Critical Perspectives: " 'I bear on my body the marks...'

Critical Perspectives: " 'I bear on my body the marks...' What does the Bible say about Body Modification?"

By Eric Thurman PhD Candidate Drew University Madison, NJ

Invariably, Christian believers question whether the rash of body piercings on visible and private parts of the body should be considered a violation of God's laws, and therefore a sin. Body modifications "piercing, tattoos, mutilation, and the like" occupy an ambiguous place in the Bible. On one hand, many biblical texts refer to a wide range of body modification practices from wearing jewelry and make-up to various forms of tattoos to self-mutilation, with each reference centered on a specific literary and historical context. On the other hand, body modification itself is never addressed as a general practice. No one text explicitly condemns or condones body modification in general. Like a piercing or a tattoo itself, the Bible can be interpreted in different ways, depending on which text is privileged and in which context it is read.

A People Set Apart

Leviticus 19:28 is one of the most cited texts in arguments against Christians practicing body modifications, specifically tattooing. Like much else in the law codes in Leviticus, this and the surrounding verse in chapter 19 are meant to exemplify the distinctive nature of Israel's cultic life. The prohibition of "tattooing" in verse 28 refers to pagan mourning rites, the exact practice and meaning of which are not clear. Whether and how this prohibition applies to our contemporary modern context is also not clear. Those who object to Christian body modification tend to take the text as a blanket prohibition; early Christian legislation, written after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, likewise appealed to this verse to ban, in theory, all forms of tattooing and branding. Those who appreciate Christian body modification practices, however, typically reject the relevance of this passage by assigning it to the category of the Law that has been superceded by grace, God's unmerited favor, which Jesus offers. Thus, theologically speaking, how this verse applies to Christian practice today will depend, in part, on how one understands the significance of Old Testament practices and regulations in general. However, it is important to keep in mind that this text does not speak of body modification in general, but of specific mourning rites which were practiced by Israel's neighbors, and that its prohibition of such practices was meant to make Israel's cultic life different from that of other peoples and cultures.

The Body as a Temple

Another text routinely cited in discussions about Christian body modification is 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 (along with 1 Corinthians 3:16,17 and 2 Corinthians 6:16). Although the text has nothing at all to do with body modification practices, some opponents of tattooing and piercing appeal to this text because of Paul's idea that the "body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." In the context of chapter 6 and elsewhere in 1 Corinthians, Paul is dealing specifically with sexual practices that cause one to sin against one's own body as a member of the body of Christ (6:15-18). Paul's views on sex are complicated, but here he seems to be addressing certain Corinthian believers who believe that what they do with their mortal bodies is ethically insignificant because of the spiritual freedom they now enjoy through Christ (see 6:12,13; 8:1; 10:23). To oppose this view, Paul points out the importance of the body and bodily practices for those sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (6:11). For Paul, the body, like the temple, is to be kept pure and undefiled. For those arguing against Christian body modification practices, the assumption is that tattooing or piercing or the like is inherently and always a form of defilement because marking or altering the body is interpreted as an act of destructive violence against the physical integrity of the body that God called "good" (Genesis 1:31). So, although it is very important to keep in mind that Paul says nothing about body modifications in this verse, the underlying logic about the body that he follows is critical to any discussion about piercings and tattoos.

A Mark of Honor or Shame?

Although several other texts are sometimes cited to oppose Christian body modification practices, there are many others that hold neutral to positive positions on such practices. (Texts cited in this category, though not always convincingly, include Genesis 4:15,16; 24; Exodus 13:9, 16; 21; Deuteronomy 15; Judges 8:24; Isaiah 44:5; 49:16; Ezekiel 9:4, Matthew 19:12 and Mark 8:34; 9:42-48). Paul again provides one of the most interesting (but curiously not the most cited) texts in this regard, namely Galatians 6:17, where he concludes his letter warning that no one should trouble him because he carries "the marks of Jesus branded on" his body.

 

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