My stepson wants to ‘brand’ his skin. Why-o-why? I ask, but anyway, I told him per God (Lev. 19:28) that it is forbidden. But when I read it the words “for the dead” makes it seem it’s okay as long as it isn’t for mourning a dead loved one.<\/p>\n
I don’t want him to get one period but I can’t show him this verse until I can give something that can’t be disputed. Can you give me a clearer, concrete verse?<\/p>\n\t
Marks on the body were used in the past to indicate who a person belonged to. For example, a hole in the ear lobe marked a person as a permanent slave (Exodus 21:6). The Jews marked themselves as being under the covenant by circumcision (Genesis 17:10-11). So it could have good or bad connotations. The reason marks were forbidden in Leviticus 19:28 was because of idolatry. People would tattoo or mark themselves as followers of certain idols. Cutting oneself to show extreme grief over a death was done, but we often miss the implications. Ancestry worship was prevalent, and that is why it mentions not marking oneself for the dead. Other verses which also condemn cutting oneself are Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1; and Jeremiah 16:6.<\/p>\n
We aren’t under the Old Covenant, but we still can learn lessons from it. Why does your stepson want these brands? I suspect he wants to mark himself as belonging to some gang. It is there that you need to address the issue because the gang becomes something greater in his life than God, Christianity, or his family. Call up your local sheriff and ask to talk to someone who deals with gangs. Ask him if the particular brand your son wants is being used by a known gang. I think you will be saddened by the answer you get.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: My stepson wants to ‘brand’ his skin. Why-o-why? I ask, but anyway, I told him per God (Lev. 19:28) that it is forbidden. But when I read it the words “for the dead” makes it seem it’s okay as long as it isn’t for mourning a dead loved one. I don’t want him to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1028,1034],"tags":[665,1170,29,107,780],"class_list":["post-20626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting","category-teenager","tag-child-rearing","tag-marks","tag-parenting","tag-raising-children","tag-tattoos"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29344,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-explain-spontaneous-erections-and-masturbation-to-my-stepson\/","url_meta":{"origin":20626,"position":0},"title":"How do I explain spontaneous erections and masturbation to my stepson?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: During some research, I found on your site, which was named \"Growing up in the Lord: A Study for Teenage Boys.\" My stepson is beginning a new stage in life, puberty, and he has been getting spontaneous erections. Now, I realize that this can happen at any time and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20220,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-a-connection-between-the-mark-of-the-beast-and-the-mark-of-cain\/","url_meta":{"origin":20626,"position":1},"title":"Is there a connection between the mark of the beast and the mark of Cain?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to ask you a question concerning the 'mark' of Cain. In Genesis 4:15, it talks about the 'sign for Cain.' I understand this was something God did. In Revelation 20:4, it talks about the 'mark of the beast, on the forehead and hands'. My question is:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7865,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-attempted-to-spank-my-stepson-but-i-think-i-mishandled-it-what-should-i-have-done\/","url_meta":{"origin":20626,"position":2},"title":"I attempted to spank my stepson, but I think I mishandled it. What should I have done?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am so glad I found this website.\u00a0\u00a0Please let me introduce myself.\u00a0 I am the stepmother of a teenage boy.\u00a0 I take Christianity and the teachings of Jesus very seriously.\u00a0 I recently married my long-time partner, Jim (the boy's father), and am now officially his stepmother.\u00a0 A few days\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/one-of-my-boys-is-starting-to-wet-his-pants-when-i-give-him-a-spanking-what-should-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":20626,"position":3},"title":"One of my boys is starting to wet his pants when I give him a spanking. What should I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a problem with one of my boys. A few times he has had a wet spot when being spanked. At first, I was shocked and thought I was overdoing the spanking and from the pain of the spanking that he had lost control, but it was not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-commands-to-work-directed-to-men-only-or-both-men-and-women\/","url_meta":{"origin":20626,"position":4},"title":"Are the commands to work directed to men only or both men and women?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding the wording of I Timothy 5:8 and II Thessalonians 3:10: First, I Timothy 5:8: \"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.\" In the context\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5197,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-marks-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":20626,"position":5},"title":"The Marks of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 6:11-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul battled much of his life with his own Jewish brethren \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They insisted on preserving the Law in many ways. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A motivation is to be expected - Galatians 6:12 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It appears some tried to justify it by appealing to Paul. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20626\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}