I had an interesting tought earlier today but I forgot so .. ehrm :s Yeah!

Religion.. *sigh*


Q: I am Lutheran and fully believe in what my religion teaches and preaches, but I need a little advice. I'm interested in ancient Egyptian art and would like to get a tattoo showing my name in hieroglyphics with Egyptian gods on each side in a ''protective'' stance. The tattoo would not imply worship or deification; I simply want to use the images as the theme for my body art. Before I do this, I want to be sure I would not offend the Lord or break a commandment in the process. Any thoughts?

Confused in Parsippany, N.J.



A: While some native religions use body piercing and tattoos as part of their religious practices, the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all hold the view that God owns our bodies and therefore ''body art'' is less a form of artistic self-expression than the unjustified desecration of a human body that God alone owns. It's the spiritual equivalent of pounding a nail into the wall of a rental apartment.

Judaism is firm on this view, forbidding the burial of anyone with a tattoo, although this law is violated routinely. Christianity in all its forms does not classify tattooing as a grave sin but it's hardly encouraged.

The spiritual issues we have with tattooing are that it's a form of self-wounding with risks of infection for no positive medical purpose. Tattooing and body piercing also encourage the belief that the body as created by God is not beautiful enough but must be further decorated.

As to your choice of Egyptian religious motifs for your tattoo, we strongly disagree. If you want a religious tattoo, why not include a cross, which is at least a symbol of the God you believe in? And carefully consider that the images you seek to tattoo on yourself may not be the images you want 10 years from now. In any case, they're about 4,000 years and a world away from symbols that actually speak to your life. That life is precious and so is God's love for you.