 |
|
|
|
|
October 12th, 2013
08:50 PM ET
A journey of faith in five tattoosOpinion by the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, special to CNN (CNN) – The first tattoo I got was meant to set me apart from my conservative suburban Christian community, a way to signify “I don't belong to your tribe.” Little did I realize that if I lived long enough I’d eventually become mainstream. Tattoos now cover me from shoulder to wrist, but with the ubiquity of body art today, in many of the places I hang out I look more like a soccer mom than an outlaw. Even the ill-advised and regrettable tattoos are part of my story, and ultimately, that’s what tattoos are: a way to wear stories–– our mistakes, celebrations, relationships, insights and losses–– on the skin. Today, as an ordained Lutheran pastor, when I stand behind the altar table on Sundays and lift up the bread and wine and tell the story of the night Jesus gathered with his faltering friends for a meal that tasted of freedom, the arms that lift those common and holy things are themselves, common. But they are covered in images of the holy. These tattoos, both the Christian and decidedly non-Christian ones, tell the story of how I became who I am today. An unlikely lady preacher who loves Jesus a lot, but also swears a little. 1. The long-stemmed rose It was 1986 and I was dating an older man when I got my first tattoo. He was 20. I was in high school and not legally of age to do many of the things he introduced me to. The biker dude at the tattoo shop didn’t ask my age. We were in and out of the dingy, little converted bungalow in half an hour. My body was forever altered. As was my attitude. The long-stemmed rose inked on my right hip set me apart. Now I. Was. An. Outlaw. The most Outlaw Church of Christ girl out there. I don’t show a lot of people that very first tattoo. I tipped the scale at 236 pounds when I was pregnant with my first child, so that long-stemmed rose tattoo, which at the time was the self-affirmation of a really tall teenage girl, is now an unidentifiable blobby stretch mark which can easily double as a Rorschach test. So…what do YOU think this is? 2. The Peace Dove I would get my second tattoo a year or two later after hitchhiking up Highway 101 to San Francisco from Pepperdine University, where I failed out after a single term, having succeeded more in impressing frat boys with my ability to drink like a man than in actually showing up for class. I got a peace dove tattooed onto my ankle at the famous Lyle Tuttle Tattoo shop. I fancied myself a revolutionary at the time, and was getting arrested at protests–– when I was coherent enough to show up for them. I wanted to change the world but I had a hard enough time remembering to change my socks. 3. The Snake Goddess When I was a young adult, everything felt like a crisis, as though my skin was letting too much in. Too many emotions and fears and threats and uncertainties. I needed my skin to protect me, so I had tattooed on my arm an image of the Snake Goddess from a pre-historic Minoan society. She wore a long skirt, and was shirtless, and in each hand she held snakes above her head. At 21, I needed to be strong and so I did the next best thing: I pretended I was. I claimed the strongest sacred image of a woman I could find, since my fundamentalist Christian upbringing had nothing helpful to offer in this area, and I knew I needed to borrow something from somewhere holy. 4. Saint Mary Magdalen I got my first Christian tattoo in seminary: an image of Saint Mary Magdalen taken from Saint Alban’s Psalter, a 12th-century illuminated manuscript. One hand is opened to heaven, while the other makes a pointing gesture as though to say “Shut the hell up, I have something to tell you.” The other half of this depiction of Mary Magdalen announcing the resurrection did not fit on my arm. It’s a huddled mass of male disciples with befuddled looks on their faces, several of them pointing stupidly at scrolls. I’d returned to the religion (but not the denomination) I was raised in, after 10 years searching elsewhere. I was struggling with my call to ordained Christian ministry for many reasons, including my own checkered past and a decidedly non-pastoral personality. I started to study more about Mary Magdalen, again borrowing strength from a sacred female figure. On my right forearm is the image of this deeply faithful, yet deeply flawed woman, who, like me, had been delivered from so much, and who had dropped everything to follow Jesus. Jesus, who loves like crazy and eats with all the wrong people and touches the unclean, chose Mary to be the first witness to his resurrection. She was the one he chose to “go and tell”. Maybe to those more pious and good disciples, she seemed a questionable choice for the job. But Jesus is just like that. 5. The Liturgical Year As a seminary graduation present to myself, my Snake Goddess was covered by the Advent image of a night sky from which the angel Gabriel announces to Elizabeth and Zechariah that they are going to have a bug-eating desert-dwelling baby boy: John the Baptist. From this flows images of the church’s entire liturgical year. My arm has turned into a sort of stained-glass window telling the story of Jesus: a nativity for Christmas; Jesus in the desert for Lent; the Marys at either side of Jesus’ crucifixion for Good Friday; the angel and the women at the empty tomb for Easter; and Mary and the apostles with flames on their heads for Pentecost at my wrist. I didn’t see it as a cover-up of the Snake Goddess as much as a layering of my story. My tattoos create a colorful confession of my journey to the cranky, beautiful faith I hold today. The enormous image of the Annunciation currently in progress on my back that hides the black scratchy tattoo Jimmy the Junkie gave me in his living room….now that’s a coverup. But that’s another story for another time. The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber is author of the New York Times Best Selling memoir, "Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint," and the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado.
