Putting words in God's mouth.

For the longest time I've been trying to figure out why Christians are so against body piercings. Many have expressed disapproval of my nose ring, but when I tell them to give me scripture to show me what God has to say about it, they either never do, or they conveniently "forget." While other times, people give verses that really have nothing to do with a nose ring. And for that matter, if piercing is wrong, then why don't you take your earrings out as you condemn me for my piercing?

Some of the verses that I've been given that supposedly show God's resentment for piercings are:

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

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Do you legitimately think that is God saying not to pierce your body? Read it! "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh FOR THE DEAD." - I'm sorry, this nose ring is not for the dead. I got the nose ring because I thought it was neat looking. Don't you dye your hair because you think a different color is nice looking? Don't you buy specific clothes because you think they are pretty? Seriously. Stop giving people your own opinion and tagging God on the end of it.

1 Kings 18:28 - "And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, til the blood gushed out upon them."

Now, maybe I'm taking this too literal, but there is no blood gushing from my nose. It is obvious this verse is talking about people who cut themselves to ease their pain. That would be wrong because God is the only One who can heal our hearts or give us peace. No type of harm done to the body can do that.


More scripture would be: Genesis 35:2-4, Exodus 32:2-3, Isaiah 3:18-23

These verses do actually talk about piercings such as earrings and "nose jewels." HOWEVER, do you not also see that it says those things were worn to worship other Gods or to show signs of witchcraft? If you know me, you know I love God. The end. I fall like every other Christian, but I worship God alone at the end of each and every day. Yes, earrings used to show that a person had a false idol. So what? Somewhere over in the Middle East people might think that wearing a wedding band is a sign of idolizing your husband or wife. It is so frustrating to me that people bend and manipulate what the Word says.

Also, if you hadn't noticed, those verses also discuss wearing necklaces and bracelets. Not just earrings. And definitely not just nose rings. So when you believe you're rightfully judging another Christian because of what you THINK the Bible says, make sure you actually say what God intended.

If anyone has more verses for me that may show God's disapproval of any body piercings PLEASE show me. I am not out to show that people are wrong when they bring verses, but I'm not going to manipulate what God said. And if you do have a verse for me, make sure you read it and examine yourself before you bring it to me. But I want nothing more than to please God, therefore if there is a serious reason why I should not pierce my body, I will remove the piercings and repent whole-heartedly.

PSBTW: Don't use the "your body is a temple" verse because you probably ate greasy bacon and eggs this morning. If that's so, you're turning God's temple into a lard factory... I'm just decorating mine and God hasn't told me to do any differently. :]