my new ink
Since nothing very exciting happened today, and since Joe requested it, I figured I'd post a few pictures of my new tattoo along with a brief exlanation. This new piece was a combination Christmas, birthday, and graduation present which is what allowed me to "go big" (Special thanks to those friends, including my wife, who specifically wanted me to use their gift on a new tat. You guys rock!). I also figured that if we end up on the mission field long-term this might possibly be the last tattoo I get. I hope that's not the case but I am sympathetic to the fact that most supporters wouldn't appreciate "Tattoo Fund" being a line item in our budget. 
After about 15 hours of sitting under the needle this piece was finished two days before we left for New Zealand. It was designed and done by Nate at Allstar. I've had him do several of my smaller pieces and he is simply an amazing artist. I didn't give him much to work with for this design, just a couple of vague ideas and a few symbols, and he came up with something that I personally think is incredible. Thanks Nate!The tattoo incorporates several ideas that I will just explain briefly. First, the Phoenix. The Phoenix is a mythical creature that is consumed by it's own flames then rises again from the ashes. There are several versions of the Phoenix myth from various parts of the world. Sometime in either the second or third century A.D. Christians began using the image of a phoenix to symbolize the real physical resurrection of Jesus and the hope of a real physical resurrection of all believers in the future. In my opinion the Phoenix can also represent the daily spiritual resurrection of Christians as they strive to put the Old Self to death and put on the New Self and are renewe and strengthened by God. Artistically the Phoenix on my arm is a blend of Eastern and Western designs and Nate did a great job of blending the two.
The three symbols in the tattoo are three different symbols for the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The Biblical teaching of the Trinity is one that captivates me (I have two other trinitarian symbols tattooed on my body.)
When exmined through the strict laws of Logic the Trinity is absolutely logical and yet is a mystery far beyond our ability to grasp. I could go on and on about the wonder and beauty of the Trinity, but I won't. 
Since the Phoenix represents resurrection as the hope of salvation these symbols are appropriate adornments for the bird. Salvation involves all three members of the Trinity: Out of his love the Father planned our salvation and sent the Son who perfectly earned and achieved our salvation and then sent the Spirit to apply the reality and benefits of salvation to us.
The space nebulae portion of the tattoo is supposed to represent eternity. I believe the entire universe is created and therefore temporal just like everything else we see but I couldn't think of anything to better portray the concept of eternity. In its mind boggling vastness outer space is the best example of the everlasting nature of God. The symbol of the triangle interwoven with the circle is supposed to represent the eternity of the Trinity. This was the reason for trying to bring some sort of visualization of eternity into the tattoo.
Okay, so now you know way more about my tattoo than you probably ever wanted to. You can blame Joe for that. If your curious about my rationale for tattooing you can check out my article titled "Decorating or Desecrating the Temple?" But be warned, the article is even longer than this post.
posted by Travis @ 4:54 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
Thanks for the explination of your new tattoo. I also went over and read your article, you are right it is rather long but very good, thought provoking and helpful. the end of it even made me tear up a bit.
wow, Travis, miss seeing you around and wish that I had been able to be around you and brooke for an even longer amount of time. thanks for being imperfect but real examples of people living out their faith in a real way.
ruth hope
I enjoyed the pictures and the Critique article (great venue), although not feeling the need to be convinced I didn't make my way all the way through it.
I've always harbored a secret desire for a (smallish) tattoo or non-ear piercing, although I've never looked into either. My midwestern sensibilities keep getting in the way, I guess. My main objection to tattooing (myself) is that I'm a chicken when it comes to the pain.
Which brings me to a question, if you don't mind. How does one *get* a tattoo like the one pictured here... do you do it all at once, or over several days, and what kind of recovery time do you need?
Cheers!
Renae
(a fellow CTS person)
renae,
the tattoo in these pictures was done in four sessions spanning about a two month time period. there is a lot of detail that you can't see in these pictures that makes it take longer. recovery time really depends on each person. i'm a pretty fast healer so my recovery time tends to be shorter than some people i know. after the first day or so the tattoed area just feels like some bad sunburn, then it's itchy like most things that are in the process of healing (though you must be very careful how you scratch that itch). sometimes the location of the tattoo affects recovery time as well.
hope you're enjoying covenant.
Travis,
It looks even better than it did the day after! I'm really impressed (don't tell Luke, he'll use it as an excuse to get more!)
