“To abandon something because others have misused it may be the height of folly…”
- Attar the Chemist.

I read these words that were written at the closing of the 12th century, and I could not help but think how appropriate they were to my life today. For one thing, this whole tattoo ministry thing we are launching. Many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have thrown the baby out with the bath water on this one. They have seen things they disapproved of, and decided that the whole art form needed to go. Well, if you are reading this blog, you probably don’t agree with that line of thinking. Neither do I. But the statement fits on the other side of that tattoo needle too! Those who live outside of that great and all powerful entity known as the Mainstream (someone very wise once called them the Great Vanillas… you know who you are!), have also been guilty of this. Let’s face it, the world of organized religion has not always done the best job of living out our mission. There are a lot of people (me included) who have been hurt by the very people who are professing to be Jesus’ representatives. You can only be slapped so many times before you walk away from the conversation. Let me give you one example…

Rudi and I had a friend in Oregon. Let’s call him Rob. Rob worked at one of our favorite health food stores. He was a great guy! Always happy to see us, and always taking time to be interested in our lives outside the store. Now since we lived in a small town, we would see him walking on a regular basis, and we would both smile and wave. We even met his partner. Yes, Rob was gay. One day as he was the cashier, he happened to ask what I did for a living. I told him I was a preacher. What happened next still makes me sad. He looked as if he was going to actually vomit right there. I could see in his eyes all the crap he had to take from religious people in his life. “It’s ok, I’m not one of those” I said, but it was too late. The door had been closed, locked, bared, and bricked over. I don’t’ think he ever talked to us again. Soon after that he left our town, but we saw him on T.V. He was at a gay pride rally in Portland. There was a man in a bad suit, with a bad haircut literally waving a bible in Rob’s face so close I was sure it was hitting him. It looked like he was yelling that God hated him, or something equally as repulsive. Now no matter how you feel about being gay, the point is that people were being abused that day, not loved. There was no meaningful discussion going on. Rob had endured too many of those conversations to trust a preacher ever again.

Yes, the Bible has been misused to be sure. Most things have! Our challenge living in this day and age, is to look beyond what other people misused, and see the value in things for what they are. Tattoos are not bad. Some are, but not all. Tattooed people are not bad. Some are but not all. Church folks are not all bad, but yes, some are. The point is that each and everyone of us has not only been abused and misused, but we ourselves have been the abusers and misusers!! The time has come to stop living based on old scores and scars, and start dealing with people for who and what they are. The world is changing! Preachers are tattooing, the pierced are praying, and who knows what may be next! But one thing is to be sure… each of us must use our heads, open our hearts, and start seeing people for what they are. Creations of God, for whom Jesus died.

Pete