Tattoos and the Christian
I've been visiting tattoo parlors since I was a teen, and got my first tattoo in the mid 1990s. At this point I’m marked up from my chest, down my arms and onto my hands. On occasion I am asked if Christians are allowed to get tattoos, or if the Bible forbids them. Before we can answer those questions let’s pay out a definition.
A tattoo is a mark on the body made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis through puncturing or incision. People have been getting tattoos for thousands of years for a variety of reasons. Some were tattooed for beautification, others for military identification, some for religious significance, and in many cultures the ink identified one’s social status. There has never been just one reason people get "inked."
In fact, there is a long history of Christians bearing tattoos as marks of faith, pilgrimage, or resistance. Coptic and Armenian believers tattooed crosses on their wrists as signs of devotion. In 2016 archaeologists unearthed a mumified body in Sudan from the 7th century. In 2023 Scientists doing post-excavation analyses on the remains noted the right foot was tattooed with the Chi Rho symbol.[1]
But, doesn’t the Bible forbid tattoos in Leviticus 19? And even if tattoos are permissible, aren’t there other reasons to avoid getting tattooed?
What the Bible Says
Bad guys wear black, good guys wear white. The old cowboy television series and movies made it easy to spot the villain—look for the black hat. Of course real life is never that simple, and sometimes good guys wear black (see Johnny Cash and Chuck Norris).
Similarly, tattoos have an overly simplistic stereotype. People out of touch with what is happening today might still think that only sailors, bikers, and convicts get ink, but the reality is very different. This art form has gone mainstream and is now found on soccer moms and CEO's, honor roll students and officers. But we all agree the broad acceptance of a cultural trend does not make it good. We want to be biblical, wise, and careful in all things. So what does the Bible actually say?
Lev 19 and Idolatrous Tattoos
“You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.”
- Leviticus 19:28
This prohibition falls in with several others given to Israel to separate them from the Canaanite pagan practices around them. The cutting of the body was related to the religious mourning process when relatives died. Tattoos were made in the same vein, and associated with specific idols and false religions. God calls Israel, as his nation, to look different from the pagans around them, and many of these commands had more to do with associated pagan beliefs than the acts themselves, like cutting the sides of the beard (:27).
Isaiah 49 and Divine Tattoos
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
- Isaiah 49:16
In Isaiah 49:16 God is assuring his people that he will not forget them, indeed he cannot forget them. Just as a nursing mother cannot forget her child, neither can God forget his children. And he decides to use an illustration that surprises some. He figuratively spreads out his hands and says, "Look, I have written your name on my hands." This is most likely a reference to a kind of tattoo, a mark made with indelible ink. Of course God does not have actual arms, and therefore he does not have any real ink. But the point is clear enough. He uses a picture his people will understand, and is essentially saying, "How can I forget you when I have tattooed your name on my hand. I cannot even put my hand to work in anything without being reminded of you and the promises I have made to you."
Some scholars even suggest that Jews began tattooing their hands to remind themselves of the temple and the Lord.[2]
God does not condemn tattoos outright in Scripture. Such marks, when associated with pagan theology and worship, were forbidden. But, removed from an idolatrous context tattoos are merely a cultural artifact; one God appears to have found to be a fitting picture of how he remembers us.
Jesus' Thigh Tattoo?
“On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
- Revelation 19:6
Everyone once in a while I will hear a pastor or pundit cite the depiction of Jesus' second coming in Revelation 19 as evidence that Jesus has a tattoo on his thigh. At best it is unclear if this is a tattoo, but it seems much more likely that this name, "King of kings and Lord of lords" is written on his garment, not his actual leg. John records that the name was written on his robe and on his thigh, and it seems most likely that the lower part of the robe, covering the thigh area, carried the name. I haven't yet come across any scholars who argue this was a tattoo.
Your Body is a Temple
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Another common passages of Scripture brought up to argue against tattooing the body is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. The argument is that our bodies are not our own, we belong to God body and soul, and the body we have functions as a temple of the Holy Spirit. So, we must glorify God with our bodies, and tattoos desecrate, rather than decorate, the temple.
The problem with this argument is that it begs the question. Yes, we must glorify God with our bodies, but this passage does not address whether or not tattooing dishonors God or the body. In fact the context moves us in another direction.
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Paul is confronting sexual sin in the church, and argues that sexual immorality defiles the body/temple. Using this passage to argue against tattoos (or smoking, or eating red meat) does injustice to the text and leads us away from the powerful truths reveled therein.
Of course, how we treat the body matters. We do belong to God, body and soul. We are wholly his because he has created us and redeemed us, meaning we are doubly his. So how do we glorify God in the body we possess? That questions must be carefully answered using the Scripture which is our authority in all faith and practice. Godliness is directed and determined by the word of God alone. We glorify God by loving him, trusting him, and keeping his commands. As Paul says,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Tattoos and You
I believe tattoos are "lawful" for the Christian. It isn't tattoos that are forbidden in Scripture, but pagan tattoos (Lev. 19:26). Ultimately scripture neither presents the idea that tattoos desecrate the temple of God (our body) or dishonor God himself. In fact, God uses the idea of a tattoo favorably when he speaks of his remembrance of his people.
However, what is lawful is not always what is best. Let me be clear. Scripture does not condemn tattoos, but that doesn’t mean you should get one. In fact when people tell me they are thinking of getting tattoos I caution them to think soberly and long before heading to the tattoo studio.
There are a number of questions one needs to work through when considering tattoos. Here are just a few::
Can you do this with a clear conscience, in faith, and honor the Lord?
Will tattoos create an unnecessary barrier to your ministry or vocation?
If you’re married, what does your spouse think?
In the end, the question isn’t simply “Can a Christian get a tattoo?” but rather, “Should I get a tattoo?” While Scripture does not forbid tattoos in and of themselves, wisdom demands careful consideration. As with any decision regarding Christian liberty, we must weigh our motives, our witness, and the long-term implications. Tattoos are relatively permanent, but our calling to glorify God in all we do is absolute. So before you sit in the tattooer’s chair, think long, pray hard, and ensure that whatever you do—ink or no ink—it honors Christ.
1 Leslie Katz, Forbes, Oct 25, 2023
2 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D., Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; note Is. 44:5
