Satan coz at the end of the day, it’s between YOU and GOD, and no one else.
Many people have tattoos of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, of the Cross that He bore, the crown of thorns which symbolises His pain and suffering for us [which is part of my grand tattoo masterplan] and many more to symbolize perhaps their faith and be witnesses of Christ in their own special way, maybe to be identified as the chosen people [I said MAYBE, coz some just get a cross done for the heck of it]. But who are we to judge? Getting a tattoo should never be an on-the-spur-of-the-moment decision.
Each of us may have to answer this question for ourselves after taking time to think and pray about it [whether to get a tattoo or not]. But, let us also be careful as Christians to not shun those who have tattoos, or make the blanket statement that they can’t be a Christian because they have a tattoo. To do this would be “destroy the work of God” instead of taking our time to reach the lost. ~ Christians and Tattoos
We all know that [almost] everything in this world has the opposite. We have peope who are rooting for tattoos [like moi and CTA, which I am a member of incidently. :grin:] and then there are those who are so dead against tattoos they write articles like these where I think Lilian got her quotes from. Really a tattoo bashing article, this one. :grouch:
I mean, if you really want to live by the law – the Old Covenant – then one must keep all of it (James 2:10). Transgressing any part of the law means we are guilty of transgressing all of it. According to Levitical law, we may not eat the meat of rabbits or pigs (Leviticus 11:6-7), nor lobsters, crabs, prawns, oysters or clams (Leviticus 11:10-12). Hybrid breeding of livestock and mixing linen and wool in fabrics is prohibited (Leviticus 19:19). Shaving the sides of your head (being clean shaven) or disfiguring the edges of your beard (trimming) are also forbidden (Leviticus 19:27). So – if you’ve ever eaten a pork sandwich, dined on Maine lobster, trimmed your beard or worn a wool blend suit – or have gotten a tattoo – you’re guilty under the law! ~ Christian Tattoo Association
No seafood platter nor steaks for you. Ya’ll hear? :shame:
[This is my favourite last bit.] And if all else fails, just tell those critics of tattooing that Leviticus 19:28 states: “You shall not… tattoo any marks on you.” – this obviously means don’t tattoo yourself, go to a professional!
[I hereby endorse Exotic Tattoo & Piercing Studio, located at Lot A2-32, Level 2, Komtar as affordable and damn blardy good!! Not to mention squeeky clean too and that is VERY important! Pssstt....I don't feel any pain today and that is SO surprising! I think I'll go get my other tattoo in 2 weeks time instead of the 1 month I had in mind. :grin:]
Thank you. *Takes a bow*
Saturday, 13. May 2006
i share your view, yvy. there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a tattoo on the body. i was about to quote matthew 15:11 but thank god i see you have quoted it here. whatever we put on our body doesn’t matter so much as what comes out of our body.
i don’t mind getting a tattoo… but only one will do and a small one. i’m not as outrageous as you to have so many and big ones.
Saturday, 13. May 2006
:grouch: how come u din show pic of ur second tattoo??
ur first one is cool.
i love it. i hope i have the courage to go get one. but i bloody scare of pain la!
if i were to get one, i will place it as the same spot as urs. urs looks utterly cool! i guess that spot not very pain hor??
is it?
:waiting: pix!
Saturday, 13. May 2006
:piggy:
Sunday, 14. May 2006
i mean if that were to be an issue, then getting your ears pierced, or any other body part for that matter is the same la! but yes i share the same view as you.. to be honest, even the slightest thing of dyeing the hair would actually constitute the same thing, that is defiling the temple of the living God..
Faith of a person is the most important thing, and not things like this.. i remember once this pastor said, having dyed hair, spunky hair dos and all, as well as having pierced ears, at one point would be considered a sin..and it shouldn’t be something you judge a person on.. but today, its something cool in fact to be different.. God wants up to be different from others.. And don’t forget, God himself could be someone cool, hip and happening!!
Sunday, 14. May 2006
J :
My sentiments exactly.
Wuching : :silly:
Winn : :quizzical: What is u talking? The fairy ~ the one I got done IS my second piece. The faded one u see at the top of my back is the first one I did 2 yrs ago. U making me confused lar…. :confused_2:
Lucia : Sure!! I suggest u go straight to Exotic. Bring ur design along if u have one of ur own, like this is one I found online. If u dont have any, Fun’s got loads of designs at the shop, u can pick from there too.
Happy Inking! [Big or small u can tell them.]
Sunday, 14. May 2006
:dog: blur doggy. Did not give it much thot…. yet. lol
Sunday, 14. May 2006
Sorry sorry…. multiple posting.
Sunday, 14. May 2006
hey dear! sorry been away lately.. hows it going?
someone told me once that i;d go to hell with my tattoo. I just laughed it off cos i reckon its a silly misconception. anyway I aint gonna laser mine off for that sake.
