God and tattoos

jwallace401146

Hey i have a Methodist cross on my arm i got it for my youth leader who passed to years ago. Is it bad to have gotten it

mabsoota

fine by me

ophadece

Hi @jwallace401146,
Are you Coptic Orthodox? If you are, I believe you are not going to be fond of what I would say..
Ⲟⲩϫⲁⲓ ϧⲉⲛ Ⲡϭⲥ

Jojo_Hanna

I was waiting for @ophadece to answer this thread...

minatasgeel

It's clear biblically that tattoos are a no no. As for being a copt, at some point of time we were forced to be "marked" as so for other to persecute us. Then, being "full of faith", we took that as a sign of pride, forgetting that it is a commandment not to be "marked." But, these days, while I am assuming that everyone here lives outside Egypt (not that it's a justification for anyone in Egypt) and probably have religious freedom, there is no reason for us to "show off" being a copt with a mark on our hand that any one out there can get. 

And of course, i know some will come back and say, "but this cross is for me personally"...i will respond and say that if we need a mark on our body to remind us of what we are supposed to have inside our heart, then there is some kind of problem in our way of thinking there. 

That being said, if someone does have a cross or a saint's tattoo or something of such, it's ok. But it's for sure not something to show off or to condone. I am saying this while i don't have any tattoos myself (while i wanted to have one), my father doesn't either, yet my wife does and there is a specific story that goes with it. And it was a topic that we discussed as a couple before marriage. 

mabsoota

my current priest is very against it, but my confession father (from the church i joined the orthodox church in) says it's ok.

it is a bit controversial in our church.

just remember that you can never go to a spa in japan once you have any sort of tattoo.

(in case you ever wanted to!)

CopticBoy101

My personal thoughts on [Coptic] tattoos:

I don't mind them, but just think about it this way; would a Jew go to a tattoo artist and ask for numbers on their wrist? Then why should a Copt get a cross on the wrist? Weren't both persecuted for who they are?

But again, my personal thoughts.

Jojo_Hanna

Galatians 6:14
But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

@CopticBoy101
Give me a verse from the Torah where it says that the Jews take pride and boast “in the numbers”?....

Thanks!

mabsoota

also, having a cross means that you might get a Christian burial if you are discovered after being kidnapped and killed. it may help with identification.

:)

CopticBoy101

@Jojo_Hanna Give me a verse from the Torah where it says that the Jews take pride and boast “in the numbers”?....

They have a whole book called numbers lol; all jokes aside, i just see it kinda unnecessary at the moment.

CopticBoy101

 

Jojo_Hanna

It’s not like we have a book called “Cross”.. this doesn’t equate, which makes the point invalid.
It’s not like Copts (or any Christians for that matter) get the word “Exodus” or “Galatians” tattooed so this doesn’t make sense...
Also, N O T H I N G, will EVER equate to the Cross of Christ, or else we wouldn’t be signing ourselves with it in everything and with everything :)

Read the verse again :) :)

I edited the post because I remembered the beautiful words in the Doxology of the Cross!
Have a read!

We too, the people, / the orthodox children, / we bow down to the Cross / of our Lord Jesus Christ.

+ [Saint] Paul the apostle / speaks of the honor of the Cross, / saying, "We will not boast / except in the Cross of Christ."

Let us sing, O faithful, / to our Lord, Jesus Christ, / and bow down to His Cross, / the immortal and holy wood.

+ We take pride in you, O Cross, / on which Jesus was crucified / for through your type, / we were set free.

The mouths of the orthodox / and the seven ranks of angels / take pride in you, O Cross / of our good Savior.

+ We carry you, O Cross, / the protector of brave Christians, / powerfully around our necks, / and we proclaim openly.

Hail to you, O Cross, / the joy of the Christians, / the conqueror of tyranny, / our confirmation, we the faithful.

+ Hail to you, O Cross, / the comfort of the faithful, / the confirmation of the martyrs, / till they completed their sufferings.

Hail to you, O Cross, / the weapon of victory. / Hail to you, O Cross, / the throne of the King.

+ Hail to you, O Cross, / the sign of salvation. / Hail to you, O Cross, / the shining light.

Hail to you, O Cross, / the sword of the Spirit. / Hail to you, O Cross, / the spring of grace.

+ Hail to you, O Cross, / the treasure of good things. / Hail to you, O Cross, / to the end of the ages.

“Hail to you, O Cross, / which King Constantine / carried with him to the war / and smote the barbarians.”

+ For greatly honored / is the sign of the Cross / of Jesus Christ, the King, / our true God.

He who was crucified upon the Cross / to save our race, / let us also honor Him, / proclaiming and saying.

+ The Cross is our weapon. / The Cross is our hope. / The Cross is our confirmation / in our struggles and sufferings.

For blessed is Christ, our God, / and His life-giving Cross, / upon which He was crucified / to save us from our sins.

+ We praise and glorify Him / and exalt Him above all, / as a Good One and Lover of Man. / Have mercy on us according to Your great mercy.


If the Cross is all of that, then I believe it is worth it after all :) <3

+God Bless+

Jojo_Hanna

Thank you for always back me up @mabsoota :)) :)) :))

mabsoota

although this does mean we need to live our lives as if kidnap and killing won't shake our foundations...

jwallace401146

Thanks for all of that but just so you know im a first United Methodist and i got the cross on my wrist to remember my mentor/youth leader who helped me push through school when i had nothing to lose. I have seizures and he helped me see joy in life, even if i didnt think there was any.

mabsoota

he sounds like a nice person.

did u know that john wesley (one of the methodist founders) liked a lot of the early orthodox church fathers? his love for knowing God personally and reading the Bible was also very orthodox.

:-)