Glad to hear you are doing well. Micah asked where you were yesterday at Kaldis.
Julie
aww, tell micah i said hi.
and hi to you too ruth. we miss you guys too!
I affectionately named the Phoenix Fawkes after Dumbledore's pet Phoenix in the Harry Potter series. :) Just thought everyone would like to know.
Space as a symbol of eternity? I, uh, don't get it. :)
You could have done a representation of a möbius strip or a Klein bottle...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle
I LOVE the finished tattoo. It looks amazing. You should stick your shoulder up to a scanner and scan it in for better detail.
dude travis
that is awesome. It looks so much better now that it is done than it was when it was in the early stages.
I'm curious about why the Trinity is completely logical. Is there an abbreviated explanation, or is it too much to explain here?
karen, here's an attempt at an abbreviated explanation. the following is from wikipedia's entry on the law of noncontradiction:
In logic, the law of noncontradiction (also called the law of contradiction) states, in the words of Aristotle, that "one cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time".
if the doctrine of the trinity said that God was three persons and one person, or if it said that He was one essence and at the same time three essences then the doctrine would be in violoation of the law of noncontradiction. but since the bible puts teaches that He is three persons but one essence it is in conformity with this law. this doesn't change the fact that how this can be is a complete mystery. i think too often people assume that if something is a true mystery then it mus be illogical. i'll stop typing now since this is quickly becoming a non-abbreviated explanation.
Travis- you're cool! I love the space nebulae part the best! And, Brooke, I'm with you- Fawkes was what came to mind immediately!
Also, I love that you are able to post so often- I don't feel as far away from you guys!
Thanks for the answer. It's very cool, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it long after any pain is forgotten.
Yes, we are enjoying CTS so much, we're on our 5th year here. Ha! Clay says his new strategy is to stay around long enough that the people who started with him will be in a position to hire him. (hint hint to anyone reading this...)
So does the Bible actually use the words "essence" and "person"? I'm not trying to be difficult. I just can't think of where those kinds of terms are used.
Also...I am ok with you writing a non-abbreviated explanation - i just don't want to make you think that you have to write a book. :)
karen,
a term doesn't have to be in the bible for the concept to be biblical. the word Trinity itself doesn't appear in the bible but the concept is clearly taught.
Hey - God isn't subject to the law of noncontradiction. Our understanding of logic is like physics - Newton's laws are "good enough" for pretty much all commonly observable phenomena. But once we get more advanced, like, in the calculation of precise orbits, Newton breaks down and we need something more true - Einstein's whole relativity thing. We don't need to throw Newton out on his long-dead butt, because for things like building bridges and calculating the arc of artillery projectiles, Newtonian laws are a lot easier to work with, and plenty precise for the purpose.
In the same way, logic collapses when trying to understand the mind boggling, flabbergasting, ain't no hyperbole high enough nature of God. God's ways are higher than our ways, God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and i don't think we're talking higher like the peak of Everest is higher than the peak of K2. We're talking the edge of the universe and the core of our planet. God can violate whatever laws God wants, because these are laws we've cobbled together out of those big chunky lego blocks my kids play with. To hold our laws up as inviolable to the creator of the universe seems a little arrogant.
However, we are to love and worship God with our minds, and we should make the effort to understand the trinity and other mysteries we encounter. We sell ourselves short when we write something off as impossible to understand and move on. I've heard some of the tricks used to explain the doctrine - a man is father to his children, husband to his wife, and son to his parents. A cone is a circle when viewed from the top and a triangle when viewed from the side. You got the caramel, the nougat and the chocolatey coating. These are simplistic, sure, but i think they're useful to show that a doctrine might be supra- or extra-logical, not illogical.
Furthermore, there are some things that God can't be or do, because of the very nature of God. Scripture's pretty clear that God is holy, and can't be unholy. But Jesus is fully God and fully man. So which of our laws does God violate? Well, we're left to speculate about the nature of God, and if we do that with faith, love and a heart of worship, that's really the whole point, isn't it?
Hey, i'm gonna use this comment as today's blog post. :)
juanito,
i have some definite thoughts on your thoughts but i'm out of town for the week and can't write a detailed response. i will get to it a.s.a.p.
Whoa. Lovely to see it finished and to read your explanations. Yesterday a falcon landed in our small urban back yard. I was mesmerized as he stared so piercingly at something under the hostas. To think, that we will one day rise? Fierce and beautiful?
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