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God & Tattoos: Why are people writing on themselves?
The souls of men and women have chosen this season in history to speak in a unique and special way. The soul is writing its secrets on the live canvas of the skin with permanent ink... with tattoos. Many see a person covered in tattoos walk by and harbor a snarky and judgmental response, when in fact the tattoos just told a very personal story. The stories of pain, loss, hope, and other sentiments of great importance are revealed on the skin of the wearer. And those without tattoos may very well have missed a loud, yet intimately revealing, message. The bookEGod and Tattoos: Why Are People Writing on Themselves?Etakes a go at the WHY. After 300 tattoo interviews and 12 days in tattoo parlors across the nation, Dr. AL Dayhoff shares his research, and his love for his many new tattooed friends.
142 pages, Paperback
Published January 5, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 11, 2016
Have you ever read a book that was both provocative and somewhat outside your comfort zone, but still opened your eyes? This book by Allan Dayhoff was such a book for me. Tattoos to my mind were gross, ugly, and wrong. While I still am not a fan of tattoos at all, this book chided me for never considering what is going on in the souls of those with tattoos. Why are tattoos exploding in our day? More importantly, what should a Christian see in this trend of people writing on themselves?
The author did what it never occurred to me to do: ask people why they have tattoos. He asked them what their particular tattoos meant and that opened up a massive flow of information from which some conclusions could be drawn.
He found that some are doing it because it is the “it” thing to do in our generation. In other words, for some it is merely a jump on the cultural trend bandwagon. I suspected this one, but sadly never thought about the other reasons involved. It’s in those other reasons that this book is eye opening.
It seems as though people are needing empathy and to have meaning. In that they do not have those needs mets, Dayhoff explains that their souls are crying out these needs and writing them on their own skin. People are finding this new way to say who they are. Often, the story on their skins is one of deep pain. Other insights abound.
I met the author and while I could not do all his methods, I saw that he was sincere in sharing his faith. I must warn you too that in some cases he directly quotes his interviewees and that means some really bad language. That arose, no matter what we feel about it, from his approach to write a book that would teach Christians and could be used with non-Christians at the same time.
It’s probably not a book for everyone, but I found it instructive and fascinating.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
The author did what it never occurred to me to do: ask people why they have tattoos. He asked them what their particular tattoos meant and that opened up a massive flow of information from which some conclusions could be drawn.
He found that some are doing it because it is the “it” thing to do in our generation. In other words, for some it is merely a jump on the cultural trend bandwagon. I suspected this one, but sadly never thought about the other reasons involved. It’s in those other reasons that this book is eye opening.
It seems as though people are needing empathy and to have meaning. In that they do not have those needs mets, Dayhoff explains that their souls are crying out these needs and writing them on their own skin. People are finding this new way to say who they are. Often, the story on their skins is one of deep pain. Other insights abound.
I met the author and while I could not do all his methods, I saw that he was sincere in sharing his faith. I must warn you too that in some cases he directly quotes his interviewees and that means some really bad language. That arose, no matter what we feel about it, from his approach to write a book that would teach Christians and could be used with non-Christians at the same time.
It’s probably not a book for everyone, but I found it instructive and fascinating.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
October 27, 2017
I had just begun my 20 year Air Force career when I got mine. I had three etched into my skin when I was eighteen, and the final one applied when I was nineteen. That was almost 40 years ago. There's a story behind each, and together they weave a narrative that now feels prescient. Allan Dayhoff, Executive Director of Evangelize Today and PCA Pastor, has chronicled a pile of tales and stories about skin-ink in his 140 page paperback "God & Tattoos: Why Are People Writing On Themselves?" His writing style is easy, and his approach is simple. But the subject matter probes down under the inked skin into the hearts of many. I warn you, you just might get teary-eyed here and there.
"God & Tattoos" takes the reader around bars, bus stops, parks, tattoo parlors and eateries to meet all kinds of people who have become permanently marked. The author explains what he was up to as he went around for weeks talking with folks about their tats, and conversing with several artists who applied them. As Dayhoff recounts the tales engraved and told, he posits possible reasons why the phenomenon is becoming increasingly more prevalent in American society, and how Christians should respond. "I believe the soul, the image of God, is writing messages in their tattoos. These are personal messages to God, their fellow man, and to themselves. The message "This is who I am" is hidden within the tattoos" (66-7). He also suggests that tattoo artists have "become a new shaman for many souls" (73); their relationship with the client filling in a deep longing to be known. Dayhoff not only recounts the stories that hide underneath peoples' tattoos, but exhibits a way to approach men and women so that we don't listen to respond, but we listen to hear.
"God & Tattoos" is a quick read. It breezes through numerous episodes of conversation, heartbreaking stories, humerus outcomes, and rationales. As a pastor who got his tattoos long before they ever became popular, the whole dossier resonated with me and was very intriguing. This is a book every pastor should take up and read. But I would encourage you to not read to respond, but read to hear: withhold judgment until the end, after you get the authors big point. I highly recommend "God & Tattoos"!
"God & Tattoos" takes the reader around bars, bus stops, parks, tattoo parlors and eateries to meet all kinds of people who have become permanently marked. The author explains what he was up to as he went around for weeks talking with folks about their tats, and conversing with several artists who applied them. As Dayhoff recounts the tales engraved and told, he posits possible reasons why the phenomenon is becoming increasingly more prevalent in American society, and how Christians should respond. "I believe the soul, the image of God, is writing messages in their tattoos. These are personal messages to God, their fellow man, and to themselves. The message "This is who I am" is hidden within the tattoos" (66-7). He also suggests that tattoo artists have "become a new shaman for many souls" (73); their relationship with the client filling in a deep longing to be known. Dayhoff not only recounts the stories that hide underneath peoples' tattoos, but exhibits a way to approach men and women so that we don't listen to respond, but we listen to hear.
"God & Tattoos" is a quick read. It breezes through numerous episodes of conversation, heartbreaking stories, humerus outcomes, and rationales. As a pastor who got his tattoos long before they ever became popular, the whole dossier resonated with me and was very intriguing. This is a book every pastor should take up and read. But I would encourage you to not read to respond, but read to hear: withhold judgment until the end, after you get the authors big point. I highly recommend "God & Tattoos"!
October 15, 2023
A thought provoking study, full of compassion and insight, opening up a world of potential understanding of the longings of the soul. It certainly gave me a very positive perspective on the current explosion of tattoos.
October 8, 2022
This book certainly makes you think about tattoos in a different light. The writing was okay. The insight was good. I will look at people with tattoos differently.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews