Some Christians take issue with tattooing, upholding the Hebrew prohibition (see below). The Hebrew prohibition is based on interpreting Leviticus 19:28—Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you—so as to prohibit tattoos, and perhaps even makeup.

Is piercing a sin?

Most people on the side against body piercing use Leviticus as an argument that body piercing is a sin. There are stories in the Old Testament of nose piercings (Rebecca in Genesis 24) and even piercing the ear of a slave (Exodus 21). Yet there is no mention of piercing in the New Testament.