Leaving a Mark
Dear Righteous Rex,
Tattoos are taboo in my religion. A complete sin. Our minister has preached many times against ink. Yet I love my faith so much, I want to get a tattoo to celebrate it! In my heart I feel that’s what God wants.
Should I go against my minister and get a tattoo?
Signed,
Painting Sin and Loving My Skin
Dear PSALMS,
You want to get a tattoo for a religion that bans tattoos?
That is a quixotic paradox that cannot end well.
Surely you know this.
Yet still you wrote for advice.
Perhaps you are self-destructive?
Maybe you are a bomb thrower. Or a wanton contrarian. Or a mere troll.
What else might you be?
I suggest this: a sage.
You have foreseen that your current church will no longer fit you.
You seek a different way. A version that better suits your beliefs.
Leaving your congregation? Difficult. But either go in search of new answers, or stay and silence your frothing transgression.
Choose your side.
I hope I’ve framed the issue in clear and consumable terms.
Religious matters are tricky for even the most devoted theologians.
My church, of course, is the Big Top.
And we sell popcorn and cotton candy on top of our miracles.
Counterpoint Commentary by …
Frieda Looke, the Tattooed Lady
My two-hundred-and-seventeen tattoos all mean something personal to me.
They are a history. They tell my story, my way.
My truth is on my skin.
Your truth lies far from where you are now.
Can you walk away from that church?
I would soar far from such a flock.
But you? Is it in your nature?
Those bonds will prove tough to break.
But one way or another, they will be broken.
I predict you will stay in that faith.
And you will get your tattoo.
And a ruckus will erupt, full of anger and shame and betrayal.
And ultimately you will find yourself, and your new tattoo, in a different place of worship.
I say this not as an act of clairvoyance or some elevated cognition.
I’ll leave that to Madame Zoltara.
No, I say this from thirty-nine years of observing people.
The spectators love to stare and gawk at the Tattooed Lady.
They never realize that while they examine her … she is examining them.
Except that I look beyond glamour or appeal or allure.
In that moment they are unguarded, offering me a glimpse into their souls.
From your question, I imagine only one outcome.
You will leave this church.
As well you should.
But it will not be easy or clean.
And it will hurt much more than you currently imagine.
