Jake Anderson

I just got back two weeks ago from a service trip to West Virginia (I'm from North Dakota). My parish took a group of 8, and travelled with a group of 14, and spent a week working for and with the locals in Delbarton and Williamson, WV. It was most excellent.

@mblx - Of course we can't get it 100% right; not even close! If we could, Jesus wouldn't have had to come. But I agree with you, if we truly believe, people should be able to see it by the way we live our lives. I would argue that those people you describe are not Christians at all.

Just because someone says they're a Christian doesn't make them one. I can say that I'm the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, but that doesn't mean I am.
If someone is a judgmental self-righteous asshole, it doesn't matter what they call themselves; what they really are is a judgmental self-righteous asshole.

I'm a pastor, so my tattoos get stares quite often. I'm a talker and my profession also demands that I be one, so typically when I see the stares I say hello and hope that a little dialog ensues. If the outcome is that their outlook on life broadens a bit; great. If they get super offended; I say a prayer that God show them the error in their judgmental ways and that they come to the realization that my tattoos are awesome.

3rd session on my 3/4 sleeve. Anchor and ship colored. Photos taken with my phone about an hour after the session. Going back on Tuesday to finish color and fill on the rest of the forearm; dots and stars. Looooooooots of dots and stars.

The two largest pieces on my arm, on my forearms actually, are Sailor Jerry flash. It's history. I eat that shit up.

I just got back two weeks ago from a service trip to West Virginia (I'm from North Dakota). My parish took a group of 8, and travelled with a group of 14, and spent a week working for and with the locals in Delbarton and Williamson, WV. It was most excellent.

The two largest pieces on my arm, on my forearms actually, are Sailor Jerry flash. It's history. I eat that shit up.

@Our Endless Days - No problem, I like answering questions. The idea of tattoos being sinful really comes back to Leviticus 19:28, which says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves." Leviticus is the third book in the Bible; it's really old. It was put together beginning at the time that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. There was period of 40 years between when the left Egypt and when they entered into the promised land. They were basically nomads during that time, travelling into many different lands, and associating with many different peoples.
At that point in time, God had "set apart" Israel as the chosen people who would eventually share God's blessing with the whole world. Being "set apart" meant that, at that time, God didn't want them losing their identity by taking on the customs of the many other tribes they came across. Some of these tribes tattooed themselves. Incidentally, the stuff you hear today about homosexuality being sinful comes from this portion of the Bible too. Homosexuality was a practice of some of the tribes, as well. There are hundreds of laws like this in Leviticus. Planting a field with more than one crop in it is an abomination, punishable by death. So is wearing clothing that is composed of more than one textile (cotton-polyester). So is eating shellfish. So is divorce. These laws were put in place in a specific time and context to make sure the Israelites were able to maintain a national identity, until the time came that God's blessing was to be shared with the whole world. Jesus' purpose was to make that happen. So the time for those laws had past. They're not valid anymore. And for most of those laws, the "conservative" Christians would agree with. They don't think you should be stoned for divorcing, or for planting multiple crops, or for wearing cotton-poly T-shirts. Yet for some reason, they think the one about tattoos and homosexuality is still valid. It isn't. What you see is a case of people using scripture as a way to reinforce what they already believe, when what they should be doing is using scripture to shape what they do and believe.
I tried to be concise, but am happy to clarify or say more.
P.S. - I am a Lutheran pastor, and have been for just over two years. I got my first tattoo when I was 16. I completed my 4-year college degree in 2006, and 4-year seminary study in 2010.

Spur of the moment decision when my artist posted on Instagram that he had many cancellations and was open ... Had been thinking of getting a nurse head / rose of no man's land for a while so I had him draw something up. Love her!
Here she is, super fresh and a little beat up looking:
By Steve Whittenburger at Rock-a-billy Tattoos in South Florida.

And yeah, she already has some stubble ... Like I said, I hadn't planned on this when my day got started. lol.