« Previous entryHow King David predicted modern Judaism
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke and Eric Marrapodi with daily contributions from CNN's worldwide newsgathering team and frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero.  |
|
|
|
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| 
(Lev. 19:27-28 “You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord”
Just more Christian hypocrisy. So let's ignore that so they can pick on gays and pro-choice supporters.
That was for Leviticus priests, not Christians. I've never met anyone that suggests I should follow those laws (besides you).
Doesn't mean they're right either...
They were written for a specific people at a specific time. Not meant as universal laws.
Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever
Life everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again
Life everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again
Come just as you are
Don't you hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Christ my King
Come and live forevermore
Problem is, Jesus is long dead and rotted away. He no longer exists. The Christian storyline about a god that needed to sacrifice doesn't make any sense anyway. Keep trying to prop up your myths, but they are fading into history. It's inevitable.
Yeah, 2,000 plus years of inevitable.
#1 – Do missionary groups–past and/or present–avoid working with cultural groups that practice tattooing and/or other forms of body modifications as part of their heritage and belief systems? Are people in these cultures deemed unworthy of potential religious conversion?
#2 – Are people in the US with existing tattoos allowed to become born-again Christians? What happens if an existing parishioner gets a tattoo? Are they formally banned or shunned by their fellow parishioners?
No problems. Churches are full of millions of Christian adulterers who live in sin by divorcing and remarrying. Hypocrisy isn't any issue for them.
If you're claiming that churches are full of sinner, I don't think anyone would disagree with you. Did the name of this pastor's church escape you in the article?
If having a tatoo is a sin, do you have to have it removed before you can "go and sin no more"?
1. "avoid working with cultural groups that practice tattooing and/or other forms of body modifications as part of their heritage and belief systems?"
Maybe some do. But not all.
"Are people in these cultures deemed unworthy of potential religious conversion?"
No.
2. "existing tattoos allowed to become born-again Christians?"
Yes.
"What happens if an existing parishioner gets a tattoo?"
Same thing that happens when you get a tattoo.
"Are they formally banned or shunned by their fellow parishioners?"
No.
(Lev. 19:28) “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord”
Christian HYPOCRISY. Nothing new.
There you go again....stating things you have no idea about. It must be nice to just say whatever you think is correct without trying to understand what you are critiquing..
krhodes,
There you go again. Ignorantly criticizing an EXACT quote from the Bible with ZERO facts to back you up. Pathetic again.
............
The Judeo-Christian-Islamic ...
........ http://www.GODisIMAGINARY.com ..........
... and thank goodness because he emanates from the ...
....... http://www.EVILbible.com
.............
At least this pastor is now thinking about the tattoos she wants.
It made me wonder how many people have tattoos where less thought was invested on what their tattoo would actually look like than when they choose art work to hang in their house?
I personally know of people who chose their tattoos drunk in a spontaneous "let's get tattoos" moment. (Zero thought involved with bad results.)
I suspect lots of people have an idea of what they want, but no clue as to how it will actually be executed.
With the exception of people who bring a picture to the parlour, arguably the people that have the most understanding of what a tattoo will look like are those that choose a generic, derivative pattern in the tattoo parlour – which is hardly 'art'.
I've run the gamut of tattoo choices...
My first was a backpiece I had done at age 17 that a friend designed for me from my verbal description.
I got one during a debauched vacation when I was 20. I didn't even remember having it done until I was lurching through the airport hungover and my buddy smacked it.
Around the same time, I got another to try and impress a girl. The girl is long gone, but the sh/itty ink remains.
