Is it wrong to get a tattoo cross?

edited December 1969 in Personal Issues
Guys just wondering, is it wrong to get the traditional tattoo cross that every egyptian has?
I mean im dying to get one but a bunch of priests dont agree on the idea, i asked a monk once and he said it was fine, i asked my sunday school teacher and she told me no... so is it ok or no? ???

Comments

  • "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD" Leviticus 19:28

    I think there was another forum about this question before.....anyways i think the verse says it clearly....but i think there are other sins to worry about, and i dont see the point of having a cross tattoo, you can always wear a cross necklace....and anyways the important thing is to have Jesus in our hearts not on our hand
  • hey,

    it is ok, there is nothing wrong with it! as long as it is "OLD FASHION" cross then there is no problem my parents wanted me to get one when i was little but i was scared! now i am dying to get one tooo!!!

    "OLD FASHION CROSS" means---- a small basic looking cross on the wrist !!!

    bentBABAyasooa`
  • i don`t think it`s wrong at all.i have one and i wish if i could cover all my hands with it .........ofcourse i can`t do so ;)
    i know , most bishops and fathers have it.
  • ofcourse it is ok everybody has it even abouna
  • and its small its not like a tatoo for the wrong reasin its a cross and by that verse no cutting in the flesh so ur saying abouna isnt gonna go to hell or as if he disrespected God? no right so its not wrong
  • sorry if i sounded harsh earlier.........of course im not saying anyone is going to hell (who knows how God will judge us anyways), i clearly said i think we have other things to worry about than having a cross on our hand, whether it is right or wrong, i'm just saying its not a big deal its not like if u have 1 you are going to heaven or if you dont you are not or vice versa.......i just think it is not that important of a matter to begin with i think there are greater sins to be worried about
  • First in our world today, there is NO NEED for a cross on the hand. and please watch the word need because the only reason for the cross was to show that you're a Christian first in the old days and specially during the days of the muslims who governed Egypt as a muslim country and for that they needed to identfy who is who. Now in our world, the word of God is almost in every person's mouth. there is no point for anyone to identfy their religion. since this post was started in english, let say the person who asked is may be from the USA or any othewr country that speak english and have democracy.meaning that there is in fact freedom of religion. so there would be no one who would need to identfy your religion for what ever reason. am sure after i post this, some will may be mention that a cross on tha hand will may be remind them of the suffring of Christ or Christ Himself but that is nonsense since that the Holy Spirit is in us and would never leave us. We accept Christ every Sunday atleast and he dwells in us and in our hearts, why do we need a picture on our hand to remind us of that.

    I agree with PrincessMary when she said :

    "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD" Leviticus 19:28
  • Mina,

    How can you say that there is no [b]NEED[/b] for getting a tattoo cross on the wrist in today’s society?

    Granted people are now getting them for different purposes then back then but there is a desperate need to wear our crosses everyday and in every country. Now more then ever Christians in the United States are shying away from admitting in public that they are Christians as if being Christian is shameful or will make them an outcast. Its rather sad that people wear crosses as a fashion statement, rather then for being proud of the fact that our Lord and Savior was crucified on the cross for our sins.

    The cross serves many purposes for me, first off my cross is my shield against the devil, it protects my body from all evil. Secondly, I am proud of being a Christian and I am not ashamed of wearing a permanent symbol that tells the world that I am and always will be Christian. Finally, I love it when people see it and ask me about it since its very rare to have a cross tattoo on ones wrist. Because that gives me that chance to talk to strangers about the Coptic Orthodox church, and their response is usually “huh, never knew anything about your church.” So its also a method for informing/educating people about our faith.

    As long as the cross tattoo is done for the right reasons and not because of the lame reasons as; everyone else in church has one, or its really cool to have a tattoo, or it will make me look bad and tough, then in my opinion its fine to get it.

    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.” Galatians 6:14.

    In His Name
  • umm ii think this just dependz on yur personal reasons for getting one.

    whenever i dont know if i should do something, i ask myself..
    "how is this going to help me get to heaven?"

    if the answer is that it wont really make a difference then theres ur answer.. allot of people want tattoos based on materialistic reasons ['cause it looks good'].. but God doesnt look at that.. He looks inside our heart. and unless yu can get yur tattoo in there.. theres really no point. hope i helped ;D
    Pray4M3
  • Sure it is not wrong it is a great mark of being a christian. I will tell you something. I am living in HOlland here and they look at all the dark-heared people as marrocans or simply moslims. And by wearing a cross I can seperate myself from those people. So that's great. I am also wearing a neckllake with a cross not just for this reason but also because I am proud of being christian and I would be very happy to show that. Sure those things are not everything but it's something to show to all the people that you're christian. I don't wear a cross from a long time. I have just doing it when I was 17, last year.Really it is not painfull at all. When you feel any pain just think about everything Jesus did for us and believe me you will feel just happy and proud of being christian...
    So don't doubt about wearing a cross!! :)

    In God's peace,

    Amira
  • [quote author=joyisgod link=board=10;threadid=4435;start=0#msg61185 date=1159077888]
    Mina,

    How can you say that there is no [b]NEED[/b] for getting a tattoo cross on the wrist in today’s society?