@Our Endless Days - No problem, I like answering questions. The idea of tattoos being sinful really comes back to Leviticus 19:28, which says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves." Leviticus is the third book in the Bible; it's really old. It was put together beginning at the time that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. There was period of 40 years between when the left Egypt and when they entered into the promised land. They were basically nomads during that time, travelling into many different lands, and associating with many different peoples.
At that point in time, God had "set apart" Israel as the chosen people who would eventually share God's blessing with the whole world. Being "set apart" meant that, at that time, God didn't want them losing their identity by taking on the customs of the many other tribes they came across. Some of these tribes tattooed themselves. Incidentally, the stuff you hear today about homosexuality being sinful comes from this portion of the Bible too. Homosexuality was a practice of some of the tribes, as well. There are hundreds of laws like this in Leviticus. Planting a field with more than one crop in it is an abomination, punishable by death. So is wearing clothing that is composed of more than one textile (cotton-polyester). So is eating shellfish. So is divorce. These laws were put in place in a specific time and context to make sure the Israelites were able to maintain a national identity, until the time came that God's blessing was to be shared with the whole world. Jesus' purpose was to make that happen. So the time for those laws had past. They're not valid anymore. And for most of those laws, the "conservative" Christians would agree with. They don't think you should be stoned for divorcing, or for planting multiple crops, or for wearing cotton-poly T-shirts. Yet for some reason, they think the one about tattoos and homosexuality is still valid. It isn't. What you see is a case of people using scripture as a way to reinforce what they already believe, when what they should be doing is using scripture to shape what they do and believe.
I tried to be concise, but am happy to clarify or say more.
P.S. - I am a Lutheran pastor, and have been for just over two years. I got my first tattoo when I was 16. I completed my 4-year college degree in 2006, and 4-year seminary study in 2010.

I'm a pastor, so my tattoos get stares quite often. I'm a talker and my profession also demands that I be one, so typically when I see the stares I say hello and hope that a little dialog ensues. If the outcome is that their outlook on life broadens a bit; great. If they get super offended; I say a prayer that God show them the error in their judgmental ways and that they come to the realization that my tattoos are awesome.

I go to Darkside Tattoo in Grand Forks. They have three really good artists (Bryon, Brown, and Roy) and a couple more that I'm not quite as impressed with.

As promised a couple more from Rachi Brains BLACK THRONE TATTOO



Should maybe also take this moment to mention the also amazingly talented Ms. Alison Manners who is also tattooing out of Black Throne these days. Also check Manners Tattoo.com

Max Kuhn

Meth is a hell of a drug.

Yeah, syringes never bothered me much - and I have no fear of tattoo machines (well, except for some choice body areas), but I never equated hypo needles with tattoo needles. No real correlation for me.

If you can't sit through 20 minutes of getting tattooed, you probably don't deserve to get tattooed.
In my opinion, it's a good thing they hurt because it keeps people who shouldn't have them away...

@Our Endless Days - No problem, I like answering questions. The idea of tattoos being sinful really comes back to Leviticus 19:28, which says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves." Leviticus is the third book in the Bible; it's really old. It was put together beginning at the time that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. There was period of 40 years between when the left Egypt and when they entered into the promised land. They were basically nomads during that time, travelling into many different lands, and associating with many different peoples.
At that point in time, God had "set apart" Israel as the chosen people who would eventually share God's blessing with the whole world. Being "set apart" meant that, at that time, God didn't want them losing their identity by taking on the customs of the many other tribes they came across. Some of these tribes tattooed themselves. Incidentally, the stuff you hear today about homosexuality being sinful comes from this portion of the Bible too. Homosexuality was a practice of some of the tribes, as well. There are hundreds of laws like this in Leviticus. Planting a field with more than one crop in it is an abomination, punishable by death. So is wearing clothing that is composed of more than one textile (cotton-polyester). So is eating shellfish. So is divorce. These laws were put in place in a specific time and context to make sure the Israelites were able to maintain a national identity, until the time came that God's blessing was to be shared with the whole world. Jesus' purpose was to make that happen. So the time for those laws had past. They're not valid anymore. And for most of those laws, the "conservative" Christians would agree with. They don't think you should be stoned for divorcing, or for planting multiple crops, or for wearing cotton-poly T-shirts. Yet for some reason, they think the one about tattoos and homosexuality is still valid. It isn't. What you see is a case of people using scripture as a way to reinforce what they already believe, when what they should be doing is using scripture to shape what they do and believe.
I tried to be concise, but am happy to clarify or say more.
P.S. - I am a Lutheran pastor, and have been for just over two years. I got my first tattoo when I was 16. I completed my 4-year college degree in 2006, and 4-year seminary study in 2010.

Just because someone says they're a Christian doesn't make them one. I can say that I'm the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, but that doesn't mean I am.
If someone is a judgmental self-righteous asshole, it doesn't matter what they call themselves; what they really are is a judgmental self-righteous asshole.

