LISA M. BEARDSLEY-HARDY
In 1769, Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy documented the practice of tatau among the tribesmen of the Tahitian Islands during a voyage to the South Pacific. He transliterated the word tatau into English as tattoo. According to Elisha Belden, tattooing in the Western world at that time was nonexistent, the practice having been banned by Pope Hadrian I since the mid-700’s1 because it was “deemed sacrilegious to disfigure or alter God’s likeness [the human body] by placing permanent marks on the body.”2 People in Christian cultures assimilated this idea and avoided tattooing themselves. In parts of Asia the practice was avoided because of its association with criminality.
Today tattoos are no longer seen as the exotica of Polynesia or the mark of convicts and sailors. They have become fashionable and trendy for both men and women, from entertainers to athletes to rather ordinary people. In 2021, there were 31,196 tattoo artists’ businesses in the United States (U.S.).3 A 2021 survey in the U.S. found that 41 percent of Millennials (born between 1981-1996) had one or more tattoos.4 In Italy in 2018, 48 percent of people reported being tattooed, followed by 47 percent in Sweden and 46 percent in the U.S. In the U.K., 65 percent of employers reported that they actually preferred tattooed employees in beauty industry careers.5
The practice of body markings by means of inking goes back in time across cultures. Egyptian mummies from the pre-Pharaoh period more than 5,000 years ago have been found with tattoos.6 Female mummies from the later New Kingdom period (circa 1570–1069 B.C.) were found to have tattoos such as the Eye of Horus symbolizing protection.7 In addition to serving as a protective amulet, tattooing appears to have also had a decorative purpose for Egyptian women of all social classes.8
In Amazigh Berber culture, a tattoo is called jedwel, meaning “talisman.” Tattoos on Amazigh women are thought to invoke magical protection from bad spirits and the evil eye, signal fertility, adorn the woman, and indicate group membership.9 Tattooing, however, is in decline among the Berbers as the practice is considered haram or forbidden by Islam, not only because of permanently altering the body but also because of the images of anything animate that they might portray.
Elsewhere in the world: The Japanese word irezumi mi means “inserting ink.”, and horimono is a full-body tattoo with a single, unified traditional Japanese design that begins on the back and can extend to the chest, shoulders, and legs.10 Tattoos are still valued to convey socioreligious identity in Maori culture in New Zealand and among Samoans. Also, in India, millions are tattooed in order to express clan affiliation, religious symbolism, and Hindu values. This major religion does not disallow the practice—indeed, with thousands of god-images available to the Hindus, expression of religion through tattooing is without limit for them.
In sub-Saharan Africa, scarification is similar to tattooing. Garve et al. found that scarification was performed to signify “permanent visible and irrevocable membership” in a community.11 It may indicate the merits or status of a person, commemorate significant life experiences, be the result of medical treatment, or be thought to enhance the hardiness and attractiveness of the person.
In the U.S. and other individualistic countries, developing and expressing one’s unique individuality is a powerful motivation to get a tattoo. Reef Karim, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California Los Angeles commented on the psychological reasons why people may get tattooed in the U.S. today. These reasons include “attention, self-expression, artistic freedom, rebellion, a visual display of a personal narrative, reminders of spiritual/cultural traditions, sexual motivation, addiction, identification with a group or even drunken impulsiveness.” 12 Dr. Karim further observed, “Our current society craves individuality and self-expression… . We don’t have to talk, we just have to look. Our bodies have become the refrigerator magnets of quotes, sayings and reminders.” For a few, tattooing becomes an addiction. According to another author, it may be “a cry for permanence in an impermanent world; or the search for external identity where an internal sense of this is shaky.”13
During World War II, forcible tattooing was imposed on detainess in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Monowitz, where they were stripped of their name in exchange for a number inked into the arm, treated as though they were branded animals.14 Due to the lack of volition and health risks, scarification or tattooing of babies and children should not be practiced today.15
Is the biblical command, “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves’” (Leviticus 19:28, NIV),16 still relevant today? In an article entitled “Why Does the Bible Forbid Tattoos?”17 Livia Gershon suggests that the prohibition was in opposition to the Egyptian practice of branding captives and slaves with the name of a god, “marking them as belongings of the priests or pharaoh.” Devotees of a god could also voluntarily elect to be branded with the name of the god that they worshiped as a sign of submission. She points to Isaiah 44:5 to describe the children of Jacob committing themselves to God where, “‘Some will say, “I belong to the LORD” … still others will write on their hand “The LORD’s.”’” One might wonder whether this means a tattoo, but if it did, would it be acceptable to get a tattoo if it spells out “The LORD’s” or features a Christian symbol?18 Does the problem derive from what symbol is portrayed, or from the process and outcome?
