What does the Bible say about tattoos?

• I was wondering, what does  the Bible say about tattoos? About tattoos? Yes. Elizabeth. You go back into the Old Testament,  tattoos are identified with pagan religion. They were basically in ancient times people  identified their deities with the use of tattoos. So the people of God were basically forbidden  to have those in the Old Testament.
• The New Testament says nothing about that. So one  could conclude in ancient times they were identified with paganism. There  were certain things that pagans did, and God’s people were to avoid doing the  things that pagans did. Even the Jewish people were required to dress a certain way,  eat a certain diet, and avoid marks of paganism.
• So you could say, “Well, that was the standard in  the Old Testament, but the New Testament doesn’t say anything about tattoos,” and that would be  true. So I don’t want to go so far as to say that tattoos are sinful. The New Testament doesn’t say  that. I could assume that you could have a tattoo of a cross or something that reflected  your love for Christ.
• Or some people get a Bible verse. I have to tell a funny  story about a guy who got a Bible verse and they spelled the book of the Bible  wrong on his chest; so that’s not good. But the Bible doesn’t really say anything about  that. But my feeling is that in the ancient sense, it belonged to paganism. It would have to be  a pretty compelling reason for me to do that.
• Again, I wouldn’t say it wrong. I don’t have  a tattoo. But I don’t want to go so far as to say it’s wrong to do that. But it was part of what  was pagan in the past. It’s a choice people make. I would personally rather be able to change my  shirt every day and have something different than to have something I’ll have to wear the rest of my  life every waking moment and sleeping moment.
• So just think about the reality of indelibly  impressing something on you if you do that, and maybe down the road you might wish it wasn’t  there; that’s the issue. But I don’t want to say that in and of itself there’s something wrong  with that, because even the fashion has changed. You know, the Old Testament, women were  not to wear what pertained to a man.
• But what did that mean in the ancient days  when men wore dresses? They wore robes. Women wore robes. So there wasn’t a whole lot  of difference there. I’ve heard people say, “Well, that’s why women can’t wear pants because  the Old Testament says they’re not to wear what pertains to a man.” Well, men didn’t wear  pants in the old time.