A few years back, I had those two covered up with something better – more thought out on my part and done by an actually skilled artist...
There are some other scattered here and there with which I am content – they remind me of what they're supposed to.
However – none of them are visible if I'm clothed normally (pants and a t-shirt) as I've no interest in showing anybody.
Thank you Nadia – your online sermons are helpful to me. I need to make time to read your book.
lol
I have seen my friends get tattoos over the years, and after years of considering what symbol I would want to display on my body for the rest of my life, the best I have come up with is a simple question mark. When anyone asks me what it means, I can truthfully respond... " I don't know". I still may never get a tat, but if I do.... ? seems the most honest to who I really am.
There are very few things that you can reliably guarantee you would want use your body as essentially a walking billboard for your message that you you will feel exactly the same way about for the rest of your life.
Plus, based on the tattoos I see, most tattoo artists are terrible. An individual artist might get better over time, but who wants permanent ink from someone who is practising?
See this artist's early attempts: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/14/living/irpt-aj-family-friendly-tattoo-shop/index.html
My tastes in Art has changed over the years, and I have to agree that most tattoo artists are terrible. Even if I painted a mural on my wall, I can always paint it over if I want to, so I see tats more for their symbolism. Other other hand, my brother has a very practical tat of a medical alert (diabetic) right where an IV or injection would be administered. He does construction and can't wear jewelry.
A medical alert makes sense. Regarding this comment:
"I see tats more for their symbolism"
sure, but your relationship to a symbol will likely change over say 30 years – and even if it doesn't the world around you might change it's perception of a symbol such that it comes to mean something else or even something passé or ridiculous.
A great example is tribal tattoos. At first they were 'bad ass' but as soon as they reached the point where 'everyone' was getting them, they were (and remain) no longer cool and even tattoo artists think they are stupid or at best derivative.
This woman is a good example. She now regrets her earlier tattoos to the point where she needs cover ups. What if 15 years from now she loses her faith. Are her tattoos now just ironic?
Whenever I see someone with tattoos I think whay a sadly unimaginative person they must be to think they'll have the same tastes and beliefs in 30 years. Or what an even sadder person to be right about that.
Did you see the new SNL cast member show off his crappy tats on Weekend Update this last Saturday? Tribal band on one arm, nautical star on the other, and a weird seascape on his side. Anyone considering a tat should watch that clip.
Following my son's death at age 17, I got two small tats honoring him. One is a small heart on the top of my left wrist, with his initials and age in it. I see it every time I look at my watch, and i am reminded how he is will always be a part of me.
The other is the Japanese word for "son", on my back just under my neck.
Okay, they are not great works of art, as they are very simple, but I have never regretted getting them, and they hold great meaning to me.
I have a friend who got a small tat of a cheeseburger on her heel. I asked why, and she replied, "who doesn't smile at the thought of a cheeseburger?" I said, "um...vegans?" It's cute, but that was something i wouldn't even think of doing...
Watch "Bad Ink" on A & E. That man, Dirk Vermin, is truly phenomenal, and he specializes in covering up bad tats. Plus, his friend Ruckus is hilarious. And talk about some truly awful tattoos...
Matter of taste, I guess.
@Akira,
I'm sorry to hear your son passed away. No doubt the feelings you have for him are more permanent than the ink.
I've seen "Bad Ink". Those bad tattoos they show (and they really are bad) aren't that uncommon.
I recently saw an ad for another tattoo show (there are so many) where the artist misspelled a tattoo written in 3" high letters across someone's chest.
Spelling mistakes are not that uncommon. I saw a misspelled tattoo on a woman the other day. Then of course there the whole subset of poorly/wrongly executed Asian calligraphy as parodied on The Big Bang Theory:
Sheldon: Why do you have the Chinese character for "soup" tattooed on your right buttock?
Penny: It's not "soup," it's "courage."
Sheldon: No it isn't. But I suppose it does take courage to demonstrate that kind of commitment to soup.
GOPer and Dog:
Thanks.
I'll be honest: I probably would never have gotten any tats if it weren't for that.
