Excellent reply!
Hardly anyone follows the entire Bible... people pick and choose what they feel comfortable to follow.
Such b.s.
Yes, there are departures from the Old Testament - even during the early days of Christian faith. Coptic Christians were often discreetly tattooed with a cross, just to gain admittance to a church (apparently church security was a thing back then, too).
There were also pilgrimage tattoos sought by visitors to Jerusalem - and in fact, those same tattoos are still available today, in Jerusalem. I would find it difficult to view those as ugly or a defilement.
“Leviticus 19:27
“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
Hmmmm.
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Iirc, this had to do with people shaving off parts of hair on head or beard to identify with specific cults.
"Leviticus 19:28: Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
There are legitimate reasons for most prohibitions you find in the Bible. Improperly cooked pork and shellfish can be dangerous, if not lethal. In a world without penicillin, tatoos likewise, are dangerous. Why take chances and tempt badness in your life?
Leviticus 19:27 : “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard."
Don't really know the genesis of that one. (no pun intended)
In general, I'm not a fan of tats, but don't really care. I'm personally kind of grateful that the New Testament does away with most of these prohibitions. I can think of few things on this planet that are better than bacon.
Being a sinner, asking for God's mercy, I do not find it useful to condemn others for many things like this. I would condemn homosexuality and similar things because I do not believe such practices are useful for the race, and believe they lead to greater depravity that is dangerous to both the practitioner, and those around them.