Moses has been recognized as the first public-health officer, with a health code given to him by God to promote the health and well-being of the people he led out of Egypt through unsanitary desert conditions for 40 years. Does this prohibition still apply where hygienic instruments can be used under sterile conditions? What if the person who wants the tattoo is of age to decide and is not under the influence of alcohol or drugs? What if tattooing is done for a good reason such as recreating eyebrows for a cancer patient?19
In the case of scarification, the affected area may be rubbed with soil, clay, plants, or dung to deliberately cause infection so as to create raised keloid scars. But even in Western tattoo parlors using modern instruments, tattooing can cause non-communicable conditions such as scarring, keloid scars, and granulomas, MRI image distortion and, rarely, skin discomfort and complications from the strong magnetic field of the MRI,20 as well as allergy to the tattoo dyes even years later. Acute risks include infectious diseases from bacteria and viruses including MRSA21; clostridium tetani, which is the causative agent of tetanus; hepatitis; and even HIV.22 Local skin infections include abscesses, cutaneous diphtheria, erythema, necrotizing fasciitis or tissue necrosis, pustules, and cellulitis, among other infections. Systemic infection may cause endocarditis and septic shock.23 Viral hepatitis is a risk factor for the later development of hepatocellular carcinoma.24 There are risks even in the best of settings because the inks themselves may be contaminated, toxic, or possibly carcinogenic.25 Tattoos fade because the pigments are excreted or migrate to other parts of the body such as to the lymph nodes. Long-term risks include phototoxicity, possible substance migration, and metabolic conversion of tattoo ink ingredients into toxic substances, and cleavage of pigments into hazardous compounds by laser-assisted removal of tattoos.26
What about the concern that the practice is associated with now-forgotten rituals associated with death in the Ancient Near East? Scholars John Huehnergard and Ancient-Israel expert Harold Liebowitz rather viewed the biblical prohibition to be in reaction to tattooing being “the symbol of servitude” of Egypt, and later during the rabbinic period, as associated with paganism. 27 Nevertheless, tattoos are connected with belief in an afterlife in many cultures and religions even today.28 And what harm is there in having a tattoo that proclaims your religious beliefs?
Perhaps the real issue is not whether there is outright harm in having a tattoo. Rather, consider what Scripture says about our bodies and the psychological and spiritual space occupied by tattoos.
First, the Mosaic health laws were instituted to promote wholistic wellbeing. Furthermore, the plain instruction of 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 20 is that our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit.” We are not our own. We ought to care for our health and honor God with our bodies.
For those who might regret already having gotten a tattoo, removing tattoos itself carries health risks.29 Paul’s practical counsel about circumcision bears reflection: “Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. Each person should remain in the situation which they were in when God called them” (1 Corinthians 7:18–20).
Second, one way or another, humans display group affiliation by means of visible signs—by the clothes worn and countless other signals. God has designated a time-embedded visible sign to indicate whether we love and are loyal to Him when we remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). This “sign” gives the non-conformist a truly noble cause for which to stand (Exodus 31:17; Ezekiel 20:20). Keeping the Sabbath signifies belief in God as Creator. It affirms that God is the One who delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and the One who still delivers from the slavery of sin and the punishment of death. Sabbath observance acknowledges that it is the Lord and not someone else who sanctifies and redeems.
In Revelation 13:16, the endtime beast power will also imprint a sign or a mark on those who worship the beast. This sign is not a tattoo or a vaccination card. Rather, it shows submission to the beast, even as keeping the seventh-day Sabbath shows allegiance and submission to the Creator.
More than a skin-deep tattoo, God promises to write His law, the law of love, into human hearts and minds.30 This is the right motivation for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath—as a loving response and intelligent act of worship. During the pandemic, Sabbath school and worship was forced onto Zoom and the Internet. Where public worship services have resumed, hymns and choirs have been muffled by face masks or in some places silenced altogether. With a heart and mind inscribed by the love and law of God, let us renew our witness and show allegiance to God, together in company with others who are loyal to Him. This is a message Seventh-day Adventists are to proclaim in word and deed through their various ministries, both online and in person.
Third, we do not need a talisman, amulet, or inked symbol to protect us from the evil eye, the evil one, or even death itself. Day and night, throughout all the seasons of life, God is enough to meet all of our needs for protection and to provide everything else we need, as well. The assurance of God’s compassion and watch-care are repeated throughout Scripture. His promises to be present, to protect, and to help were given to Noah, to Abraham, to the Hebrew people, to Joshua, to David, to Solomon, to Isaiah, to Jeremiah, to Micah, to His disciples—and these same promises extend to you and me.31 When we crave a visible reminder of the depth of His love, we can look to Christ on the cross, consider the scars on His hands, and hear the words from Isaiah 49:16: “‘See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.’”
