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"Priests
must not shave their heads … or cut their bodies.
They must be holy to their God and must not profane
the Name of their God ... they are to be holy."
Leviticus 21:5 – 6
As
Christians, we are called to be holy, set apart and
different from the world, consecrated to God. "Everybody’s
doing it" is hardly an argument to justify Christian
involvement. They very fact that pagans practice body
piercing should be a compelling enough argument against
Christians being conformed to the world.
"But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare
the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9
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The
Scriptures are clear that we must treat our bodies
with respect, they are not our own to do with
as we wish. They belong to God, who made them
and who purchased them with His own blood. Our
bodies are to be temples of the Holy Spirit. We
are to glorify God with our bodies.
"Do you not know that your bodies are members
of Christ Himself? … Do 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; you were bought with a price.
Therefore honour God with your body." 1 Corinthians
6:15, 19 – 20
On the other hand, the Bible records how pagans
abused their bodies. The false prophets of Baal
"slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom until their blood flowed."
(1 Kings 18:28). |
The
demon possessed man of Gadara cut himself with stones
and ran around naked (Mark 5:5). It was the custom
of the Ishmaelite men to wear gold earrings. (Judges
8:24).
Biblically,
a pierced ear is a public indication of permanent
slavery. When the Hebrews were led out of slavery
in Egypt by Moses, they were urged "take off
the gold earrings … so all the people took off
their earrings … These are your gods, O Israel."
Exodus 32: 1-3
After
God spoke to Jacob, he instructed his household to
get rid of their idols and purify themselves. Along
with their stone idols, they buried their earrings.
"So
Jacob said to his household and to all who were with
him, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with
you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes’
… so they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they
had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried
them." Genesis 35:2
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This
has always been the response of pagan people when
they’ve embraced the Gospel of Christ. From
Papau New Guinea to the Amazon jungle, pagan tribes
engage in body scarification, earrings, nose rings,
tongue studs, multiple piercings and tattoos.
Once converted to Christ, however, these tribes
abandon all these body modification practices. |
"Fear
the Lord your God, serve Him only … Do not follow
other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for
the Lord your God … is a jealous God and His
anger will burn against you … Do not test the
Lord … Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord
your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given
you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s
sight, so that it may go well with you … in the
future, when your sons asks you, ‘What is the
meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the
Lord your God has commanded you?’ ‘We were
slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us
out of Egypt with a mighty hand …" Deuteronomy
6:13 – 21
It
is completely inappropriate for a Christian man to
wear an earring – the mark of slavery. What may
be appropriate for a woman is not necessarily appropriate
for a man. What is practiced by the world is seldom
acceptable for a Christian.
"You,
my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use
your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather
serve one another in love." Galatians 5:13
"Live
as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover
up for evil." 1 Peter 2:16
"It
is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened
again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1
If
something is prevalent and accepted in the world,
that alone should be a compelling argument against
Christians adopting their fashions and fads. We are
called to be different. We are to honour God with
our bodies.
"Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.
Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect
will." Romans 12: 1 – 2
Our
bodies matter. They are to be presented to God as
holy offerings – in a way that pleases God. We
are not to follow the example of the pagans. Making
holes in our bodies is hardly respecting them as temples
of the Holy Spirit. Permanently disfiguring our bodies
is blatant rebellion to our Creator and Redeemer.
"Dear
friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the
world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against
your soul." 1 Peter 2:11
Part
of the Biblical description of a harlot is that "she
decked herself with rings and jewelry … but Me
she forgot, declares the Lord." (Hosea 2:13)
"For
in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect
or hate his sin." Psalm 36:2
"Let
us examine our ways and test them, and let us return
to the Lord." Lamentations 3:40
To
draw attention to ourselves with these excessive fashion
statements is hardly in keeping with the Biblical
commands to be humble and modest (Proverbs 21:4; 1
Timothy 2: 9 - 10).
"Your
beauty should not come from outward adornment …
instead it should be that of your inner self, the
unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit."
1 Peter 3: 3 - 4
The
present obsession of many with body modification is
a revival of tribalism. It involves a painful initiation
rite, which produces an identification with a certain
tribe, clan or sub-culture. The Kacipo people in Sudan
stretch their lower lips to fit a saucer-sized pottery
and they stretch their ear lobes to create huge holes
and long earlobes. Amongst the Nuba tribes in Sudan,
multiple earrings, nose rings, body scarification
and body painting are prevalent. The Dinka and Nuer
tribes in Sudan are easily identifiable by the pattern
of scars across their foreheads.
