Kristine Penningroth-- Tattoos and Religion (outside reading)

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord."- Leviticus

I found this quote while researching tattoos and what impact they have on religion and it kind of shocked me because I know that some religions do use tattooing. I found it interesting that the bible in a sense forbid it, because it started in the early days of worship and was well received. Later on it was frowned upon and started dissipating. As everything goes things change, but something like that, that actually has some religious meaning could be taken into consideration and continue to allow such practices. Tattooing, I think, is an interesting part of religious ceremonies that should be continued. In many instances it is a sign of fertility or of celebration. We also had a presentation in class about tattooing and it really brough up some questions that I thought were valid, such as why get a tattoo, or what does it mean? I think that getting a tattoo just for the heck of it isn't really the smartest idea since you just do it to do it. However, if there is a meaning behind it then there is no reason not to get one. I know many people that have gotten a tattoo to represent their family, or their religion and they have done it tastefully. There are also some that have gotten tattoos of pictures that allude to something in their religion and instead of putting it into some sort of religious depiction , they created a similar picture with the same meaning. Tattoos are used in the muslim religion, henna, when women get married and for other religious ceremonies. Tattooing can be very theraputic and is a way for people to connect spiritually just in a differnt way.