Posted on 10/03/2007 1:52:26 PM PDT by Daffynition
CBNNews.com - A fresh wave of ink is hitting the U.S. right now: tattoo ink.
Almost half of all Americans under 30 have one, and 40 percent of adults 26 to 40 have a tattoo.
It's big business for enterprising tattoo artists like Chris Bowman who sees a variety of clients.
"You get all the way from the stay-at-home mom who just wants a little tattoo on her ankle, to the businessman, to the biker," he said.
The Appeal of Tattoos
A 2004 Harris Poll shows a third of tattooed Americans say tattoos make them feel sexier.
"It's like people who work out, you want to look good," explained Vaughn Jackson, as a tattoo artist finished work on his fifth tattoo.
A quarter of Americans say tattoos make them feel more rebellious, and a fifth say they feel more spiritual.
Spiritual?
Bowman says many of his customers want to express their faith.
"We do a lot of religious tattoos, a lot of crosses, a lot of virgin mary's" he explained.
Churches across the country are finding more and more people in their congregations have tattoos.
We visited Crossroads Community Church in Kokomo, Ind. -- very much the heartland of the country with cornfields, car plants and conservative values. It's also a church with a number of members and visitors who have tattoos.
"If where they are is with a tattoo, we try to meet them there," Pastor Kevin Smith explained. "Our job is not to condemn or judge them but to welcome them."
Tattoos as Witnessing Tools?
One young father told us after the service about his tattoos. Matt York said his two crosses "are kind of a statement - a witnessing piece, a testimony."
Mike Lupoi says his Christian tattoos keep him accountable.
"I love Christ," he said. "That is what has changed my life. It's given us a good foundation in our home to raise our children, but it also is obvious in front of everyone because there's no hiding it. That's what it's there for."
And it's not just Christian men who've bought in. Amber Lupoi at Crossroads told us that a lot of women in the church have tattoos. You wouldn't know it because they're more discreet about it.
Regret?
But in the bigger picture, a recent Harris Poll shows 17 percent regret their tattoos.
For example, Beth Elser is spending several thousand dollars to get her seemingly non-offensive bit of ankle artwork removed. Her young daughters are the reason.
"When our first daughter was about three and we would try to tell her that you write on paper and not furniture and not on yourself," Elser said. "Then she started to say 'but mommy you drew on your ankle.'"
Dr. David McDaniel uses laser therapy to remove tattoos. It's often painful and requires multiple treatments. But McDaniel says many of his patients feel trapped by their permanent artwork.
"You have a tattoo of a name of a boyfriend, girlfriend or ex-spouse and it's a daily reminder of a mistake or pain from the past," he said.
American Churches' Stance on Tattoos
Not long ago, most American churches frowned on tattoos, but modern times have softened the stance. As church leaders begin to re-think the issue they're drawn to Paul's passages on freedom in Christ and loving our neighbor.
And just how relevant is Leviticus 19:28, which says "You shall not make...any tattoo marks on yourselves," today?
Presbyterian Pastor Joe Mullen says we can't ignore Leviticus.
"I think we need to ask ourselves whether we're trying to create a special identity that marks us -- and really, in Jesus, we have our special identity," Mullen said.
Other Christian leaders worry about tattoos' pagan origins and links with witchcraft.
But Jayme Whitaker sees no problem with his identity in Christ and love of tattoos. As head of the Christian Tattoo Association he works to build bridges between the tattooed and the non-tattooed.
For Whitaker, tattoos are possible because of our Christian liberty. He says he's excited about using them to lead others to Christ. He recently designed tattoos representing the Holy Spirit for new believers Brent and Melissa Cohick.
"What Christ has done to me in my life, it was such a dramatic change, that I I wanted to have a visual expression of him in my life," Brent said.
Ultimately, Whitaker says he wants the Church to reach out to those with tattoos.
"We're called to love above all things, and I think that's what we'd really like to see people get -- where we can get to the point where we can embrace, where heavily tattooed people can walk into a church and feel like everyone just loves them," Whitaker said.
For many Christians, loving those with tattoos is the easy part. But what remains as an issue for some is whether a practice that has offensive pagan roots -- is one that should be encouraged.
It is interesting indeed. Once upon a time I considered a beautiful cross tatoo (the guy who would have done it is an absolute artist).....but decided it would be better hanging on a wall for display. I just couldn’t bear the thought of sinning...although the old testament lev verse was not referring to Gentiles if I recall correctly.