I've seen some truly awful tats, and what goes through my mind is "why??? Oh, the humanity!" Lol.
trying to find the bit that isn't passing the filter.... it may come in chunks
I have seen the show, and there are some dreadfully awful tattoos out there. I completely understand, respect, and support your decisions about your tattoos. I was in my 20's in the 80's – so I have been considering the symbolism of a tattoo for a long time, all along seeing my friends getting inked (now middle aged and not as attractive as they used to be – both the ink and the people).
a friend had a cannabis leaf tatto covered up with cannons
probably a good thing, as he was a Dept Of Army employee
I have yet to have a significant trauma in my life, but I just don't feel the need to mark myself, but I may in the future. No matter how awful some guy's "MOM" tattoo is, you just don't go there. People get inked for a lot of reasons, some not so wise. Some people are putting "art" on their bodies, and to me that sounds like a total crap shoot with only a slight chance of a payoff.
Unless the design was very simple, I think you'd want to see an illustration of what the artist will execute and lots of examples (skins not photos) of the artist's work before committing.
I understand the appeal, but it's not for me. I'm glad I wasn't tempted. In my younger days it wasn't nearly as ubiquitous as it is now.
There's going to be a lot of grandmas with really bad tramp stamps in the next 20-30 years.
After nearly 40 years of atheism, I am now starting to feel comfortable about being open with my views, and I may get it done someday and only explain the "true" meaning when I feel like it. I vacation in places where being an atheist may be dangerous, or at the very least subject to truly obnoxious proselytizing.
Then there's the whole professional aspect.
It's surprising just how many situations arise in which you encounter colleagues and (potential) clients where tattoos can be visible.
Men of course have a lot more options to hide tattoos than women do but I question the idea of why you would get a tattoo that is always hidden. What's the point in having one that only your doctor and significant other will see?
I can't think what would symbolize disbelief.
Don't do the question mark. It's too open to misinterpretation. And of course people (of a certain age) will ask you if your favorite song is "96 Tears".
And pop culture references are a bad idea. At some point they will always be trite.
Speaking only for myself, mine aren't so noticeable that it is the first thing you see when you meet me...people who have known me for years are always surprised when they see the one on my upper back during the summer months.
I didn't do it to make a statement, though. I really don't know what motivates other people; only myself.
Tramp stamps on anyone is just...icky, IMO. Worse than that? Facial tattoos.
I was contemplating a compass rose on the left side of my face. If it's icky I may rethink that.
Yes, facial tattoos are nasty.
Do you remember the guy who tattooed the Romney '12 logo on the side of his head? What a bone-headed thing to do.
It's interesting to me that extensive facial piercings have amost disappeared. In the 90s, before tattoos really took off, visible piercings – brows, lips, nose, etc were really popular, particularly in some parts of the country. I don't see nearly as much of it now. These things seem to cycle with each generation.
'rebels' by decade:
50s – biker look
60s – hippies
70s – ditto
80s – as much as I hated the 80s there was an explosion in uniquely 80s 'looks'
90s – piercings
00s – tattoos (plus hipsters with ironic tee shirts)
Pretty soon tattoos will be passé. What kid wants a look that both mom, dad and grandma have?
Lol, Tom. That's just me. I'm sure yours would be very tastefully done, and what are the odds we'd ever meet?
Of course, if we did, I'd know how to recognize you.
GOPer:
Gauges in ears is a look that I dislike intensely. I'm kind of glad that look is fading from popularity.
And tongue piercing. Yuck.
Yes, gauging the ears is a particularly unattractive look. I too am glad there's not that much of it to be seen these days.
Your story changes my mind somewhat. I have always thought there was nothing I would be so sure of feeling or believing in 30 years, but the loss of a child or other loved one would be an exception. I think that's a beautiful tribute and memory that will almost certainly never change.
Thank you, Sara. I hope you never have to get a "tribute" tattoo...
I have "entropy" written down the side of my right ankle. A permanent reminder... that nothing is permanent...
You go, Nadia! Loved Pastrix! Seekers are looking for "real" Christians these days, and you're the real deal indeed! Looking forward to seeing you at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC on November 5.
Hiddy-ho everyone!
Wanna look at the cheap art I got permanently etched into my skin? See the purty colors?
They're common biblical images and stories of a socially-acceptable "rebellious" type of girl that tried to fill her low self esteem with drugs, love and nonconformity.
Once that didn't work, my drug-addled brain decided to embrace the "pure" lifestyle of yesteryear (at this point anyway) and pray the sin away, only to convince myself I will live forever with this supernatural being that created me. After I die, of course.
