Jehovah's Witnesses and Tattoos

by NotFormer 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • jhine
    jhine

    Well it shows how we all make assumptions about others " judging books by their covers " Because, obviously, l am one of the nicest people ever .

    Mine is a pretty bird and can only be seen in public when l wear a swimming costume. However my daughter and two granddaughters have ones that show . My daughter is a national manager with BT , a major company in the UK . My eldest Granddaughter works in payroll for a local bus company and the youngest is just off to uni .

    Going back to the actual discussion didn't Jesus say that it's not what's on the outside but what goes on inside that counts ?

    Why people who already have tatts should have to remove them is beyond me . Except that maybe having a tattoo shows a degree of individualism that won't be tolerated by the Org.

    Jan from Tam.

  • TonusOH
    TonusOH

    carla: tatts on women used to be called tramp stamps.

    As I understand it, that's a slang term referring to tattoos that women get just above their butt.

  • Destin
    Destin

    Carla, I have a tattoo from when I was 15. It has never disqualified me to become a publisher, going out in service or anything else. My sister has hand tattoos and it never held her back from being a Jehovahs Witness. Sorry, but your comment is incorrect.

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    NOT FORMER:

    I got one in the very later years of being in the religion. It was small and not in a noticeable area.

    DESTIN:

    No, she is not wrong.

    It all depends on who you are (man or woman), where you are located, what the body of elders is like, what the tattoo is and where it is on your body.

    Also, if you have a big mouth about the whole thing that factors into it.. I got a tiny tattoo in the time prior to my ‘Fade’. But, I was older and didn’t go around talking about it like a moron. If anybody had said anything, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It would have only hastened my departure from the religion.

  • EasyPrompt
    EasyPrompt

    I had tattoos on both arms and on my back when I became a JW. Nobody cared. (I'm almost 50 and I'm not into tattoos now, I wouldn't recommend it, but it was a novelty back when I was 18.)


    My PIMI husband got a tattoo after being in the JWBorg fifteen years. (He already had a mess of them from before he came into the borg.) He had been an elder and a pioneer before getting this newest tattoo. The JWBorg elders didn't care. They don't care about him smoking either. If you're "in" with the local BOE, they don't care if you get a tattoo or smoke or get arrested for breaking the law, as long as you worship the elders in harmony with what is written in the "Organized" book.

  • moley
    moley

    I had tattoos done while I was still in a few others in my circle of friends had them as well. We just didn’t advertise the fact

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    LongHairGal: You walked safely away, didn't you? That tattoo must have been very discreet!

    EasyPrompt: He smoked? 😱

    Morley: That seems to be a recurring theme in this thread; it depends on your Kingdom Hall and how discreet you are about it.

  • EasyPrompt
    EasyPrompt

    Smoking, abuse, adultery, tattoos, whatever, they don't care. The BOE around here don't care as long as the person worships the elders properly according to the JWBorg. It's like that Catholic Church "sale of indulgences" thing, except instead of cash it's payment of worshipful honor the BOE craves.


    A congregation member can get arrested for domestic assault, get caught committing adultery, celebrating holidays, smoking, and still be in good standing in the congregation as long as they kowtow to the BOE.


    Another congregation member can toe the line completely (no abuse, no adultery, no whatever) and get kicked out for not bowing down to the BOE.


    The BOE around here don't really care about anything except getting worshipped. It's gross. The publications are for show. The website articles are for show. Right now they have articles on the front website page about Truth (but they don't care about truth) about Successful Families (but they break up families with disfellowshipping) and about Help for Victims Domestic Abuse (but they don't help them, they help the abusers and crush the victims). They are fakers. If they say they care about tattoos or no tattoos, it's just for show. They don't care about anything except getting worshipped.

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    NOT FORMER:

    Yes, I walked away (‘Faded’) but I didn’t call attention to myself. Besides, JWs don’t usually chase after anybody (especially women) unless they were considered a material ‘asset’.. In other words, you had to be somebody who did favors for the Users and/or gave people thing$.👎

    EASY PROMPT:

    Even though I’m Out, I don’t doubt what you say. It has probably come down to people looking for prominence in the religion. So, they will ‘overlook’ some things, such as somebody’s tattoo(s), as long as people fawn over them.

  • smiddy3
    smiddy3

    I have a tattoo on my arm that I got when I was sixteen and before i became a JW ,and when I became a JW it was never an issue and I served as a MS for many years .And resisted being made an Elder.

    The problem that some had must do with the control some Elders had within their congregations.

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