Does Tattooing and Piercing Reflect Turning Away From A Higher Diety?

[VanceMack]

Its not about "being" bad ass.
No more than a bad ass car makes you a bad ass.
But when you see some bad ass ink, you say. Thats some bad ass ink. Or, thats a bad ass car.

Thats kinda not what the picture implied, nor is it the point.

 

[Goshin]

Half of my tattoos are religious in nature, ironically enough.

They'll start to fade after a about 20-30 years, but you can just get touch-ups every couple of decades and it'll stay looking pretty new. The newer inks that have been used in the past few decades don't fade quick like the ink of the past.

:shrug: I've seen a lot of older guys with tattoos that looked like blue-black blurs, but OK the ink is better now. :shrug;


I'm thinking when I'm old, I'll stand out as an individual and a rebel for not having any tatts at this rate...

 

[Goshin]

Yes.

A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.

they're pretty damn useful down on earth too. I carry one with me in my work truck.

I've used it for the usual purposes, as well as things like shading delicate electronics from the July sun, distracting hostile dogs, instant do-rag when I forgot my hat (on a work site, not out on the town, duh), entangling an out-of-reach lever long enough to pull same, and a gazillion other things.

Towel! Don't leave home without one...

 

[Goshin]

Oh come now... there most definitely ARE some people who get tattoos who are trying to convey bad-ass-ness through same. I've most definitely known quite a few such chaps.

Some of them actually were authentic badasses..... but a good many were poseurs, all image no substance...


But yeah, it is definitely one of the various reasons some people get them.

 

[Goshin]

Leviticus 19:28
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."

In the interest of full-disclosure I am a Chrisitian and I have a lot of tattoos. I simply like them (and was not always aware of this particular passage). As I understand it, this passage was dealing with practices that involved witchcraft and not the modern day tattoos that people get today (all of mine are primarily Christian).

However, we are made in the image of God and the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. As such, I suspect that God still considers it a sin.



Man has always rebelled against God and I think this is simply another area of our fallen-nature shining through, in my humble opinion.

I've heard that verse brought up by preachers semonizing against tatts.

Problem is that 1. It is OT, so its relevance to gentile Christians is debateable... 2. As you say it refers to pagan practices that were part of a pagan religious rite, as opposed to modern tatts done for non-pagan purposes...

But then again the OT is not entirely irrelevant, as general guidance. When you come right down to it I'd feel a little ambivalent about getting a tattoo, religiously speaking, unless perhaps it was a religious tattoo... but on the sum of things I figure it is a pretty minor issue overall.

 

[Gardener]

I've thought about getting a tat to show what a good ass I am, but upon further review of what that might imply ,I thought the better of it.

 

[The Baron]

I've heard that verse brought up by preachers semonizing against tatts.

Problem is that 1. It is OT, so its relevance to gentile Christians is debateable... 2. As you say it refers to pagan practices that were part of a pagan religious rite, as opposed to modern tatts done for non-pagan purposes...

But then again the OT is not entirely irrelevant, as general guidance. When you come right down to it I'd feel a little ambivalent about getting a tattoo, religiously speaking, unless perhaps it was a religious tattoo... but on the sum of things I figure it is a pretty minor issue overall.

I don't think it's a "minor" issue to sin but there is room for debate as to if this is a sin. But, once again, I've got plenty of tats and want more.

 

[Grand Mal]

I doubt I'll ever get a tattoo, but, if I did, it would probably be something like that. It'd have to be something discrete which carried significance to either my military service, heritage, or religion.

When I was training with the Army, I actually met a guy who was seriously considering getting the US Army Military Intelligence crest tattooed on his chest.

View attachment 67152673 View attachment 67152674

We tried to explain to him all the reasons why this would be an objectively terrible idea, but I'm not sure if it took or not. :lamo

Yikes. I hope his better instincts prevailed.
I once saw a guy on the skytrain (Vancouver's rail transit system) with SS lightning bolts on either side of his neck. I don't care who you are, and I grew up in a fairly, uh, active environment, sooner or later you are gonna get tired of fighting.

 

[Gathomas88]

Yikes. I hope his better instincts prevailed.
I once saw a guy on the skytrain (Vancouver's rail transit system) with SS lightning bolts on either side of his neck. I don't care who you are, and I grew up in a fairly, uh, active environment, sooner or later you are gonna get tired of fighting.

That's just asking for trouble, IMO. Basically the only place Nazi imagery comes in handy is in prison, and even then, you'd better be able to cover it up after you get out if you ever want to be able to successfully reintegrate into society at large.

In defense of the guy I mentioned earlier, I think the crest actually might make for a decent tat if done properly. I just can't imagine how rock stupid someone would have to be to permanently scar what is essentially a giant "torture me first, I almost certainly have useful information" sticker onto their skin before entering a line of work which will almost certainly place them into active combat zones.

Tempt fate much? :lol:

 

[ChrisL]

That's just asking for trouble, IMO. Basically the only place Nazi imagery comes in handy is in prison, and even then, you'd better be able to cover it up after you get out if you ever want to be able to successfully reintegrate into society at large.

In defense of the guy I mentioned earlier, I think the crest actually might make for a decent tat if done properly. I just can't imagine how rock stupid someone would have to be to permanently scar what is essentially a giant "torture me first, I almost certainly have useful information" sticker onto their skin before entering a line of work which will almost certainly place them into active combat zones.

Tempt fate much? :lol:

Gosh, I didn't even think about that when you first mentioned the tattoo. That is pretty stupid. :lol:

 

[Grand Mal]

That's just asking for trouble, IMO. Basically the only place Nazi imagery comes in handy is in prison, and even then, you'd better be able to cover it up after you get out if you ever want to be able to successfully reintegrate into society at large.

In defense of the guy I mentioned earlier, I think the crest actually might make for a decent tat if done properly. I just can't imagine how rock stupid someone would have to be to permanently scar what is essentially a giant "torture me first, I almost certainly have useful information" sticker onto their skin before entering a line of work which will almost certainly place them into active combat zones.

Tempt fate much? :lol:

So he'll get the ink after he's out. Hopefully.
Isn't there a secrecy requirement in intelligence and special forces in the US military? Canadian special forces operators aren't allowed to be photographed or interviewed. British either, far as I know.

 

[Gathomas88]

So he'll get the ink after he's out. Hopefully.
Isn't there a secrecy requirement in intelligence and special forces in the US military? Canadian special forces operators aren't allowed to be photographed or interviewed. British either, far as I know.

A legal non-disclosure agreement with regards to classified information pretty much comes with the territory in most cases. However, it's not like the CIA or anything. We don't have to keep our jobs secret, at least not at my level.

 

[Grand Mal]

A legal non-disclosure agreement with regards to classified information pretty much comes with the territory in most cases. However, it's not like the CIA or anything. We don't have to keep our jobs secret, at least not at my level.

Ah.
There was a brief period when Canadian reporters wanted to talk about the role of JTF2 in Afghanistan and were stonewalled by everyone from the Prime Minister to the operators in the field. It seemed like an indiscretion to say they were there at all.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

I've thought about getting a tat to show what a good ass I am, but upon further review of what that might imply ,I thought the better of it.

It's called a tramp stamp. You should go for it.