    Granted people are now getting them for different purposes then back then but there is a desperate need to wear our crosses everyday and in every country. Now more then ever Christians in the United States are shying away from admitting in public that they are Christians as if being Christian is shameful or will make them an outcast. Its rather sad that people wear crosses as a fashion statement, rather then for being proud of the fact that our Lord and Savior was crucified on the cross for our sins.

    The cross serves many purposes for me, first off my cross is my shield against the devil, it protects my body from all evil. Secondly, I am proud of being a Christian and I am not ashamed of wearing a permanent symbol that tells the world that I am and always will be Christian. Finally, I love it when people see it and ask me about it since its very rare to have a cross tattoo on ones wrist. Because that gives me that chance to talk to strangers about the Coptic Orthodox church, and their response is usually “huh, never knew anything about your church.” So its also a method for informing/educating people about our faith.

    As long as the cross tattoo is done for the right reasons and not because of the lame reasons as; everyone else in church has one, or its really cool to have a tattoo, or it will make me look bad and tough, then in my opinion its fine to get it.

    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.” Galatians 6:14.

    In His Name


    i fully agree with the verse but, the cross should be in you, in your heart NOT ON YOUR HAND. His Holiness himself doesnot have a cross.

    like you said the cross right now is mostly used as fashion statement, and that includes tattoos to. so you should a Christian by your faith and believe not what you show. Also you wanna tell others about your Church and its heritage, be a true Chritian and do as the law says. am not saying that you or me or anyone else doesn't do that but somtimes we just go with the crowd and will forget what we were granted and what's in us. you're a christian through your faith, baptism (Holy Spirit), and the cross which is in your heart and not a cross on your hand
  • Ofcourse not.. Anba Rewiss was freaking when I was in Egypt about how people stopped getting the cross tattooo..luckily, I had JUST gotten it done a few days before he was condemning everyone..haha..

    I think you should tell your sunday school teacher how awfully wrong s/he is..awfully, awfully wrong.
  • i agree.... i think pope shenoda has one as well...!!! most everyone in my family has one......

    but some ppl won't get it... cuz of blood disease transfer...!!
    the ppl use the same needle ( i think) doing everybody! and even if they don't ( they use it one person after the other...) so most ppl won't get one cuz of the blood transfer issue.. and believe it or not it is a big HEALTH HAZARD!!!

    bentBABAyasooa`
  • [quote author=bentBABAyasooa` link=board=10;threadid=4435;start=0#msg61241 date=1159237578]
    i agree.... i think pope shenoda has one as well...!!! most everyone in my family has one......

    but some ppl won't get it... cuz of blood disease transfer...!!
    the ppl use the same needle ( i think) doing everybody! and even if they don't ( they use it one person after the other...) so most ppl won't get one cuz of the blood transfer issue.. and believe it or not it is a big HEALTH HAZARD!!!

    bentBABAyasooa`


    His Holiness doesnot have a cross. believable??!!!!
  • humm.......???

    i thought since monks dedicate their lives to god..... and u can get a cross in a monestary!! they get one...... that is to my knowledge!!

    i will check and see......

    BENTBABAYASOOA`
  • [quote author=bentBABAyasooa` link=board=10;threadid=4435;start=15#msg61246 date=1159238378]
    humm.......???

    i thought since monks dedicate their lives to god..... and u can get a cross in a monestary!! they get one...... that is to my knowledge!!

    i will check and see......

    BENTBABAYASOOA`


    Well yes they did dedicate their life fully to God but a cross would not help thet. the cross and the love of God are in your heart with the Holy Spirit helping you keep them. and they are shown by your acts and faith.
  • i agree minigar.....

    but i realy thought that monks do have cross tatoos! ...... i know my abona does.....!!

    so the answer to the question "IS IT WRONG TO GET A TATTOO CROSS?" IS NO IT IS NOT WRONG TO GET A TATTOO CROSS OR EVEN A TATTOO OF A PIC. OF A SAINT!!!!

    ;)

    i am getting a cross next time i go to egypt!!

    bentBABAyasooa`
  • okay i agree with mina....i know lots of priests and one bishop that doesnt have a cross on there hand...and the cross should be in ur heart not on a hand...i mean its not like a must have to get a cross on ur arm...not many youth at my church have one and i have seen priests at camps that dont have one..so it really is not that improtant to me just as long as we are with god 24/7!

    mary
  • um he does wat??
  • I think people are misunderstanding the purpose of getting a traditional cross tatoo. We're not asking for opinions on tatoos, this is a matter of symbolism..not opinion.

    Anyway, the point of getting a traditional cross tattoo..and why monasteries all over Egypt offer the service of tatooing is because (I'm going to say all Anba Rewiss was saying): People long ago got that cross tattooed because they were otherwise forbidden to wear any emblem of a cross. They got a small one on their right wrist to symbolize that they will hold strong to their Christian faith regardless. There's also several other reasons His Grace mentioned which I won't get into. But you get the drift. So don't feel condemned..our church isn't so myopic as to forbid everything.
  • okay then sorry about that.....
  • [quote author=basketball link=board=10;threadid=4435;start=15#msg61317 date=1159395040]
    okay then sorry about that.....


    Don't be ;D
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