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Cross Tattoos

stgeorgebrooklyn23stgeorgebrooklyn23
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
hey everybody, i know that there has been a few topics about this but i dont think that there was really a conclusion. But are the cross tattoos you get on your wrists a sin??? And why or why not? Because i myself do not think it is because you are showing to others that you are a Copitc Orthodox Christian and supporting the Lord. And since you get them at monastaries, dont you think that the bishops and the pope have allowed this for a reason? knowing that it is not a sin.
Also, even if we do have tattoos on our body, why is it bad becuase 1) we are not destroying God's creation and 2) dont we go to heaven with our souls not bodies? and anyways ita a cross tattoo not a dragon skull etc....

Comments

  • jydeaconjydeacon
    I believe you have just answered your own question. would the church allow the monastaries to give these tattoos if they were a sin and would so many copts have them if they are a sin. of course not. tattoos of the cross are most definitly not a sin. others are questionable
  • gregorytheSinnergregorytheSinner
    My old Sunday School teacher put it in clear terminology for me
    when i asked him the same question:

    He said that we should focus on why were gettin the tattoo to start with.  Meaning if its not for Praising God then it should not be on Gods Property

    So a person shouldnt get a tattoo of a flag or something on God's Property and neither should he get a HUGE CROSS ON HIS ARM/BACK if all he wants to do is show it off

    Secondly we get thsoe crosses on our wrists because of tradition, they are infact intodays
    world not necessary we just gt them to keep intouch with our heritage and to never forget our Christian roots;
    because of course as most of you know:  these Cross Tattoos were tattoed into the wrists of children during
    times of persecution, when the parents feared taht they would be martyred and so they wanted to make sure that
    when their children grow up...they grow up knowing that they are Christians.

    zgod Bless
  • stgeorgebrooklyn23stgeorgebrooklyn23
    Dear gregorytheSinner,
        You showed good points and hey make sense 100%. The reason i wanted to know is becuase some priests think its bad and it is a sin. They think that because in the Bible it says that Man shall not tattoo figures on thier body, or at least somting like that lol, and for other reason too. Its not that i was worred, i was confused becuase i have one and i just wanted to know.

    Dear jydeaon,
        Yea, i guess i have lol, thanks anyways
  • spr418spr418
    He wept, God doesnt need support, we need God's support..i believe i've read in one of the previous posts that H.H pope shenouda doesn't have a tattood cross, simply cuz he said why would he have it tattood if he has it in my heart..i believe he never said its a sin but its simply unessecary..If you have one it wont kill you its simply traditions, nothing more..

    GBU
    sandra
  • copt4evacopt4eva
    yeh, does not it say in the bible, you shall not put tattoos, so why is there an exception to these crosses. (im not against the church or anything, just wanna know).
  • Unknown
    [quote author=copt4eva link=topic=5444.msg72508#msg72508 date=1181806229]
    yeh, does not it say in the bible, you shall not put tattoos, so why is there an exception to these crosses. (im not against the church or anything, just wanna know).


    That verse is referring to the practice of putting marks on your body in rememberance of the dead or the pagan idols, and so does not apply to this issue.
  • kerestinakerestina
    the verse in question is: “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28)

    i dont think there is any verse in the New Testament which condemns tatoos

    with everything there is an exception and in this case its cross tatoo's and i think gregory nailed it nicely it depends on the rationale for the tatoo. an example:i knew a gurl who had a cross tatoo and one day was asked what her tattoo (cross) meant and whether every Copt had to have one and her response was no but I’m not allowed to get a real tattoo so this cross tattoo is the next best thing……….

    in regards to whether cross tatoo's are a sin...."For whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23) so if we are ever in doubt about whether something is right or wrong its best to refrain

    as we all know our bodies are not our own and thus we should respect it as we do with other things we give value to;
    1 Corinthians 6:19-20- 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.....so then is it right to get a cross tatoo for the sake of it?? NO
  • Unknown

    2) dont we go to heaven with our souls not bodies?

    No! At the general resurrection we will be raised in glorified bodies which will reunite with our souls.

    The idea that we will not be bodily resurrected is a very dangerous heresy that the Church has harshly treated throughout the ages. St. Shenoute the Archimandrite was particularly staunch in his opposition to this heresy.
  • torabtorab
    the reason why the people in our church tatood the cross on there childrens is if a moslim one kiddnapped their daughters the will know where they are....another reason is that the ormer gouvernment said that every christian had to have a cross tatood so they know who was christian and who was moslem....and in the bible it says everybody has to carry his cross...i know that doesent mean that u have to tatoo it ...but it can be a reason...i dont have a cross tatood but i want it cause i want to remember everyday that i am a christian and i need to follow jesus....so if anybody want to tatoo a cross they need to know why....

    and then everybody is under the judgement of god...so if there should be any other reason they must remeber that

    pp4m
  • minatasgeelminatasgeel
    [quote author=Αριψαλιν link=topic=5444.msg72553#msg72553 date=1181916534]
    the reason why the people in our church tatood the cross on there childrens is if a moslim one kiddnapped their daughters the will know where they are....another reason is that the ormer gouvernment said that every christian had to have a cross tatood so they know who was christian and who was moslem

    i don't know if it was said before on this post but having a cross depends on the place ur in. if ur living in egypt, yes u would need a cross to show am christian. but if ur another country like the US, u wouldn't need a cross on ur hand to show ur a christian. becasue there is freedom of religion. and no one cares about ur elife except if they really relize ur acts and started asking u about it.


    and in the bible it says everybody has to carry his cross...i know that doesent mean that u have to tatoo it ...but it can be a reason...i dont have a cross tatood but i want it cause i want to remember everyday that i am a christian and i need to follow jesus....so if anybody want to tatoo a cross they need to know why....

    the bible verse doesn't by any mean refare to having a tattoed cross on ur hand. it speaks about u carriing the cross of living on earth and staying with him till u get to heaven.


    and then everybody is under the judgement of god...so if there should be any other reason they must remeber that

    This is what i know and what was proved,
    There is no need for a  cross on ur hand for the spiritual aspect. Nothing in the bible says that u put a picture of a cross on ur hand. And the only reason u would need one is that u would need to show ur a chritian in some places

    Correct me if am wrong seniors.
  • stgeorgebrooklyn23stgeorgebrooklyn23
    thanks everybody, now i understand it clearer
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