con·tra·dic·tion: Inconsistency; discrepancy.

Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. - Leviticus 19:28

Oh my, oh my, oh my. I just did that thing that makes the internet the best thing ever in the world. You know, when you click on a link to a new page, then another link from there, then another from there, and you find yourself somewhere you never, ever thought was possible?

I followed a link to awful plastic surgery which led me to click on the link to a tattoo blog, which sounded interesting.

And then, then, they had a link to religioustattoos.net. Religious Tattoos dot net!!!! I was so excited, and with good reason! There are 17 Mary tattoos, 93 Jesus tattoos, 2 of the Last Supper and even 36 of the Holy Spirit!

I was getting all excited and working out who to email the link to when I spotted the ultimate webring... The Christian Tattoo Association. There is a whole Association!!

I'm not quite sure why this has entertained me so much. My status as a Recovering Catholic (it never quite goes away...), admiration for many arty tattoos, and the sheer campness of some of the images, combined with the 'hard'ness of having a tat at all...

I don't know, it seems inherently contradictory, the juxtaposition of picture of Our Lady... permanently inked with a needle in the arm. The juxtaposition of tattoos (cool, rebellious) with religion (not cool, often conforming). And the juxtaposition of me going Cool, tats and Yikes, a crucifix.

Leviticus 11:6-7 - The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:10-12 - But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales - whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water - you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.

Leviticus 19:19 - Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

Leviticus 19:27 - Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

Leviticus 19:28 - Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 21:5 - Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.