{"id":38688,"date":"2024-07-26T09:19:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T13:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=38688"},"modified":"2024-07-26T09:19:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T13:19:04","slug":"olympic-athletes-show-guts-glory-and-tattoos-that-profess-their-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2024\/07\/olympic-athletes-show-guts-glory-and-tattoos-that-profess-their-faith.html","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Athletes Show Guts, Glory, and Tattoos That Profess Their Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"nyjah<\/a>
Fabio Pagani\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This summer has been great if you follow sports: tennis championships, end-of-season tournaments, soccer\u2019s European Championship, and Copa America \u2013 all leading up to the most global event of all, the Olympics.<\/p>\n

The Olympic Games began as\u00a0a religious celebration<\/a>\u00a0in ancient Greece, with competitions to honor their gods. However, the Olympics declined once the Roman Empire replaced Greek power in the Mediterranean; the final blow\u00a0came from the Christian Emperor Theodosius I<\/a>, who saw the Games as a stage for paganism. At the end of the 19th century, the modern iteration of the Games began \u2013 minus religion. This time, they were secular, with flags and patriotism replacing religious worship. However, religion is still easy to see at the Games today, including right on the athletes\u2019 bodies.<\/p>\n

At the Summer Games, in particular, lots of skin is on display, and many athletes use it as a testament to faith. There\u2019s Anthony Davis \u2013 usually playing for the NBA\u2019s Los Angeles Lakers \u2013 with a cross and praying hands across his forearm. Fellow basketball pro Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics has a collection of religious tattoos, including \u201cGod\u2019s will\u201d and \u201cProverbs 3:5-6\u201d across his back. Still, according to the Bible, didn\u2019t God reject tattoos? The answer isn\u2019t so simple. The first problem in exploring the history of tattoos, religious or not, is what to call them.<\/p>\n

Before the European explorers voyaged to the Pacific in the 18th century \u2013 where they encountered Maori facial tattooing, known as \u201cta moko<\/a>\u201d \u2013 there was no specific\u00a0word for tattoos<\/a>\u00a0in Western languages. Latin, Greek and their derivatives used words that can have many meanings, such as \u201cmark\u201d or \u201cletter.\u201d When the word \u201ctattoo\u201d appears in English versions of Jewish and Christian scriptures, it is more of an interpretation than an exact translation. Regardless of what you call body modifications, the Hebrew Scriptures suggest that the people of Israel initially despised them,\u00a0including tattoos and ear and nose piercings<\/a>. In\u00a0Leviticus 19:28<\/a>, God prohibits mourners from funeral rites that involve self-mutilation to honor the dead \u2013 the Bible\u2019s only explicit prohibition of tattoos.<\/p>\n