>The bible literally forbids tattoos honoring the dead. I have one for my dad. I regret it. >>Do they give a reason in the bible? I guess you could simply a reason, but none is really given. The practice was and still is common in many cultures, with some attaching more significance and methods varying. In the bible it specifically forbids cutting or marking yourself for the dead. If you look up "african scarification" you can see these things are still pretty common. People did that to their faces and still do. I think that is what God was talking about when He commanded not to "mar" your beard. He was not talking about ridiculous faggoty sidekicks. He was talking about not practicing scarification.