Leviticus Tattoos and Haircuts

In a day when body art is an ever-present mode of expression, with plenty of Christians having made visits to the Tattoo Parlor, confronting Levitical prohibitions against making any cuts or marks on the body is a lulu. What’s God got against being cool? We already know the answer to that. No matter how hard Christians try to be hip, we always come up short. And we probably should. “Be in the world but not of the world” was how Jesus put it. Not that getting a tattoo is necessarily about being cool. I was talking to my cheese-monger the other day who told me she loved something called “Farmdog Blue Cheese” so much that she was going to have the name tattooed on her arm.

The prohibition itself in Lev 19 reads: “You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Most likely, cutting your body for the dead was some sort of pagan rite that the Israelites were forbidden to follow, especially given Yahweh’s investment in eternal life beyond the grave. That tattoos are tied to this practice may have meant they were somehow related. Inasmuch as people are “made in the image of God,” our physical nature reflects God’s nature too. God isn’t human, but he became human in Christ. We confess to believe in the resurrection of the body, Jesus’ resurrection being the first-fruit and preview of that new creation. As such, we anticipate a continuity between this life and the next. Given the language of creation, we would expect new creation to bear plenty of similarities to life on earth now (at least all the good stuff). For God to pronounce creation “very good” would imply that it’s worth redeeming. The biggest difference will be the eternality of the new.

Inasmuch as Paul declares us to be new creations now (2 Corinthians 5:17), whatever we anticipate in heaven should be the case on earth (we pray this every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer). It’s true enough that Jesus still has his scars in heaven. No tattoos though. Paul talks about honoring God with your body because that’s where the Holy Spirit dwells, but he’s talking about sex with prostitutes. Nevertheless, there is a bigger principle at stake: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1Cor 6:20). Does this mean no body art? It definitely means certain kinds of body art. And given how badly tattoos age, it could mean no tattoos too.

Of course if tattoos are out then so are haircuts and shaving. In the verse just prior, Leviticus states: “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” Walk the streets of New York and Tel Aviv and you’ll find plenty of Jews in conformity with this one. How are Christians to respond? Sokol, the only Albanian (as well as the only scientist) who signed up for the Leviticus Experiment, signed up so he could grow a beard, something he’d wanted to do ever since he’d started shaving in elementary school. His wife said she’d divorce him if he did it, but she pulled back once he pulled rank with Leviticus 19:27. Smart woman that she is, his wife responded with Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Sokol countered that he was only living by Leviticus (not Ephesians) for the month. Conceding him that, she then reminded him that Leviticus was originally lived by people roaming the Sinai wilderness. Sokol had to spend the month in the woods.