KK asks:

I was wondering about Christians & tattoos. I know of the Old Testament verses talking about cutting the flesh & printing marks. Is that referring to tattoos? What about tattoos that have verses and the like vs other kinds of tattoos? Thank you all for your help & ministry. God bless.

About 20 years ago I was asked this question. I answered that Lev 19:28 forbid the practice: “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.”

A few days later I told Zane Hodges how I had responded and asked his opinion.

Zane said that Lev 19:28 is part of the Law of Moses. But church age believers are not under the Law of Moses. We no more need to avoid eating pork or shrimp than we need to avoid tattooing. Zane said that if you stand against tattooing on the basis of the Law of Moses, you have no basis for rejecting any aspect of the Law of Moses.

He persuaded me that he was right. Unless the NT has some command against tattooing, I have no basis to tell someone that God is against tattooing.

Some argue that the word tattoo is not a good translation in Lev 19:28. It might refer to branding (scarification). See this article at crosswalk dot com, which has a lot of helpful information. Here is another helpful article that includes the top ten reasons not to get a tattoo. This article is helpful as well, and the author points out that if you have tattoos from before you came to faith, they may well be helpful in sharing your faith.

I think it is unwise to put something permanent on your body. Even Scripture verses, fish symbols, the name of Jesus, the promise of everlasting life, etc. But, saying that it is not a smart thing to do is far different from saying that it is contrary to Scripture.