27th December 2025 Question box

OK, this is an ethical question:

Is it wrong to get full body tattoos? What does the bible say?

I don’t think the bible says anything directly about the modern practise of getting tattoos. I mean, there is a bible verse that people sometime quote, Leviticus 19:28, which says: “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.” So yeah, does that mean no tattoos? Well, we need to think carefully about the Old Testament law; we can’t just take every command and apply it directly to Christians. We are not under the law, the law has been fulfilled in Christ. Though that doesn’t mean that we ignore the law.

We recognise that there are some commands in the law which express unchanging moral truth, truths that come who God is and who humans are. So for example in the same chapter, Leviticus 19, we find the command that Jesus said is the most important of all: “love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

However we also find commands which we recognise to be part of the Old Testament ceremonial system of worship, which set Jews apart from their pagan neighbours. Like Leviticus 19:27: “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” I’m pretty sure every guy here this evening fails that one.

So then, how do we know whether to treat this command about tattoos more like verse 18, or more like verse 27? Well we need to read it carefully, in context. The fact that tattoos are paired with cutting your body “for the dead”, seems to indicate that Israel’s neighbours would tattoo themselves are part of pagan mourning rituals. So: don’t get tattoos as part of pagan mourning rituals… But does that mean that tattoos for any other reason are OK?

Well… let’s keep thinking. See, sometimes we just want Christian ethics to be a yes/no checklist: Drinking, smoking, dancing, tattoos, country and western music… Just let me tick “yes”, or “no” for each one. But in New Testament ethics, we are called to consider how the motivations of your heart connect to what you do with your body.

And so a question to ask is: why would you want to get a full body tattoo? Some might do it to show that they I’m tough and nasty and not to be messed with.
Not really compatible with Christian humility, it it? On the other hand, some people get a tattoo to mark a personal memory or struggle. On the other hand, I know someone who in the past used to cut herself as a form of self harm, and so when she because a Christian, she got a tattoo of the cross so that when she feels like she is worthless and wants to self-harm, its a reminder that Jesus died for her.

Some get tattoos because they are living by an ideology we could call “expressive individualism.” One guy with full-body tattoos was interviewed and explained it like this: “My body is a book, my tattoos are my story.” But is that what your body’s for? I think the gospel tells us that what is truly significant is not the story we write for ourselves, but the story that God has written for us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.”

In the New Testament were are also called to think through how our actions impact others. Do our actions honour those that we are called to honour? Romans 15:2 “Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up.” And so think about your community, is a full body tattoo going to build up others, or will it cause unnecessary offence, or fear, or some other unhelpful reaction?

And then… even if you’ve resolved the moral question, the question of right and wrong, you then need to think through whether it’s wise. My generation didn’t go in for tattoos so much. And I think the reason for that is that when I was a kids, we saw the generation of Vietnam war veterans who did go big with tattoos. But we saw them 20 years later, when the artwork was faded, and blue and saggy. And so what seemed like a good idea when they were younger, didn’t seem like such a good idea later in life.

But having said all of that, if next week some guy walks into church with a full body tattoo, it’s not what we should focus on. We’re not interested in his or her previous life choices, we’re interested in him or her as a person moving forward. They are a person called to trust in Jesus, and to life a fruitful life for him. And in that big scheme of things, tattoos are not such a big deal.

---

This question was originally answered in our evening service on 24 August 2025. I’ll aim to post another question and answer next week. You can read about how our question box works here.