Is it wrong to get a tattoo if it is respectful of God and our country?  I know the Old Testament says something about not tattooing your body, so I may know the answer.  However, I didn’t know if it might be affected by the type of tattoo.

Sincerely,
Inked

Dear Inked,

Tattoos were 100% sinful in the Old Testament – in the New Testament they are sinful some of the time. The Old Testament strictly forbade tattoos (Lev 19:28). God was so adamant about it because cutting your flesh and tattooing were common practices of pagan cultures (1 Kgs 18:26-28). Tattooing was a religious practice closely tied to Baal and other idols.

In the New Testament, we are given no specific command against tattoos. It is valuable, however, to see that for a very long time tattoos have had a negative connotation.  Even today, many tattoos are of things that exude evil.  Snakes, skulls, demonic signs, bad words, etc. are to be avoided at all costs.  So yes, what type of tattoo you guy does make a difference.  As a Christian, there are many things that we can do but should think carefully about beforehand. Just because I can do something, doesn’t mean it is a good idea (1 Cor 10:23).

We must always consider our influence and how it will affect others. God tells us to be wise and seek wisdom in our decisions (Pr 8:33). Whatever decision an individual makes, we recommend seeking outside counsel before getting something as permanent as a tattoo (Pr 11:14). It is not wrong for a Christian to get a tattoo, but it certainly isn’t a decision to make lightly.

Are we allowed to dance?  Our church doesn’t let us, and I was wondering if our church is Christian, and if we aren’t allowed to, why would other Christians do it?  Also, I have the same question about wearing earrings and necklaces and tattoos.

Sincerely,
Two Left-Out Feet

Dear Two Left-Out Feet,

We can’t tell you why your church teaches what it does or why others do what they do… but let’s look at what the Bible says about dancing.  Not all dancing is sinful (Eccl 3:4), but the kind of dancing seen in a lot of today’s society is.  Modern dancing is designed to be sexually provocative, and it puts young men and women in compromising positions that nurture the sort of behavior and attitudes that lead to sexual immorality and unhealthy relationships.

We are told to flee fornication (1 Cor 6:18), to do things that are honorable (Rom 12:17), and to avoid even the appearance of evil (1 Thess 5:21-22).  When people engage in the type of dancing so often seen in today’s culture, they act in a way that appears indecent and gives room for the lust of the flesh to overpower them (Rom 6:12, 1 Jn 2:16).

As for the other issues that you mentioned, here is an article on what the Bible says about tattoos (“Only Skin Deep”), and here is an article about what the Bible says on things like jewelry and makeup (“Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall”).  In all of these issues, it comes down to wisdom and avoiding sinful behavior that can sometimes be associated with dancing, tattoos, or excessive accessorizing.

Did God create evil?  If so, is there evil in Him?

Sincerely,
Dark Detector

Dear Dark Detector,

God didn’t create evil; the devil did.  The Bible says that Satan is the father of lies (Jhn 8:44).  Sin only exists when we turn our backs on God.  Sin is a lot like darkness.  Darkness isn’t really a thing – it is the absence of light.  God is the Father of lights and every good thing (Jas 1:17)… there is no evil in God.  When we stop following the Lord, we no longer walk in the light.  Evil is the absence of godliness.  Evil is what you get when you remove God’s design.

Is going to poker rooms sinful?  I believe poker is wrong and that it is sinful.

Sincerely,
All Out

Dear All Out,

The Bible never specifically mentions gambling as a sin, but it doesn’t have to be specifically mentioned to be wrong.  There are a great many things surrounding gambling that are sinful.  Consider that:

1. Gambling focuses around money and greed.  God warns us clearly about being fixated with money (1 Tim 6:10, Heb 13:5).  God wants us to be satisfied with our income (Eccl 5:10).  Contentment is a major component of spiritual maturity (1 Tim 6:6).
2. Gambling is used as a means to gain money without working for it.  God finds pleasure in people working for their livelihood (2 Thess 3:10-12, Pr 10:4).
3. Gambling wastes money because, ultimately, the house does always win.  God expects us to be good stewards (1 Cor 4:2) and save for the future (Pr 6:6-8).
4. Gambling and the places where gambling occurs are often associated with other sinful things.  There is a reason Las Vegas is called “Sin City”.  That industry is not one that a christian should be supporting (2 Cor 6:16-17).
5. Gambling is addictive.  We can only have one master (Lk 16:13).

God bless you, brethren.  I keep hearing among professing believers that we can “bind ourselves” with our words.  Is this of any truth?  If I were to have said something like, “being single all your life is not that bad”, am I now bound to being single all my life?  Or if I said something like, “God sometimes has a higher purpose than to heal us as he did with Paul”, am I now bound to never receiving healing from God?

Sincerely,
Restricted

Dear Restricted,

Christians are bound by their words but not in the way you are talking about.  Jesus tells us that we should make sure our “yes is yes and no is no.” (Matt 5:37).  When a Christian says they will do something, they need to follow through.  Part of having Christian character is being the type of person that keeps your promises.  In that sense, we are bound by our words.
However, you are talking about making statements that aren’t vows, merely observations or opinions.  That is an entirely different matter.  The Bible doesn’t teach anything about those types of statements binding a person.

Why do we have people with different colors of skin?

Sincerely,
Color Blind

Dear Color Blind,

We all came from Adam and Eve (Gen 3:20).  Eventually, mankind was scattered across the whole earth after the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:9).  Different races were created as these scattered groups became more isolated.  This is very similar to how you see parents and children looking alike – they share noticeable physical traits because they are closely related.  The groups that were scattered from the Tower of Babel were isolated by their language differences, and therefore only married amongst their specific language group.  This isolated intermarrying created distinct physical characteristics that differentiated one group from another (i.e. skin color, eye shape, face shape, hair color).  The different races of the world are nothing more than large family groups created after the Tower of Babel.