{"id":20174,"date":"2015-09-20T10:44:32","date_gmt":"2015-09-20T15:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/?p=20174"},"modified":"2015-09-20T10:44:32","modified_gmt":"2015-09-20T15:44:32","slug":"tattoos-and-taboos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2015\/09\/tattoos-and-taboos.html","title":{"rendered":"Tattoos and Taboos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"jesus<\/a>Are tattoos taboo? If so why?<\/p>\n

Maybe because they lead to vanity and marring the image of God in which we are created.<\/p>\n

My essay<\/a> for Imaginative Conservative this week ponders the issue with reference to Flannery O\u2019Connor\u2019s story\u00a0Parker\u2019s Back.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

O.E. Parker is one of Flannery O\u2019Connor\u2019s crazy misfits. A tough dropout who was captivated by the mystique of tattoo at the age of fourteen when he saw the tattooed man at the county fair. Having a tattoo made the poor idiot feel special, so whenever he was feeling down or lonely he got himself a new tattoo. After he joined the Navy, O.E. got a new tattoo in every port and finally he had no more space for a new tattoo except on his back.<\/p>\n

Then O.E. Parker fell in love the best he could with Sarah Ruth, the scrawny daughter of traveling preacher. The problem is, pregnant Sarah Ruth is unimpressed with O.E.\u2019s tattoos. She\u2019s unimpressed because she sees through them. The tattoos are Parker\u2019s mask and the swaggering mark of his false masculinity. Sara Ruth calls the tattoos the \u201cvanity of vanities.\u201d Her mockery of his tattoos drives him crazy. So to impress Sarah Ruth, O.E. spends a pile of money getting a beautiful tattoo he thinks will please her. It\u2019s a haloed Christus Victor\u2014as grand as a mosaic in a Byzantine temple.<\/span><\/p>\n

But when Sarah Ruth sees the tattoo she shrieks out a condemnation of idolatry and beats poor Parker with a broom.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The essay is titled \u201cFinding Ourselves in Flannery\u2019s Freaks\u201d<\/p>\n

Go here<\/a> to read the whole article.<\/p>\n

Image<\/a> via Bing<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are tattoos taboo? If so why? Maybe because they lead to vanity and marring the image of God in which we are created. My essay for Imaginative Conservative this week ponders the issue with reference to Flannery O\u2019Connor\u2019s story\u00a0Parker\u2019s Back. O.E. Parker is one of Flannery O\u2019Connor\u2019s crazy misfits. A tough dropout who was captivated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":557,"featured_media":20175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTattoos and Taboos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are tattoos taboo? If so why? Maybe because they lead to vanity and marring the image of God in which we are created. 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