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Amongst
the Hindus - nose studs, belly rings, toe rings,
tongue studs and eyebrow rings are common. Tattoos
amongst the Amazon tribes identify the various
members of a given tribe. In Papau New Guinea,
all kinds of body scarification, tattoos and
body mutilation distinguish the various tribes.
Among
the tribes in Borneo, tattooing is mainly associated
with head hunting (a visible sign of success)
for men and the coming of age of women - in
some cases it symbolizes their social status.
Tattoos are part of the "rites of passage"
and next to blackened teeth and long ear lobes,
intricate tattoos on fingers, hands, lower arms,
thighs, calves, and feet served as important
elements of beauty for women.
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A
pagan view on the subject: "A tattoo is a complex
signifier: it signals class; it signals sexuality;
and it has specific content as a signifier: a depiction
of an animal, a person, an abstract tribal design.
The most usual motifs are signifiers of power and
masculinity... But what the tattoo signals above all
is the power one seizes over one's own body…
To be branded or tattooed shows also that you have
the requisite guts to join the group. It is not the
most extreme or painful form of initiation, but it
serves as a sign of pain and hence of resolution."
(Crispen Sartwell)
"Tattooing
is often a magical rite in the more traditional cultures,
and the tattooist is respected as a priest or shaman."
(Michelle Delio, Tattoo: The Exotic Art of Skin Decoration,
p. 73)
And in the same way, eyebrow rings, nose rings, multiple
earrings, nipple rings, belly rings and tongue studs
distinguish identifiable sub-cultures in New York,
London, Paris and other capitals of what is meant
to be civilization.
"The
look on their faces testifies against them; they parade
their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to
them! They have brought disaster upon themselves."
Isaiah 3:9
The interesting thing is that while so many Westerners
rush into new age religions, body piercing and occultism,
many millions in the tribes mentioned in Africa, South
America, Asia and the Pacific islands, are being converted
to Christ and are abandoning the body piercing practices
of their pagan past.
It
is very clear who are the Christians and who are the
pagans in these mission fields. The pagans wear little
or no clothing and they engage in a variety of body
scarification, body piercing and/or tattoos. On the
other hand, the Christians are easily identifiable
– they wear clothes and they don’t engage
in any body modification.
"I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live
but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the
body I live by faith in the Son of God Who loved me
and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
Of
course, some older people will still have the scars
and the holes – testimony of the pagan past before
they were converted – but all earrings, eyebrow
rings, nose rings and such like have been removed.
And their children are free from these pagan disfigurements.
It is unheard of in these areas for Christians to
voluntarily pierce or tattoo their bodies. In fact,
they are shocked when Western men visit them with
ponytails and earrings.
"You
are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut
yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the
dead, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God."
Deuteronomy 14: 1 – 2
How
then can we explain the widespread toleration and
even practice of body piercing in far too many Christian
Churches and even Bible Colleges and ministries in
the West?
"Don’t
you know that you yourselves are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone
destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him;
for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that
temple. Do not deceive yourselves …." 1
Corinthians 3: 16 – 18
Generally
it starts off by assuming that if an earring is appropriate
for a woman, then it is appropriate for men as well.
Some women then reasoned that if men were going to
wear an earring, then they would wear multiple earrings.
And as so many in the world are wearing nose rings,
eyebrow rings, belly rings, tongue studs, etc. then
why shouldn’t we?
"You
adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship
with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses
to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."
James 4:4
As
so many Christians have immersed themselves in pagan
music, immoral videos and worldly amusements, it should
not surprise us that so many of our youth are indistinguishable
from their non-Christian friends. The mind-rotting,
brain-numbing, soul-destroying trash that fills the
ears, eyes and minds of our youth should be sufficient
explanation for the backslidden, immoral and un-Christian
behaviour, which now even includes professing Christians
disfiguring their bodies with pagan piercings.
"There
is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans
3:18
It
is time for Youth leaders and Pastors to study what
the Scripture teaches on this subject and then to
boldly, and without compromise, preach on these passages
and call those people who are defiling their bodies
to repent. We need to take God’s Word seriously.
"Let
us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates
body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence
for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1
"May
God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through
and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body
be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Dr.
Peter Hammond
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