As far as the famous "tattoo craze" is going, there is a Bible verse that specifically talks about getting a tattoo or tattoos: Leviticus, Chapter 19, Verse 28: "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord" We have a 20 year old Great Neice that has mentioned a number of times to her mom about getting a tattoo. Her mom and step-dad are pretty religious and attend numerous church functions. The Great Neice also attends a Christian College. The mom says, "I'm neither for it or against it." So, IOW, there are Christians that interrupt the Bible the way that fits what they want, not necessarily by what it says.
@Cody Fousnaugh - nothing like a bible thumper to tell you how should live. I would say more but my Gentleman Jack say's Nooo
I try never to interrupt the Bible. I may ignore it, but I avoid interrupting it. God gets mad when He can't get a Word in edgewise.
Sorry, but if there were more of us "Bible thumpers/pushers", perhaps America and the World would be much better off. And, just to let you know, we have some members here, such as Bobby, who has also stated Chapters/Verses from the Bible. You going to call him a "Bible thumper" also??? Then again, we wouldn't need "Bible thumpers" if more folks in America would read, understand and obey what certain things in the Bible say. And, actually, the Bible is the perfect book in telling people how to live their lives. Somebody/something has to do that, because so many people in America have gone wild and ridiculous!
The Bible is there for us to use as a mirror in our own behaviour. It is not there to use as a checklist to follow others around with and grade them. John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. James 4:11-12 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Romans 2:1-3 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. John 8:7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Titus 3:2-7 To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Luke 6:37-42 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Luke 6:31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
@Cody Fousnaugh -John B said it best.And i do agree with you Cody, but its just not right either to continually point out what is wrong with many others. The saying- those without sin cast the first stone type thing. No human walking on this earth is without sin of some kind and degree.
If you are going to quote bible verses Cody, then please understand the context. Have you read Leviticus with understanding or did you just google a bible verse to justify your anti-tattoo phobia? Leviticus is about idol worship and the verse you take out of context to try and put a God stamp on your personal beliefs is talking about cutting your body to make marks for idol worship or other means of marking your body to show worship for an idol. Read the entire book of Leviticus and read several translations and COMPARE. Let's examine some verses that might be misunderstood out of context. 19You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a diverse kind; you shall not sow your field with mixed seed; neither shall you wear a mantle made of mixed materials. So is this ordering us to not let cattle mix breed? No hybrid seeds? No hat of mixed materials? Who were the laws written in Leviticus for? Do they still apply? 26You shall not eat blood; you shall not practice divination with birds, nor shall you consult an oracle. 27You shall not let the hair of your heads grow, neither shall you trim the corners of your beard. 28You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor inscribe any marks upon you; I am the LORD. So is trimming the corners of your beard a sin? How about long hair? So now let's examine the "tattoo" verse ... Is a tattoo OK if not a cut but a needle poke and it is not for the dead? Is writing a note on your hand with a ballpoint a sin? Notice the ending. I am the LORD! It is about permanently marking your body for the purpose of IDOL worship. Now if we put this in context after reading the entire book of Leviticus, does it begin to sound like something that is Gods law today? Do you understand what Christ was about? Is it possible that his murder, torture, and death on the cross after his side was speared, negated such criteria in the old law? I love much about being old fashion and how it applies and can be used in today's world, but I try to understand the reason for the old ways and how that can be an asset today. A bible thumper is one that takes a verse out of context and says it like it was the law and does so to justify their beliefs or lifestyle and is unyielding. It is NOT about interpetation, NO, it is about reading the entire book or related chapters. It is understanding who wrote it and who it was written to and why it was written. One must understand why the New Testament was written. @Bobby Cole is a bible scholar, not a thumper, and I won't bother explaining the difference because you wouldn't get it.
My wife, who actually reads Bible verses every morning, had me look up what the Bible says about tattoos. If there are those that disagree with the verse, because they have numerous tattoos or whatever, I can't do a thing about that. I read my Men's Bible Daily Devotions each day and have even read Devotions concerning tattoos...........or, should I say, against getting them. Heck, it's been know for years that there have been, and are, Priests-Minister-Pastors that don't follow what they preach during a church service. We all judge others, in one way or another. How they dress, how they look, the language they use, smoking, drinking..........and the list goes on. Not a single one of us on this forum, or those not involved in this forum, don't judge others. It's basic human nature! Just think of how many people attend church every Sunday AM to confess their sins from the week before and, after church, go out and commit the same sins and/or more? It's a vicious cycle! Anyway, when a person is attending a Christian College, that is suppose to encourage the young students to "do the right things" and they don't...........just why go to a Christian College??
