Tattoos are not going to say good-bye anytime soon. Actually, body art is resurgent. And phenom or fad, tattoos haven’t yet reached their cultural peak.
In a recent article, “To Tattoo or Not Tattoo? Up to You?” I noted the prevalence of tattoos among the younger set, the fact that Scripture doesn’t mandate a no-tattoos position, the number of questions one could ask in discerning whether to get a tattoo, and what tattoos might “say” in early 21st Century culture.
Body art of some kind has apparently graced human skin since shortly after the Garden of Eden. Yet one would do well to remember that body art in its current manifestation is a fashion fad, and by definition, fads are here today gone tomorrow. But there will be no tootaloo to tattoos anytime in the near future.
While I can’t say tattoos are wrong or even necessarily bad, I don’t understand why people want to paint their skin permanently. Especially I don’t understand when the painted imprint in question is large, publicly displayed, grotesque, or simply one of many. They’re not my preference. But to each his own.
Tattoos are better, I guess, than piercing. This I truly cannot understand, for in my estimation piercings are about pain, not pleasure, beauty, or even functionality. The entire aesthetic conjures images of debasement. Unlike tattooing, I believe you can make a moral argument against piercings. But even here, I admit, there is no clear mandate one way or another in Scripture and you have to wonder where to draw the line: five or six piercings or what about just two, pierced ears featuring earrings on posts?
So where does this leave us? Perhaps it’s all a matter of liberty of body, mind, and soul. And such liberty is anything but a bad thing.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
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