It used to be that tattoos really symbolized something and were not used as merely for decorative purposes only. Tribal people used tattoos to mark manhood, count wars, the number of men that they have killed and many other symbols such as those. Tattoos were also very religious in the old days, where people would have tattoos to please their gods.
It was said that the Crusaders had a small tattoo of a cross on their hand so that if they die in battle, whoever finds his body would know that he was a Christian and would bury his body properly. Other religious sects also had similar practices.
Animals were also popular tattoos as many tribes believed that all things, including animals, have spirits. Having a tattoo of an animal is religious and spiritual because it conveys the desire of the person to have something of the spirit of the animal which he or she might choose.
However, there is a debate if Christians should have tattoos or even consider getting one. Tattoos were prohibited in the Old Testament because the surrounding neighbors of Israel were into tattoos functioning to appease their gods. Through the law, the Lord commanded that the Israelites were not to have tattoos or any marks.
But in the New Testament, there is no such commandment. Many Christians take this as tattoos are allowed in their faith. And most motives of the Christian who wants to get a tattoo are pure. Christians want to use tattoos as tools to share the gospel and evangelize other people. They see it as an efficient way to reach out to the generation of today. Most common of religious tattoos are crosses, angels, and hands that are in the form of praying. There were other who would get tattoos after making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to remind themselves and show others that they have made the journey. It was something like a mark of those who were faithful.
In other religions, such as Roman Catholicism, the most common religious tattoos are rosaries, the Sacred Heart, and possibly a crown of thorns. They are more than decorative, it is a declaration of faith and an expression of what that individual believes in. Instead of an adornment, these tattoos point the observer to the faith of the person who has the tattoo on.
In other religions and pagan practices, the theme of death and the afterlife is popular in the designs of religious tattoos. They treated tattoos as a gate pass to the afterworld. Having a tattoo of the faith or belief ensured that when they died, they will be granted entrance in wherever their heaven was. Others believed that without the appropriate tattoo, the soul will not be allowed in the afterlife and is doomed to wander forever on earth.
Whatever the stories are or whatever you believe in, the important thing in getting tattoos, even religious tattoos, is to consider it very well. Tattoos can provide health risks and is permanent (unless removed by laser). Getting a tattoo is not a decision to be taken nonchalantly.
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