Partying and Dancing and Tattoos and Piercings Eritrean Orthodox Church Diocese of North America Wes

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Partying and Dancingand Tattoos and
PiercingsEritrean Orthodox Church Diocese of
North AmericaWest Coast 2nd year Youth
RetreatJuly 01-04/2009
In the name of the Father, of the Son, of the
holy Spirit One God Amen. ??? ?? ???? ????? ???
??? ???? ????
Anagonstis Yafet Ghirmay and Anagonstis Abel
Ghirmay
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Partying and Dancingand Tattoos and Piercings

• The Orthodox Perspective

Anagonstis Yafet Ghirmay and Anagonstis Abel
Ghirmay
N.B. Most of this lecture is adapted from H.G.
Bishop Youssefs answers to questions
(www.suscopts.org)
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Questions to Consider

• What is the Churchs position on dancing and
  partying?
• Is dancing and partying okay as long as it isnt
  sexual?
• Is dancing permissible in celebrations like
  graduations, weddings, etc?

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Types of Dancing

• The Holy Bible mentions two kinds of dancing
  dancing before the Lord to glorify Him (worship)
  (2 Sam. 614 Ex 1520), and worldly dancing for
  the purpose of satisfying the flesh (Matt.
  14-1-6 Mark 614-29 Luke 97-9). Galatians
  519-21 and Romans 121-21 speak directly to the
  latter kind of dancing.
• The truth is, the vast majority of music that
  young people dance to isnt harmless it is
  overtly sexual. The dances themselves involve
  close physical contact between boys and girls,
  which is in direct opposition to Biblical
  instruction. In 1 Tim. 522, Paul instructs the
  young Timothy to Keep yourself pure.

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Dancing as a Form of Celebration

• Traditionally, dancing has been used as a form of
  celebrating events like weddings and graduations.
  But as Gods children, we are required to obey
  Him instead of worldly traditions. Then Peter
  and the other apostles answered and said We
  ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 529).
• Would Jesus dance at a graduation or wedding?
  Would you dance in front of Him if He were
  physically there?
• Remember that God is omnipresent. His presence is
  everywhere. (I John 215-17)

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Consequences of Dancing

• Even though we may not engage in explicit sexual
  activity/intercourse, close contact arouses
  thoughts and feelings in young people. Our Lord
  Jesus Christ spoke about this, saying that
  looking at another person with lust constitutes
  adultery in the heart (Matt. 528).
• Dancing puts Christians in situations where they
  will be in the company of those with impure
  thoughts and habits. How can we place ourselves
  in such situations if we are to be the light of
  the world and the salt of the earth (Matt.
  514-16 Phil. 215-16)?

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Consequences of Dancing

• Even if you try to argue that you dont have
  impure thoughts when dancing or watching others
  dance, you send the wrong message to those around
  you.
• The bottom line is this if Christ were a high
  school or college student, what would He do?
  Remember that you shouldnt do anything you
  wouldn't do in front of Him.

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Tattoos and Piercings

• According to the Laws of God

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Tattooing

• The Bible does address the subject of tattoos.
  Lev. 1928 says, "Do not cut your bodies for the
  dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the
  LORD."
• "Ye are the sons of the LORD your God you shall
  not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness on your
  foreheads for the dead."Deuteronomy 141

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Roots of Tattooing

• TATTOOING HAS WITCHCRAFT "ROOTS
• Tattooing was started by pagans and followers of
  witchcraft to remember their dead.

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Motivations of Tattooing

• Many young people get tattoos in order to follow
  worldly trends.
• Tattooing was most notably popularized in the
  rock n roll movements in the 70s 80s as a
  form of rebellion towards authority.

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Health and other Issues with Tattoos

• 1. Permanent is a long, long time. The majority
  of people who get tattoos regret it later.
• 2. Tattoos are exceedingly painful and expensive
  to have removed. The removal process is not
  covered by any insurance and is much, much more
  painful that getting a tattoo and must be done
  over several sessions.
• 3. Some tattoo inks have metal in them, so if
  one's health is threatened, an MRI can be
  complicated (and there can be some discomfort) by
  a tattoo.

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• 4. Many tattoo inks have carcinogenic compounds
  that cause many types of cancers.
• 5. On a more spiritual note, God does not want us
  to permanently mark our bodies because it is
  disrespectful to the body He fashioned and gave
  to us to steward. The fact that a tattoo cannot
  be undone completely reflects the sad truth that
  some decisions are one-way and we box ourselves
  into a corner. Tattoos make a statement
  physically, but God intends that the purity and
  beauty of our lives make the statement, rather
  than "I was young or drunk, or on drugs and did
  this to myself."

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Piercing

• Again, The Bible warns us against cuttings in our
  flesh in Leviticus 1928 which says, "Ye shall
  not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead,
  nor print any marks upon you I am the Lord.
• The Lord admonishes us in 1 Corinthians
  619-20,
• "What? know ye not that your body is the temple
  of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
  of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are
  bought with a price therefore glorify God in
  your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

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• There is no moral incentive behind piercing.
  Furthermore, it does not glorify God.
• Not all piercing is the same however. Ear
  piercing is not strictly condemned by God.