More than a few. But that's okay. There are plenty of boys out there who like that sort of thing.
Like ‘some’ men here on FR think women should still be chattel!
LOL! Where did that come from? Run out of arguments so you had to open the feminist play book and associate men who appreciate clean women with men who oppress women?
I don't judge people by their natural physical characteristics, either. But when they alter their physical characteristics, they do so with the express purpose of expressing something about themselves. Why ignore someone's obvious cries for attention?
If a man chose to walk around with a chicken on his head, would it make not to judge his decision?
I don't judge people by their natural physical characteristics, either. But when they alter their physical characteristics, they do so with the express purpose of expressing something about themselves. Why ignore someone's obvious cries for attention?
If a man chose to walk around with a chicken on his head, would it make sense not to judge his decision?
Oh, darn, now I’m going to get flamed by the artsy-fartsy chicken-on-the-head crowd!
I had no idea the #s were so high. Time to get into the tattoo removal business.
The quarter who claim "rebellious" are closest to telling the truth.
Feminist playbook?
Oh my! If you ONLY knew how funny that is!-——
I recently got verbally lashed for refusing to
call myself a feminist on all female literary board
I’m just me, not an -ist or -ive anything, just me.
Basically, I was just pointing out that a great deal of archaic thinking is present here and yes is just that, archaic. Your rignt to think it, my right to view it as such.
As for the bizarre connection between ‘unclean’ and tattoos and piercings...again, you don’t know what you’re talking about-— you can’t have them safely without being unber-clean and sanitary.
And of course the irony in that is that these days, when so many people have them, it's far more of a comformist than a rebellious thing to do. ....kind of like those who had long hair in the late 60s and early 70s, when it became ultra-fashionable. The real rebels were the beatniks of the 50s.
d. It’ll give the nurses something to talk to me about in the nursing home “And this one here is for when I turned 65 and climbed Mount Everest in my pajamas.”
HAHAHAHA that's great. I think you're my hero! ;)
FTR, I just got my first tattoo at age 26. Since it's a "tramp stamp", I figure no one gets to see unless I very purposefully expose it. So who cares. The one I'm debating on is getting a cross on my ankle. I love the sentiment, but I'm still nervous about visible tats... *shrug*
Nope,
the dyes and methodology have changed, so the removal business will be there, but not as thriving as once thought.
Lots of folks now are just opting for expansion or tattoo revision over removal. Adding more colors and upgrading on a regular basis over taking them off.
I used to be on the fence about them, but the more I saw them, and the more thought I realized people put into them, the more I liked and respected them.
Visible tattoos, yeah, some are cool and some are like “WTF?” But same with lots of stuff.....like comb overs.
My goal is to have my back tat eventually cover my back and wrap around my middle, as a calendar of the years I’ve been teaching etc. Hopefully, when I’m too old to dance anymore, it’ll cover a big chunk of me.
Hey, you're the one who brought "woman as chattel" into the discussion. Outside of third world countries, that's been passe for many, many decades.
For what it's worth, I treat women with the utmost respect. I never deny Mrs. Chandler the money she needs to buy tools when she works on the car. She enjoys the benefit of the most modern, leading-edge technology in the steam iron she uses to iron my underwear. And I never fail to surprise her on her birthday with some fun new gadget, like the teflon-coated waffle iron I got her last year.
You know what's the only thing I don't like about having a back tattoo? I can't look at it all the time, lol! Sometimes I wish I had gotten it somewhere I could see it more... Hmm... I also wish I didn't work in such a conservative industry and could feel more free to have discrete, appropriate, exposed tattoos. I'm pretty envious of folks in really creative jobs who can just do whatever.
Ass Antlers!
That is how Pamela Anderson contracted Hepatitis C, from a tattoo. Getting a tattoo or piercing, in unsanitary conditions, is one way to contract Hep C. So disease is an issue.
Perhaps some men pay attention to God and not their own desires.
Leviticus 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
Yep, but not everyone interprets it the same either.
Many needles now used in salons are one time use only. Most of the Hep C folks I work with are needle sticks from patient care or dialysis units. I’m at higher risk walking on a patient unit and getting bitten (which has happened) over getting tattoo’d.
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