I have a good heart y;’see
Sunday, 14. May 2006
Wah…show, show! Ascherly hor, the thing came out from the horses mouths in my ermm…you know where la and the youths are told not to do. As for me, I ain’t gonna do any so I can talk la. Hahaha.
Monday, 15. May 2006
Haa. So this is the surprise kah? Nice one. Tho I don’t think I will ever do one myself.
Monday, 15. May 2006
I wonder what Tom Cruise has done with the tattoo on his butt – Nicole Kidman’s name! And I’m sure u heard of this man who was about to do it with his girl when she shrieked with fright cos he had AIDS tattooed on his u-know-what. Smiling, he consoled her and said, “Not to worry, dear…eventually it becomes ADIDAS”
Monday, 15. May 2006
STP : Hahaha!! O yar, I know that joke. Heard abt the one where there’s a guy who have quickies n flings with the MD’s PA? He goes to a doc coz he has this permanent red mark on his you-know-what and was getting so worried coz it wouldn’t come off and he thot it was a disease might b contagious. But Doc said, dun worry….just wash with make-up remover! :LOL:
Anj : Hehehe….yar, yar. :hehe: Glad u liked Hog’s Breath, the name really doesn’t do it ANY justice. :rolleyes: Btw, could u finish the whole plate?? I couldnt… :hypnotized:
Lilian : Yar, I know Lilian but I’m glad u brought it up coz then I would have a really good reason to write abt this too.
Lyn : Woman!! Where u been lar?? Aiyor, since ur new job ~ u’ve been missing in action for long time lar.
But glad that u pop by every now n then. 
What tattoo u got?? Show me! Show me!! :praying:
Helen : U drunk ka?? Lol :silly:
Monday, 15. May 2006
The Church does not condemn tattoo’s as long as its not Satanic in nature on in anyway way tries to deny the existence of God and thus create a permanent seperation between you and God. Just don’t start being sacrilegous and blasphemous in your designs, creations and actions. Anyway…splended job and what other part of your body are you planning to ink
Monday, 15. May 2006
Yes, QV…do u have any suggestion?? Another 1 I heard was this guy had “MAN” on his u-know-wat…and eventually, it’s supposed to reveal “MANCHESTER UNITED”! Ha ha ha! Isn’t Laksa an M=U fan…or is he 4 Liverpool or that vulgarly-named Arse-anal???
Monday, 15. May 2006
STP: Laksa, M.U fan(if my guess is not wrong, not that I have ever seen it before but got the info from KNB (hmmm..maybe he might have seen..seing how great a friend they are) that’s the longest he can tattoo, not the full name) KNB is Liverpool. Wah you come in here to wreck havoc also ah..hehehe…
YO!! YvY you have been attacked by the three tenor virus hahahahahahahaha
Monday, 15. May 2006
QV : Hahahaha!! The invasion has JUST begun….bring it on boys!! :bringiton:
And yes, I totally agree with u abt tattooing something that negative such as demonic pix on. Scares the crap out of me, really!
STP : Eh, I oso got hear one joke but I think I placed it in my previous posts mya comment box.
Monday, 15. May 2006
HAHAHAHA inviting us to infest your blog is fun isn’t it hahaha.
Anyway, how is the peeling? Going smoothly I hope and all the best…eyes hurting a bit so am going to do some paperwork for the time being…. cya
Monday, 15. May 2006
i think your tattoo is very nice
religion is in the heart, not what is emblazoned on the skin.
Monday, 15. May 2006
I am slowly getting back to checking out the usual blogs i haunt….. YVY, wat did you just do to yourself?!! Yes, you notti girl, what have you done….
I like. It’s Awesome. And deserves a spank.
Monday, 15. May 2006
coincidence or wot?! I just did my tattoo on Saturday. still sakit. :crying:
Monday, 15. May 2006
Nope could not finish. The portions here are humongous la. Best to share with someone. Anyway, am having loads of fun here in sydney. Lots. cheers.
Tuesday, 16. May 2006
Makes me sick when somebody wants to slap their damn taboos into the Christian way of life. Got a lot of those fuddy duddies here in Texas with the Bible belt and all. They say if you dance you cannot be spiritual. Same thing for alcohol. Some parts of Texas are dry with not even a beer in the whole county because of religious taboos.
Using the law as the sole basis of salvation is a sure path to hell. God gave man laws so we could live in peace with each other. When we ignore his laws we experience discord and war. But we do not experience salvation short of faith.
I don’t wanna a tatto myself, but I know that a tattoo can never cancel faith. Nothing on heaven or earth can cancel faith. I am eternally thankful for eternal security considering some of my poor choices.
And when we get to see the new art leh?
Tuesday, 16. May 2006
hahah this reminds me of the tattoo that i had in Phuket…. when i was piss drunk … woke up the next morning with needle pain in my arm … the next week went all the way to singapore to have it laser removed. (me mates printed this on me arm “i am a dickhead bastard”)