@Our Endless Days - No problem, I like answering questions. The idea of tattoos being sinful really comes back to Leviticus 19:28, which says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves." Leviticus is the third book in the Bible; it's really old. It was put together beginning at the time that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. There was period of 40 years between when the left Egypt and when they entered into the promised land. They were basically nomads during that time, travelling into many different lands, and associating with many different peoples.
At that point in time, God had "set apart" Israel as the chosen people who would eventually share God's blessing with the whole world. Being "set apart" meant that, at that time, God didn't want them losing their identity by taking on the customs of the many other tribes they came across. Some of these tribes tattooed themselves. Incidentally, the stuff you hear today about homosexuality being sinful comes from this portion of the Bible too. Homosexuality was a practice of some of the tribes, as well. There are hundreds of laws like this in Leviticus. Planting a field with more than one crop in it is an abomination, punishable by death. So is wearing clothing that is composed of more than one textile (cotton-polyester). So is eating shellfish. So is divorce. These laws were put in place in a specific time and context to make sure the Israelites were able to maintain a national identity, until the time came that God's blessing was to be shared with the whole world. Jesus' purpose was to make that happen. So the time for those laws had past. They're not valid anymore. And for most of those laws, the "conservative" Christians would agree with. They don't think you should be stoned for divorcing, or for planting multiple crops, or for wearing cotton-poly T-shirts. Yet for some reason, they think the one about tattoos and homosexuality is still valid. It isn't. What you see is a case of people using scripture as a way to reinforce what they already believe, when what they should be doing is using scripture to shape what they do and believe.
I tried to be concise, but am happy to clarify or say more.
P.S. - I am a Lutheran pastor, and have been for just over two years. I got my first tattoo when I was 16. I completed my 4-year college degree in 2006, and 4-year seminary study in 2010.

@Our Endless Days - No problem, I like answering questions. The idea of tattoos being sinful really comes back to Leviticus 19:28, which says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves." Leviticus is the third book in the Bible; it's really old. It was put together beginning at the time that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. There was period of 40 years between when the left Egypt and when they entered into the promised land. They were basically nomads during that time, travelling into many different lands, and associating with many different peoples.
At that point in time, God had "set apart" Israel as the chosen people who would eventually share God's blessing with the whole world. Being "set apart" meant that, at that time, God didn't want them losing their identity by taking on the customs of the many other tribes they came across. Some of these tribes tattooed themselves. Incidentally, the stuff you hear today about homosexuality being sinful comes from this portion of the Bible too. Homosexuality was a practice of some of the tribes, as well. There are hundreds of laws like this in Leviticus. Planting a field with more than one crop in it is an abomination, punishable by death. So is wearing clothing that is composed of more than one textile (cotton-polyester). So is eating shellfish. So is divorce. These laws were put in place in a specific time and context to make sure the Israelites were able to maintain a national identity, until the time came that God's blessing was to be shared with the whole world. Jesus' purpose was to make that happen. So the time for those laws had past. They're not valid anymore. And for most of those laws, the "conservative" Christians would agree with. They don't think you should be stoned for divorcing, or for planting multiple crops, or for wearing cotton-poly T-shirts. Yet for some reason, they think the one about tattoos and homosexuality is still valid. It isn't. What you see is a case of people using scripture as a way to reinforce what they already believe, when what they should be doing is using scripture to shape what they do and believe.
I tried to be concise, but am happy to clarify or say more.
P.S. - I am a Lutheran pastor, and have been for just over two years. I got my first tattoo when I was 16. I completed my 4-year college degree in 2006, and 4-year seminary study in 2010.

3rd session on my 3/4 sleeve. Anchor and ship colored. Photos taken with my phone about an hour after the session. Going back on Tuesday to finish color and fill on the rest of the forearm; dots and stars. Looooooooots of dots and stars.

3rd session on my 3/4 sleeve. Anchor and ship colored. Photos taken with my phone about an hour after the session. Going back on Tuesday to finish color and fill on the rest of the forearm; dots and stars. Looooooooots of dots and stars.

3rd session on my 3/4 sleeve. Anchor and ship colored. Photos taken with my phone about an hour after the session. Going back on Tuesday to finish color and fill on the rest of the forearm; dots and stars. Looooooooots of dots and stars.