Body piercing?

by collegegirl 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  collegegirl

  Ok.... Question - What is wrong with body piercing? I personally feel it is a method of self expression. I mean, i would never go and get everthing possible pierced, but I do have 2 holes in each ear, and a newly acquired belly ring.

  I got my belly done 3 weeks ago, on spring break. I never told my parents, I just did it. Well, I was going to tell them, but not just yet.... However, as it goes, my mom walked in on me without a shirt on today and, well, to put it lightly, flipped out! She made it a point to say a million times how dissappointed she was. She also made me show my father. My dad seemed a bit disturbed, but accepted it better, as I knew he would. Anyhow, jokingly I told my mom that i did it as a birthday present to myself. She then said, "Oh, I'm sure the elders will be real happy when they hear *that* is your explanation!" I said that there is no reason for the elders to know, and anyhow, there is nothing wrong with it...

  So, that being said, just wondering, how does the average JW feel about piercings??? Are they bad? Or are they a matter of conscience? Coud my situation possibly escalate? Some thoughts please....
• 

  gilwarrior

  I am sure that most Witnesses look down on most body piercings (other than the ears) on girls and all body piercings on guys. Most elders would consider it a sign of rebeliousness.

  "I have so much love to give, but no one to give it to."

  William H. Macy - "Magnolia"
• 

  Abaddon

  Oh, I am sure they could pull out some quote from the Mosaic Law, about tattoos and cutting the body, and use it to ilustrate why body piercing is wrong... despite not one scripture to that end.

  Similar to the stance on beards; all the guys in the Bible had beards, but an Elder with a beard? No. Why? Because they have stalled somewhere in the 1950's, where anyone with a beard was a pinko-commie-beatnik-hippie, and still consider beards are bad... despite not one scripture to that end.

  Similar to the stance on blood; it says abstain from blood. Today that means less than it used to - now you can accept many components of blood, you used not to be able to accept virtually any, and before that you weren't allowed to have organ transplants, and before that you weren't allowed to have vaccinations... the scripture they have based all this on has not changed at all... but the doctrine is framed by imperfect and often poorly educated men, and their meddling with something that should be a matter of conscience had resulted in death after death after death...

  I can understand it being frustrating to you collegegirl, but a navel piercing will be the least of your worries if you get hit by a truck and are allowed to die for want of a blood transfusion, not because it says so in the Bible, but because TODAY'S interpretation is 'no blood' (as with those JW's who died before the transplant ban, if they changed the rules the next day, you'd still be dead).

  It kinda puts a belly-button ring into perspective, doesn;t it?

  If it's any consolation though, I'm 36, have a navel piercing and a tragus (triangular flap in front of your earhole) piercing, and get grief from my parents about it, despite the fact I haven't been in a Kingdum Hall in almost nine years.

  Good luck, and if there's one phrase you remember from the Bible, let it be "Get out of her".
• 

  jolly_green_giant

  i just got my eyebrow done about 3 weeks ago. i got my ears pierced a couple years ago when i was first leaving the organization. i see absolutely nothing wrong with piercings at all. Im sure the elders would consider it wrong because the tradition of body piercing came from other religious tribes around the world. We all know how wrong EVERYONE else is so...

  im stoned.

  p.s. how old are you collegegirl?
• 

  yumbby

  I just got my nose pierced and It was explained to me that it was totally wrong because we have to conform to normal standards and not try and be vain and the scripture was read about "excessive braiding" of the hair, etc etc. blah blah blah.
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  doinmypart

  collegegirl wrote "how does the average JW feel about piercings??? Are they bad? Or are they a matter of conscience? Coud my situation possibly escalate? Some thoughts please"
  In my cong & a few others in the circuit, a few of the sisters have multiple piercings in the ears. A couple of times a year when we meet as an elder body the subject comes up & it usually gets mentioned in a local needs part about dress & grooming. There was a YPA article a year or two ago that basically said the decision should be left up to the individual & his/her parents. But most JWs in this area still raise an eyebrow. Personally I see nothing wrong with piercings.
• 

  AjaxMan

  HiYa CollegeGirl,

  From my understanding about JWs from what I read, they discourage tattoos and body piercing because:
  - Inflicting pain to your body which is akin to them discouraging getting involved in riske activities like Bungee Jumping, SkyDiving, Rock Climbing and Martial Arts.
  - Self-Idolatry, Worship to one's body (my guess and I may be wrong)
  - Like Gil said, sign of rebelliousness, which makes sense in that body piercing does indicate a lot of individualism, which is something I don't think a lot of congregation elders tolerate.

  It ultimately depends on the congregation/circuit as doinmypart stated.

  my 2 cents.
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  collegegirl

  Thanks a lot eveyone.... I guess we'll see what happens. I didn't do this to be rebellious or anything, but just because it is something I have always wanted to do. I have two earing holes in each ear, and that has never been mentioned. My mom was a bit reluctant to let me get the second hole (I was 13 though), but I still got it. If anything happens of significance, I'll let you know. However, I am not expecting it to be a huge deal.... I just have to give my mom time to "come to grips with it" as my father so nicely put it :-) My dad asked if my boss had seen it yet. I said yes, and she was a bit funny about it. He said that she probably thinks that they (my parents) are losing control of me then. I responded, "Well, maybe you are...." HA! Anyhow, thanks again for your thoughts.

  Oh, Jolly - i am 19, as of last week.