Matt makes an interesting point here.
You're right, I'm not Catholic. So why would I get a whole bunch of Catholic imagery tattooed on my arm? Well, I think there's quite a few answers to that.
Firstly, I'm a Christian. Personally, I don't like to get involved in denominational splits - I believe that all Christians are part of the Church - that is the Body of Christ. That means that despite differences of opinion when it comes to doctrine, we are all part of the same Church.
I know for a fact that I don't agree with everything that everyone at TACF believes. But that doesn't mean that I won't meet with them on a regular basis.
When Matt (and Rob) ask why I would want to get my whole arm done in something I don't believe in, they are missing the point that it's not that I don't believe in it. In fact, I do. There's just a few things that Catholics focus on that I don't. But more on that in a minute.
I don't want to get into a long theological debate, because I have a better place for that. But I do want to look a little at why I would get tattoos of Catholic images.
The imagery that I am talking about is, in every sense of the word, iconic. You see a picture of Jesus with the Sacred Heart, you know it's Jesus. The images are very obviously religious. And that's a major reason for me to get these tattoos. I've talked on here before about how many Christians disagree with tattoos. Although I'm not about to make people change their mind on that (unless they try to get me to change mine!) I do feel like it's perfectly acceptable within my belief structure to get tattoos. Although I note that much of the opposition I find within the Church to tattoos is a result of different interpretations of scripture, and of different revelation, I also believe that a great deal of it is the result of Religious Spirits. Again, my other blog is a better place for a detailed discussion on Religious Spirits, but here's a quick rundown of what I believe about them:
Jesus came to set us free from slavery to the Old Law. That doesn't mean that we don't follow it any more, but that it isn't that that saves us.
A Religious Spirit is a spirit that comes to try to tie us to tradition and law in order to stop us from focusing on Jesus.
Jesus is the centre of my beliefs, as He is the only way to the Father.
I don't want to let anything else become the focus of my faith; be that tattoos, what songs we play at Church meetings, whether I should wear a hat into a Church building, or anything else that isn't absolutely essential to following Jesus.
So here's the thing. Beth (my wife) thinks that I was put on Earth to challenge Religious Spirits. I think that there's probably more to it than that, but I do believe that part of my calling to be a tattoo artist is to fulfill that. By tattooing religious images on myself, I think that it challenges conventional thought about what it means to practice Christianity.
Like I said at the start of this post, Catholics are Christians. Certainly some of their doctrine is at odds with mine - I don't pray to Saints, for example. But the picture of Jesus on my arm represents the same Jesus that I sing to and pray to and trust and follow. Just because the image came from the window of a Catholic Church building doesn't make it any less relevant to me.
Right. Theological post over. Thoughts, anyone?
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