Tattoos and Christianity

[e2hr...@yahoo.com]

There are several basic protests against tattoos from fundamentalist
christians. One is that the body is the house of the Holy Spirit and
tattooing your body in a way defiles the house. Or, one could look at
it like, it's more like putting a new coat of paint on your house, or
making your house a little more original. Nothing in the Bible
specifically states that tattooing your body defiles anything.
Another Biblical no, no is located in Leviticus 19:28 " Do not cut
your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the
Lord." Okay, what does that mean? Well the NIV version of the bible is
the only one that actually uses the word tattoo, as far as I know.
These where pagan rituals performed for the dead, the exact purpose is
not clear, but unless you are going to get a tattoo, surround yourself
with pagans, and receive the ink into your skin as unto the dead, I
think you're okay. Any opinions out there? I'd be glad to here them.