Starting with Psalm 120, the “songs of ascents” were thought to be sung by pilgrims as they ascended up the slope and steps to the temple in Jerusalem for yearly festivals. Jerusalem is surrounded by seven mountain peaks32 and across the Jordan, covered in haze, is Mount Nebo, where Moses died within eyesight of the Promised Land. While my mother was still alive, suffering and slowly dying from Parkinson’s disease, I would read to her one of those psalms, Psalm 121, but replace the name of “Israel” with her name. Whatever the dangers, and even if death should overtake us on the way, God is a sure refuge:
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel [over you!]
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming
and going both now and forevermore.”
__________
1 Armando R, Favazza, Bodies Under Siege: Self-mutilation and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry (Baltimore, Md.: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 151. Constantine forbade certain types of tattooing in A.D. 315, while Pope Hadrian decreed against it in A.D. 787. See Lauren M. Hobbs, “The Religion of Constantine I: An Analysis of the Modern Scholarly Hypotheses and Interpretations of the Contemporary Evidence,” MA Thesis, University of Ottawa, 2014, page 59, referring to Codex Theodosianus 9.40.2, in which Constantine “declared in 315 that any tattoos placed on criminals condemned to gladiatorial schools or the mines should be restricted to the hands or calves so as not to mutilate the human face … . to preserve the likeness of heavenly beauty that exists in the face of Man.” This was thought to refer to Genesis 1:26 and 27 regarding humans being created in the image and likeness of God. See https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/31413/3/Hobbs_Lauren_2014_thesis.pdf.
2 Elisha Belden, “Captain James Cook and His Contribution to Tattooing” (n.d.), tattoo.com: https://www.tattoo.com/blog/captain-james-cookand-his-contribution-tattooing/.
3 “Tattoo Artists in the U.S – Number of Businesses 2002 – 2027” (July 30, 2021): https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-ofbusinesses/tattoo-artists-united-states/.
4 “Share of Americans With One or More Tattoos as of 2021, by Generation and Number of Tattoos,” Statista, 2022: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1261721/americans-with-at-least-one-tattooby-number-and-generation/.
5 Ljubica Cvetkovska, “Tattoo Statistics to Intrigue, Impress & Even Encourage,” Modern Gentlemen (April 11, 2021, blog): https://moderngentlemen.net/tattoo-statistics/.
6 Sarah Gibbens, “Earliest Ancient Egyptian Tattoos Found on Mummies,” National Geographic (March 1, 2018): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/ancient-egyptian-mummy-tattoos-spd.
7 Anne Austin, “Tattooing in Ancient Egypt” (n.d.), American Research Center in Egypt: https://www.arce.org/resource/tattooing-ancientegypt; Jason Daley, “Infrared Reveals Egyptian Mummies’ Hidden Tattoos,” Smithsonian Magazine (December 5, 2019): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/infrared-reveals-egyptianmummies-hidden-tattoos-180973700/.
8 Joshua J. Mark, “Tattoos in Ancient Egypt,” World History Encyclopedia (January 9, 2017): http://worldhistory.org/article/1000/tattooes-inancient-egypt/.
9 Sarah Corbett, “Facial Tattooing of Berber Women,” Ethnic Jewels Magazine (n.d.): http://ethnicjewelsmagazine.com/facial-tattooing-of-berber-women-by-sarah-corbett/; Hannah Mesouani, “Inked Bodies, Blank Pages: A Study of Amazing Tattooing,” Master’s thesis. Illinois State University, April 4, 2019: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2096&context=etd.
10 Ryan Fan, “Irezumi: The History of Tattoos in Japan,” History of Yesterday, July 4, 2020: https://historyofyesterday.com/irezumi-thehistory-of-tattoos-in-japan-a0e77d9a81e9.
11 Roland Garve et al., “Scarification in Sub-Saharan Africa: Social Skin, Remedy and Medical Import,” Tropical Medicine and International Health 22:6 (June 2017): 708–715: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tmi.12878.
12 Reef Karim, “Tattoo Psychology: Art or Self-Destruction? Modernday Social Branding,” The Blog, HuffPost (updated January 9, 2013): https://www.huffpost.com/entry/psychology-of-tattoos_b_2017530.
13 Simon Parke, “A Craze That Disgusts,” Church Times (September 27, 2013): https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/27-september/comment/columnists/a-craze-that-disgusts.