.Between yourself and @John Brunner, the bases were covered extremely well. Just to mention a bit of applicable trivia, the KJV of the Bible came with 13 minor errors in interpretation simply because the interpreters knew little of the cultures of the tribes and countries involved with Biblical History. The most famous example I can give is one that practically everyone is aware of and that is the sixth Commandment of Thou Shalt Not Kill. Fact translation of course is Thou Shalt Not Murder. (You Will Not Murder) Of such is the plight of mankind. After being born and our eyes can see, though we can’t understand the whole picture, we see the whole picture. As we grow older, we come to a point when we only see a small portion of the picture and think we understand the whole picture. With the growing of wisdom, we see the whole picture and know that we understand very little of it and without study, it will always remain that way. In the vein of being Old Fashioned, let’s go to Paul and his statement of “It is better that no man touch a woman”. (1 Cor. 7:1-4). Without reading the whole statement, a zealot might become chaste to the extent of abiding by that single thought for a lifetime. Many have. Now, if one reads the scripture in it’s entirety, Paul says that the reasoning is to avoid immorality and further continues that every man should have a wife and every wife a husband. Whilst I might not think of a single man and a single woman as necessarily immoral if they choose to have sex but I definitely do think it is a better thing that both should abstain until the time when they have made the formal agreement to be husband and wife. To face the facts, when we see the onslaught of STD’s, walk away dads and the subsequent need for abortions, the idea of having sex after marriage instead of before has its merits. Now, am I a big fan of the old “shotgun” weddings? Naw…..not so much.
You can believe it or not, a gay guy gave me that piece of scripture as his reasoning for having sex with other men.
Duly noting there are numerous 'versions' of the Bible, that's not what Paul was driving at at all. Long ago, before I lost most of my contacts when my email got hacked, I discussed this with a Christian/Baptist friend, and he agreed: Paul considered marriage 'the lesser of two evils'- in his opinion, unmarried/chaste was preferred, BUT for those who could not remain chaste marriage was better than fornication. Compare that to what "the Lord God said" in Genesis.
How do you feel about women braiding their hair? It is hard to watch many women's rodeos without seeing a woman with braided hair. And this is New Testament by the Apostle Paul. Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. (1 Timothy 2:9-10) Is he saying that braiding my hair is a sin? One must understand the context of this writing, why it was written, and to whom it was written. Much of the bible isn't about law, but a better way to live. Giving and helping others in need as opposed to helping ourselves. I recently took a long-time friend in to keep her from going to semi-assisted living. The main thing is we both need someone there at night in case of an emergency. When I didn't hear from her one morning, I went over (I had a key) and found her in the bathtub crying. She couldn't get up. She was trying to reach her phone but had placed it too far away. She had spent the night there. It broke my heart! I knew it was time. None of her kids would take her in as they are too busy. Now had I told her, I cannot take you in so we can look after each other because I need the time to braid my hair, shop for and put on expensive jewelry, spend hours putting on and shop for more fashionable clothes, then that would be what Paul was writing about. Since I don't believe in a magical invisible God that can do physical things, I don't worry about damnation in a fiery hell or walking streets of pure gold, but rather helping those around me that I can and hope if the day comes and I need help, it will be there and I won't have to go to affordable assisted living which are just homes of rot and death. The only reason I even discuss the bible these days is in hopes of getting readers to think and try to understand that such writings are not laws damning us to hell if we don't follow them verbatim, just examples of ways we can help our fellow humans VS spending our time helping ourselves. Another example might be a person letting their kids go hungry so they could buy expensive clothes, cars, etc. It isn't that an expensive car is contrary to bible teachings, but if it is in lieu of doing good works, then maybe one might want to reconsider their priorities.
Uh……In relation to the scripture I referenced, you might want to read what I wrote before you correct me. It’s obvious that you skimmed over it without any considerations that in essence, you’re merely expanding on the subject. Now, to the Genesis reference, God said many things but if we’re talking about people coupling, He said to go and replenish the earth. If it’s something else, no one can get there until they know the address. And..to blow the whole thread completely off topic, in order for Saul of Tarsus to hold the working position he had in the Sanhedrin, it is expected that he had to have a wife and at least one child.
Returning to the OP question, "Are you sometimes just too old-fashioned," I will answer no because it is those old-fashioned disciplines that keep me thinking and give me the ability to get the entire picture and advance into the future without fear. While I dislike nose rings, I won't twist up a bible scripture or make up some nonscience and claim it is science just to justify my dislike. I dislike nose rings because they were originally used in slave's noses to control them and also something to catch mucous goblets that may later fall out. I don't like their look, but I don't judge anyone wearing them. I don't even care about their reasons for wearing such. Both of my fake great nieces wear them and it hasn't changed my feeling for either of them nor have I had any desire to discuss it with them. It makes them happy. As my grandpa would say, "It is no skin off my teeth." The same with tattoos. A good friend's son is a great tattoo artist that runs a clean shop and won't tattoo anyone that appears intoxicated or living on welfare. He doesn't do any gang, religious, or political art. He specializes in doing the customer's pets, cars, wildlife, favorite flowers, etc. He does a lot of horses and dogs. He has offered to tattoo me anytime and has designed more amazing tattoos for me, but no siree, no ink on my body simply because I don't like art on my body nor needles poking me for a couple of hours. I am old fashion in most ways but also up to date in other areas. I am never TOO old fashion in my eyes. If you don't believe me, you can ask my husband. To get his consultation will require an order to exhume and a psychic medium, but be that as it may, he agrees with me.