Post #48... I already explained it. So now you can explain to me how you believe that there are no contradictions in the Bible, but at the same time there are two mandates telling us to do the exact opposite.

Have you ever shaved the edges of your beard, or do you have a massive full beard?

If you're going to play by those rules, you shouldn't ever shave.

Also, don't you remember why Jesus was rebuking the pharisees? They were washing the outside of the cup, but the inside was filthy. They figured their rigorous following of all these hundreds of specific laws was actually going to save them, when the truth is, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Wash the inside of the cup first by coming to Jesus, and the outside automatically follows because he does it.

This post was edited by Torm1 on Aug 22 2011 09:16am

I don't see any explaination to 1 Corinthians 11:14 in Post #48.

I keep reading 1 Corinthians 11:14 but I can't find where it addresses a beard. Can you elaborate or tell me where you are going with your statement.

Again,
1 Corinthians 11:14
14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?

You brought up the Corinthians verse, not us. So you explain it - How is it even relevant to the conversation at hand? We have been talking about the cutting of beards the whole time. I guess I was a bit too vague for you when I said the cutting of hair, but I believe it was pretty obvious I was referencing the cutting of beards, which is hair. I should have read more carefully that the verse doesn't even apply. I just wasn't expecting you to throw in irrelevant curve balls.

Either way, it is clear from the substantial arguments I have given, that you have obviously downplayed and ignored, that the acts of cutting of the hair and tattoos were disallowed because they were used during pagan rituals.

This post was edited by Diligence on Aug 22 2011 11:10am

You my friend opened the door about hair in your post #45. In your very first post you try to relate sexual immorality to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 but you fail to address 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. Since you fail to properly address 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and the subject of defiling the temple of God, you resort to cutting hair. I quote from your post #45 "Initially I tried to avoid using this lame argument, but do you cut your hair? Of course, because you aren't doing it as a pagan ritual."

Now, do you see where 1 Corinthians 11:14 - "14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?" , its into this discussion? There is a biblical answer for every thing you have said.

I recommend letting this post die a natural death as it has been beaten to death. If you want to get the last word in, be my guest, it's your post. I have said all I need to say about tattoos defiling the temple of God, which is our body.

The choice is yours.

You need to read entire posts. I explained what I meant by the word hair - not hair on the scalp, but hair on the face. You do know that beards are made of hair, right?

Oh, and tattoos that are honoring God are not defiling our bodies.

Its just an example of the scribes and pharisees of Jesus' time; the religious leaders... They thought that if you followed all of these individual specific laws and customs, that you would be saved. They ultimately convinced themselves that was the means of salvation.

But even in the old Testament times, salvation has always been by GRACE. Works are just a side-effect of salvation that comes automatically.

Jesus said: "Come to me."

Only those who KNOW Jesus can enter the kingdom of heaven. To those who don't know him, he will say: "Depart from me you evildoers, for I never knew you."

This post was edited by Torm1 on Aug 23 2011 09:43am

As an avid supporter of tattoos, I don't understand how one can say "Tattoos defile the temple of God."

Did they not decorate the temples in the Old Testament with artwork, gold, silver, and other beautiful things?

In the same way, how can one say that artwork on one's body is "defiling"?

The problem with Kisssofdeath's argument is that he claims that he interprets those passages differently, but you can't come up with your own interpretation for most of scripture.
People have to realize that scripture was written with a certain context in mind, and those contexts were accurately represented in the original post.

I know many people who do not support tattoos and that is perfectly fine. The Bible talks about personal convictions and it would be sin for a person who doesn't agree with tattoos to get one.

On the other hand, tattoos are not inherently sinful.


Personally, I would say that most people's arguments against tattoos are founded on a culture bias against them. In earlier generations (I'm only referring to the US), tattoos were seen as a sign of mischief or thuggery because of the people who tended to get them.
Now, tattoos are becoming more and more acceptable in our culture, but some people still carry the insight passed down from their parents or others who held beliefs against them. This is perfectly fine and understandable.

But I do believe it is wrong for someone to say that it is sin for another person to have a tattoo when it is not, keeping in mind the context of scripture provided in the original post.



With all that being said, I'm thinking about getting a half sleeve when I graduate college in a couple of years.

I have quite a few tattoos all over my body, and I'm a Christian. I don't struggle with this idea, because I know what I believe.
If this isn't enough for the God that I believe in, then all that I believe is wrong. I don't struggle with the societal stigma about
tattoos either. The Rangers don't much care what you have, or where. I don't worry about a whole lot when it comes to my
tattoos. My fiancee doesn't care, my job couldn't care, I would hope that God wouldn't care. Maybe this helped? I dunno.