In conclusion, tattoos can teach you a lot about yourself and serve as a disturbing visual timeline. Now I just need a tattoo for "born again cliché" and "Southern Christian White Trash"
Lutheranism is hardly considered white trash but nice effort at derision.
Bill is right. There are so many preachers that are worthy of derision, why limit it to Lutherans?
How effective is derision as a weapon really. Don't get me wrong of course sarcasm is always a fun hobby.
when it gets to the point of derision, i am not trying to convince anyone. take my posts to topher/gopher, for example. i had tried to be persuasive with him, until i realized he was a pigheaded moron who just wanted to preach and run from reason. that is when he became gopher. he is a punk. robert brown is not much better. arrogant dweebs who totally dismiss the possibility that they could be wrong about the existence or the nature of god
You are choking to death on your hip cynicism, how cool of you.
I am not judging. I am observing. In reviewing the forum, I see so many You's and They"s, and very few I's.
I am interested in what people think, regardless of whether I agree. I enjoy a respectful debate. What I do not enjoy are simple but nasty negative comment that convey nothing more than "You're srupid" or "You're wrong". (The name calling conveys nothing but ignorance and rudeness.)
I would like to know the reasoning behind dissenting opinions. Please tell me WHY you think I'm stupid or wrong. That, I respect immensely. I don't really need to read what I already believe. Thoughts and beliefs different from my own are those that provoke thought and, ultimately, greater knowledge.
@Beth
I would suggest that you attend a Unitarian service in your area. They support all beliefs (including non-belief) and the members are usually more than happy to engage in lively discussions about faith. I find the youth education programs to be the most telling of their viewpoints.
Is tattoo removal covered under Obamacare?
But forget about that colonoscopy you needed.
According to the GOP, under Obamacare, Uncle Sam is personally going to give you a colonoscoopy.
I think it covers cranialrectomies, also.
Shopping around, eh? Good idea. Don't clench your buttcheeks or you might strangle yourself. Your turn.
Nope. Don't need one. You? Since you already know the symptoms, I guess you do.
The bible says if you have tattoos you should be put to death. Just saying!
No it doesn't. Just saying!
The Bible also says you shouldn't eat pork or cut your hair...just sayin'.
My wife had a small rosé tattooed on her left boob when she was 17. Now, at 60, it's a long stemmed rosé.
I am glad she's not my pastor – she's far too worried about being a hipster rather than a theologian. Lame.
As long as you can read what's in her heart.
Lame
Wow, very judgemental.
"I got my first Christian tattoo in seminary.
So even seminaries have tattoo parlours now, or just the seminaries in the part of town next to the bail bonds, cheque cashing and liquor stores?
How about stri pper poles!
I have my faith marked in tattoos as well. I lack them alltogether.
i have marcel marceau quotes
Lol, sam.
i did find it funny that marceau was the only character to speak a word in Silent Movie
Now why would I condemn Marcel Marceau?
I see they deleted that awful troll, so my comment about MM looks silly. Oh, well.
Silent Movie is hilarious. A bit of genius, there.
are you speaking of the troll of a thousand names?
the instigator of the big,big,big lawsuit?
if anyone wants to condemn marceau, at least they should be quiet about it
Yes, sam, that one. Still waiting for my subpoena.
Leviticus 19:28 – Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I [am] the LORD.
LOL!
It was important for God's people in the Old Testament to separate themselves physically and spiritually from the practices of their evil, idol-worshiping neighbors. Since the practice of tattooing was associated with their idol worship, and even connected the bearer of the tattoo to their idol, Israel was prohibited from tattooing lest they be associated with the pagans.
Christians debate today whether this prohibition on tattoos applies to the modern church; although tattoos for tattoo’s sake are not specifically prohibited in scripture, it may not be a good idea to practice the art today for the sole reason of not ruining your witness to others. Either way, the ancient Israelites at least were forbidden to have them as they were related to pagan practices.
Christians debate today whether this prohibition on tattoos applies to the modern church;
Just like slavery or eating shellfish eh?
You could have just left it at "idol worshipping'. You didn't have to say 'evil'. Not sure how you would define 'evil' back then anyway. Many things we think of as evil now were common and accepted parts of life. Or did you mean that the Israelites thought of thier neighboors as evil? That would be a definate possibility.
Idolatry is "evil" as defined in the law found in Exodus 20. Specifically, the 2nd commandment.
Ah OK. So from their perspective it was evil. I misunderstood, sorry.