Many older Christians condemn tattoos by quoting the most direct biblical reference to tattoos, Leviticus 19:28: “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.” Others seek exegesis from pastors like John Piper, who said in a recent podcast that he receives emails about tattoos “almost daily.” Piper took two episodes to address the issue, and concluded by saying tattooing is not a sin, but be wise and skip it. The Leviticus passage is explicitly anti-tattoo, and “that should at least give us a few minutes’ pause,” said Piper. Tattooing in itself is not intrinsically evil, the popular pastor and author said, but the permanent nature of tattoos—with the painful and expensive cost of removal—may turn them into stumbling blocks later.
Others who profess Christ don’t skip it, but at least think about it seriously. Brown said she considered “long and hard”...