14 Ritu Prasad, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz—and His Secret Love,” BBC News (January 8, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42568390.
15 Garve et al., “Scarification in sub-Saharan Africa: Social Skin, Remedy and Medical Import.”
16 All Scripture references in this article are quoted from the New International Version of the Bible. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
17 Livia Gershon, “Why Does the Bible Forbid Tattoos? And Have We Been Misinterpreting Leviticus?” JSTOR Daily (January 2, 2021): https://daily.jstor.org/why-does-the-bible-forbid-tattoos/.
18 David Briggs, “Christians Show Faith Through Tattoos,” Tampa Bay Times (September 14, 2005): https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/12/12/christians-show-faith-through-tattoos/.
19 Microblading (cosmetic tattooing) creates eyebrows that last for 12 to 24 months, but it is not recommended during chemotherapy or when immunosuppressed. Even when a desirable reason is presented for tattooing, it is not without potential health risks. See WebMD, “Microblading Health Risks” (Reviewed December 18, 2018): https://www.webmd.com/beauty/microblading-health-risks#1.
20 Ibid.; Kasper Køhler Alsing et al., “Tattoo Complications and Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature,” Acta Radiologica 61:12 (December 1, 2020): 1,695-1,700: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0284185120910427.
21 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a strain of bacteria that has become a “superbug” through mutation to become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary staphylococcus infections. MRSA is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, and cost burden. See Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)” (Updated February 5, 2019): https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/index.html; “Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Skin Infections Among Tattoo Recipients—Ohio, Kentucky, and Vermont, 2004-2005,” CDC MMWR Weekly 55:24 (June 23, 2006): 677–679: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5524a3.htm.
22 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Tattoos & Permanent Makeup: Fact Sheet”: (August 24, 2020): https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmeticproducts/tattoos-permanent-makeup-fact-sheet; Ahmed Messahel and Brian Musgrove, “Infective Complications of Tattooing and Skin Piercing,” Journal of Infection and Public Health 2:1 (2009): 7–13: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034109000070.
23 Ralf Dieckmann, et al., “The Risk of Bacterial Infection After Tattooing: A Systematic Review of the Literature,” Deutshes Ärzteblatt International 113:40 (October 2016): 665–671: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5290255/.
24 Saleh A. Alqahtani and Massimo Colombo, “Viral Hepatitis as a Risk Factor for the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma,” Hepatoma Research 6:58 (2020): https://hrjournal.net/article/view/3628.
25 Wolfgang Bäumler, “Tattoos and Their Potential Health Consequences,” Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 113:40 (October 2016): 663, 664: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5400116/; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Advises Consumers, Tattoo Artists, and Retailers to Avoid Using or Selling Certain Tattoo Inks Contaminated With Microorganisms” (updated August 24, 2020): https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-recalls-alerts/fda-advises-consumers-tattooartists-and-retailers-avoid-using-or-selling-certain-tattoo-inks.
26 Peter Laux et al., “A Medical-toxicological View of Tattooing,” The Lancet 387:10016 (January 23, 2016): 395–402: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60215-X/references.
27 John Huehnergard and Harold Liebowitz, “The Biblical Prohibition Against Tattooing,” Vetus Testamentum 63:1 (January 1, 2013): 59–77: https://brill.com/view/journals/vt/63/1/article-p59_5.xml.
28 Margo DeMello, Inked: Tattoos and Body Art Around the World (Santa Barbara, Calif.: 2014), 1:9, 10: https://books.google.com/books?id=VmRyBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=Emperor+Constantine+banned+facial+tattoos&source=bl&ots=dkU-FKEfy5&sig=ACfU3U2BAkXpMDStul9MqoM5qZhPvjdrzw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiijpyDzNTzAhWvmuAKHTBEAbEQ6AF6BAgrEAM#v=onepage&q=Emperor%20Constantine%20banned%20facial%20tattoos&f=false.
29 Niti Khunger, Anupama Molpariya, and Arjun Khunger, “Complications of Tattoos and Tattoo Removal: Stop and Think Before You Ink,” Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery 8:1 (January–March 2015): 30–36: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4411590/.
30 See Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:16.
31 See Genesis 9:12-17; Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5, 9; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Psalm 55:22; 91; Isaiah 41:10; Jeremiah 31:1; Micah 7:7, 8; Matthew 28:20; Luke 21:28; Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:6, 7; Hebrews 4:16; 13:5, 6; 1 Peter 2:9, 10; 5:7.
32 Sar-El Tours & Conferences, “Mountains Surrounding Jerusalem: A Biblical Overview of Jerusalem’s Location” (October 4, 2020): https://sareltours.com/article/mountains-surrounding-jerusalem.