As such, they are no longer binding upon New Testament believers.Īs you can see, it would be a big mistake to resolve this issue by hitting your teen over the head with the Bible. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that the purely cultural and ceremonial aspects of the Old Testament law – rules having to do with burnt offerings (Leviticus 1:9), dietary restrictions (Leviticus 11:10), agricultural methods (Leviticus 19:19), capital punishment for witches (Exodus 22:18), and the pagan associations of customs such as tattooing (Leviticus 19:28) or cutting the edges of the beard (Leviticus 19:27) – were merely “shadows” of the reality that was to come in Christ (see Hebrews 8:5, 10:1). That’s not to mention that Christians are called to live by grace, not by the law. By way of contrast, in today’s culture tattoos are generally viewed as being cosmetic or aesthetic in purpose. (Something similar seems to be behind the instructions given in the previous verse, Leviticus 19:27 – “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads, nor harm the edges of your beard.”) The custom of making “cuts” in the body was a heathen way of attracting the gods’ attention by arousing their pity. Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.” The difficulty is that it’s not exactly clear how this commandment applies to us today, since, it was probably directed against practices associated with pagan idolatry. It’s true that the practice was forbidden in the Old Testament Law. Our own view is that the Bible has nothing specific to say to Christians on the permissibility of tattoos. Let’s tackle the biblical side of your question first.
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