Dear Doug, Do you consider ear piercing to be body mutilation and, therefore, a “form of paganism which should find no refuge within the Christian community?” Mrs. J.H.

Thank you for your excellent question. Answer: The Bible speaks to everything. It gives us sufficient direction so we can be wise, lawful, and blameless regarding issues pertaining to body modification of all sorts: from cuttings, markings, augmentation, tattoos, to body mutilation, and piercings. A thorough analysis of biblical teaching on the above subjects will be found in Vision Forum’s future book on the subject which we hope to release in 2005.

I would summarize a few thoughts germane to your specific question. First, a piercing is a slightly different category than a body mutilation. When we speak of body mutilation, we are referring to inflicting actual damage or distortion to the human body for decorative, sexual and/or ritualistic purposes. Both the nature of the act being performed and the intent of the person “under the knife” are crucial in understanding whether such an action is biblical or not.

For example, it is ethically acceptable to perform amputation in order to save a life (or, hypothetically, even to prevent an offense — “if thy eye offend thee.”) It is not acceptable, to split your tongue, as is the fashion in some modern neo-pagan circles, to take upon yourself the aspect of a snake. As a matter of explicit biblical precept and principle, we are strictly prohibited from imitating or in any way drawing from ritualistic pagan practices, especially because such practices are inescapably rooted in occult religious activity. Furthermore, while we are not prohibited in the Scripture from appropriate care, management, and presentation of the loveliness of a woman (i.e. even physical beauty is often noted favorably in Scripture), we are repeatedly warned in Scripture by precept, principle, and through actual examples, against making beauty or trendy, vanity-focusing fashion an idolatry. The adornment of a true woman of God is her Godly inner humility, which is the most attractive and feminine adornment possible. All ritualistic, fashion-driven or sexually oriented body mutilation of which I am aware fails to meet the biblical test of acceptability and is prohibited for one or more the reasons mentioned above.

Piercings are not necessarily mutilation. For example, an ear piercing does not involve damage to and/or impede the natural function of the body, but, arguably, a typical tongue piercing does just this. In the Bible piercing is a sign of submission. A piercing may or may not be acceptable based on a similar analysis as mentioned above about body mutilation (i.e., association, purpose and intent), though we must be clear that the Bible speaks positively about piercing male servants who voluntarily submit themselves in love to a master. The Bible even appears to bless the idea that a woman may wear a decorative piercing (that meets the above standards I mentioned), as in the case of Rebecca.

Concerning women: In my own view, piercings which are meant to symbolize identification with a trendy or pagan cultural movement, which are driven by an undo concern for fashion; which are connected to pain rituals; which draw undo attention to the individual based on their appearance; which impede the natural function of the body (tongue, etc.), fail to meet the biblical test of what is lawful, wise, and pleasing to God.

Concerning men: The only possible biblical justification for piercing of which I am aware is to identify ones’ self with slavery. Realize it or not, Christian men who pierce themselves are taking upon themselves the mark of one in submission —- in essence they are saying: “Look at me. I am a slave to this unchristian culture with which I am seeking to identify myself.”

Sin is creative. As paganism grows within our culture, so does the creativity of those who seek to mar the image of God in man. Absent revival and reformation, we will see progressively more and more perversions of the human body and God’s created order in the days to come. Professing Christians who declare culture “neutral,” who seek to be part of the culture of paganism, who argue “whatever is not expressly forbidden is allowed,” or who want to see how close to the fire they can extend their hands without being burnt, are destined to become casualties.

These issues will not go away. Church shepherds should avoid the temptation to say nothing for fear of offending. They must also shun the teachings and warn against those who willfully preach a libertine Gospel message. All of us must recognize that there are issues of explicit law and there are issues of wisdom. Both are crucial. Wisdom issues require applying biblical principles and revealed normative patterns to specific facts to discern that which is pleasing and right in the eyes of God. Facts change, but principles never do. All of us should be willing to re-examine specific facts (types of behavior; trends, etc.) and circumstances (the reasons behind such behavior and trends) in light of Scripture, but this does not invalidate the legitimacy of offering some basic generalizations regarding the unbiblical nature of body mutilation, tattoos, male peircings, unbiblical female piercings, and the pagan revival sweeping the Church. 

In light of the strong biblical evidence against body mutilations and the type of piercings mentioned above, the biblical burden of proof rests on those Christians who wish to justify such behavior. They must prove from Scripture that such behavior is consistent with the mind of God as revealed in the Bible. Arguments that if something is not explicitly prohibited in Scripture by name (i.e. tongue piercings), they are therefore allowable, are invalid forms of an argument from silence which perverts the doctrine of Christian liberty and has the net effect of denying the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture.

The following are some Scriptures I would offer for your own personal studies: Leviticus 19:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Kings 18:28; Deuteronomy 14:1; Genesis 35:2; Exodus 32:2-3: Isaiah 3:18-23; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Tim 2:8-9