A lot of Christians debate about this topic: can Christians get tattoos? Most of the time they ask this because Leviticus 19:28 which says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:28 NIV)

Now, when you read verses, you have to put them into context. So ask yourself: why would it say in Leviticus that tattoos are bad?

Well, read about Elijah on Mount Carmel when he’s competing against the prophets of Baal. You’ve probably heard this story if you grew up in a Christian household.

If you haven’t heard this story, read 1 Kings 18:20-40. (it’s a bit long, but it will make more sense!)

Now, what happens is this: the prophets of the god Baal are convinced that their god is greater and more real than Elijah’s God, the one true God.

So they say, “Alright, we’ll see whose is real!” They make an altar for Baal and see if he will light the altar on fire. So Baal’s prophets are all calling to their god and Elijah is basically mocking them. (Tip: maybe don’t mock people for their faith?)

Now, it’s been along time and Baal hasn’t done anything. And by this time, Baal’s prophets are screaming and crying and cutting themselves, trying to please their so-called god by shedding their blood. That culture and religion taught, “If you wanna get god’s attention, then start cutting yourself and letting the blood flow. Then god will answer you.”

Obviously that’s false!

And so in Leviticus, God is calling his people to be different than the prophets of Baal and other cultures that cut themselves for the attention of their gods.

(By the way, I got all this info from a video by a pastor named Cliffe Knechtle.)

So Cliffe argues that tattoos, in reference to that event, are not a sin unless you are trying to capture God’s attention or the attention of someone or something else.

However, I think that if you were to get a tattoo of something like maybe the devil’s number (Revelation 13:18), that would be not good! It’s imprinting something permanent into your skin that is not Godly or holy.

Of course, tattoos are a very personal choice, regardless of religion or culture.

Thanks for reading! I hope it was interesting and enjoyable.
~Willow