No scripture forbids tattoos — Pastor Okonkwo

Popular relationship coach and Senior Pastor of David’s Christian Centre, Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo, has criticised the belief in some Christian circles that tattoos are sinful, insisting there is no biblical or scientific basis for such claims.

In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by News Central on Monday, Okonkwo said opposition to tattoos is largely driven by personal preferences, church policies, or individual interpretations, rather than Scripture.

“There’s no scripture that says a child of God cannot have tattoos,” he said, noting that many people often impose personal convictions or what they believe the Holy Spirit told them on others.

He argued that critics have failed to clearly explain why body art should be considered wrong clearly.

“Somebody needs to sit me down and spell it out, tattoos are bad because what? If somebody draws ink on their body, their brain goes bad? Their character suddenly goes bad? Give me either scriptural proof or scientific proof,” he said.

Okonkwo lamented that despite strong condemnation, no concrete reason is usually offered.

“Everybody is shouting tattoos, tattoos, but nobody can tell me why tattoo is bad. It’s just bad for no reason,” he stated.

The cleric warned against equating appearance with morality, describing such thinking as harmful to development.

“This kind of thinking is saddening. Is this Africa? When are we going to catch up with development?” he asked.

He also criticised the practice of linking clothing or lifestyle choices to criminal behaviour.

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“If somebody wore jeans and went to rob, then jeans is now bad and a pastor cannot wear jeans because someone robbed a bank wearing jeans. What are we talking about?” he queried.

Okonkwo stressed that tattoos do not define a person’s character.

“I can give you 10 good people that have tattoos. You can give me 10 bad people that have tattoos. Are we now going to be in bondage with the bad people? It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Drawing parallels with politics, he said similar reasoning discourages Christians from participating in governance.

“People say politics is dirty, so we leave it for people we think are dirty. Then who will go there?” he asked.

He concluded by criticising what he described as a long-standing mindset within the church.

“That has been the mindset of the church — we avoid everything that looks bad and then we complain,” he said.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the pastor recently sparked debate online after unveiling a Bible-inspired tattoo on his arm.

The cleric, who recently turned 50, shared a video of the tattoo process on Instagram. The clip featured a voice-over of John 3:16, with the verse later in Roman numerals, “III: XVI”.