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Poll - Tattooing: from male military and biker ethos...to viable witness means for both genders?
- Thread starter farouk
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I guess the answer is no, then... :)
So she doesn't mind your tattoos, Sir, even if she has none of her own...?
She did not like them when we were first dating, but neither of us noticed them now. Plus they have faded over the years to a grey.
I must get these old bones in bed now.
God bless.
So I guess you already had your tattoos when she came on the scene...
Have a good night, Sir!
More likely, as regards your family members who get tattooed, you're more likely to say to your family, don't get too worked up about it, and instead enjoy the inking experiences if they continue to do it and use them to express something positive, right? (something like that, I guess, anyway...)
Perhaps I could just mention something that happened to my wife and me: we talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 tattooed on her wrist area; it was her favorite Bible verse and mine also; and I'm sure other conversations have arisen as a result of her willingness to go for the inking. (In short, it worked.) It was all done very modestly and tastefully. I was just glad to think that someone was using ink to testify.
Whether she was being counter-cultural, or being part of a benign sub-culture or whatever, I don't know; what would you say?
I think it opens up a "can of worms" for me to comment, but since you have specifically asked me to comment, here goes: I think that emulating the world may not get us the reception we hope for. Pastors who try to be "cool" for example, often find that the people they are trying to witness to don't even want them to descend to their level. A case in point: There was a certain pastor who cussed and swore and told dirty jokes when he would go and address prison populations on his turn to preach a Sunday message at a local prison. I guess the pastor's idea was that he would then be at their level to help them to more easily reduce any inhibitions that they had toward pastors and their message. Finally, after several attempts to be "cool" a prisoner, who appeared to be a group leader of the Christian men in that particular prison, approached him. He said, "Pastor, we don't expect you to be like us--we don't even WANT you to be like us. We want to look up to you the way that we would have wanted to look up to our fathers, had they been decent Christian men." Identifying with sinners can backfire big time. Yes, we all sin from time to time, but that is not the same as seeking to emulate those who are still in the world.
Thanks for your thoughtful response and comments.
I know that you have a very sincere view here. Personally I do think that a Bible verse on a wrist area - like the young lady that my wife and I talked to had - and swearing and bad language are really apples and oranges. What the young lady that we talked to did was modest. What the man did that used swearing and bad language was not modest or respectful.
I can see that you have a particular view on this; for some ppl the key point might be the modesty of whatever it is, or otherwise.
Your comment was appreciated, in any case.
I agree that those two particular cases are "apples and oranges" it is just that I think we may tread dangerous ground when we seek to emulate the world--in general. First it could be an innocent tattoo, and then it could be going out for drinks at a bar with sinners, and getting into some kind of a dangerous or compromising situation there. It takes strong, mature Christian spirituality to resist the plans that Satan has for ensnaring us--especially when we venture into "his" territory (bars are NOT churches). I knew a Christian young man who was stabbed to death (he had a wife and young children) when he tried to defend his non-Christian friend in a bar fight. When we venture onto Satan's "turf" the demons there know who and what we are.
PS: @Lady Crosstalk In terms of the OP, for today's 18 year olds who were born in 2001, while years ago a tattoo might have been associated with male sailors and bikers - maybe somewhat of a 'socially restricted' thing for some observers, years ago - yet today the whole perspective has become much more fluid and widespread.
I take your point about the inadvisability of the environment of a bar fight, but really today many parlors are more like salons than the somewhat dingy industrial section establishments of years ago. While years ago it was for male military personnel and bikers, typically, yet for today's 18 year olds women have been thoroughly integrated: in fact, in North America now, apparently 55%-70% or more of parlor clients are female; so many parlors tend to be well lit, female friendly, well regulated and clean environments. Among married women, a strongly represented demographic is military wives, who have it done often in family, faith or patriotic themes.
Clearly you yourself would not ever consider any ink. Those Christians especially at around 18 who do, would probably think along the lines of whether a modest design would likely be conversation-friendly, whether in some sense it would be a satisfying experience, and whether for today's 18 year olds it would be wiser to embrace the means rather than fight against it. (If any of this makes sense?)
I take your point about the inadvisability of the environment of a bar fight, but really today many parlors are more like salons than the somewhat dingy industrial section establishments of years ago. While years ago it was for male military personnel and bikers, typically, yet for today's 18 year olds women have been thoroughly integrated: in fact, in North America now, apparently 55%-70% or more of parlor clients are female; so many parlors tend to be well lit, female friendly, well regulated and clean environments. Among married women, a strongly represented demographic is military wives, who have it done often in family, faith or patriotic themes.
Clearly you yourself would not ever consider any ink. Those Christians especially at around 18 who do, would probably think along the lines of whether a modest design would likely be conversation-friendly, whether in some sense it would be a satisfying experience, and whether for today's 18 year olds it would be wiser to embrace the means rather than fight against it. (If any of this makes sense?)
@charity
I was just telling @Lady Crosstalk about the young lady that my wife and I talked to who had the whole of John 3.16 tattooed modestly and tastefully on her wrist area.
You're right; if people such as she have the inner strength and confidence to use this means in witness, they are likely to do it without regret or shame, right?
On the contrary, for the young lady that my wife and I talked to it was likely for her something wholesome and special to become a tattooed Christian woman in those particular circumstances.
So did this lady comment any more lately about her ink and the reason for it?
Do you see that some Christian young people who consider getting a faith based design such as a Bible verse or reference might see the prevalence of this mode of expression and choose to embrace it for positive reasons, instead of fighting against it?
PS: @Lady Crosstalk Despite your strong reservations, would you agree that for today's 18 year olds, women have become thoroughly integrated into getting tattooed?
(And perhaps with reason also?)
(And perhaps with reason also?)
@Waiting on him So has your daughter - both daughters - been quiet lately about the subject of tattoos?
Waiting on him
Well-Known Member
So really?
Sounds anyway like you would at some stage welcome an opportunity to give her - them? - a little encouragement about ink, which, when the matter was raised years ago, you had different ideas about?