Words/phrases from this commentary:
- a savage, covered head to toe in tattoos.
- the continuing applicability of Old Testament law (especially re: shellfish) (note: parenthetical comment is my own)
- pagans
- gentiles
- raw material on which we simply carve graffiti.
- Even young women who mark their bodies with flowers or butterflies
- Tattoos last a lifetime—unless they are painfully removed.
- the higher and the lower, the superior and the inferior
- a tattoo or, even worse, a body piercing
it's sad that he is so dismissive of the minds of young tattooed women. it is ok to want society to return to where it seemed to be 100 years ago - but when we look back, we are not seeing, fully. and he doesn't seem to acknowledge that his argument is based mostly on sentimental nostalgia.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is, though I note that he is not inherently opposed to tattoos, conceding that this too is part of Christian freedom. He wants to ask about the (social, psychological, spiritual) meaning of tattoos, which is surely a very interesting question.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of Colson for all kinds of reasons (anti-evolution, pro-war and more), but I do think this piece is a little more than just a laugh. I doubt I'd come to the same conclusions as Colson about the meaning of tattoos and piercings, but I do think that asking the question is worthwhile.
PS I'm a little unsure what to make of your list of words/phrases. Do you mean that you found all these amusing? I realise that explaining a joke usually ruins, but in this case, I can't really see the humour.
• savage is the language used in MD, so he is simply quoting
• he is making a historical comment about the beliefs of Calvinists 160 years ago (relevant to the original context of MB) though he personally rejects this, as the coming of Christ has brought freedom from the rules of Torah
• pagan - also used in MB, though common use today is not necessarily derogatory. It can simply denote someone outside of mainstream religions. My dictionary says that the derogatory meaning is dated.
• gentiles - he's discussing the theological stance of ancient Israel as found in the Hebrew scriptures
• raw materials and onwards - ok, here is bias is coming out. And I did laugh at a piercing being "worse" than a tattoo. ;-)