Is Christianity Dying? Miley Cyrus Gets a New Tattoo

Miley Cyrus got a new tattoo ... and not just some dumb decoration. This is a pro-gay tattoo! It's actually pretty amusing, an equal-sign "=" on her middle finger. (Think, "give 'em the bird"). It might seem ambiguous except that she tweeted "All LOVE is equal!"

This might seem like just another amusing story about a young starlet, but it shows yet again why Christianity is dying a slow death in America.

Homosexuality and LGBT rights have become the Achilles tendon of conservative Christianity. The out-of-the-closet movement that started in the 1970s has worked: virtually all teens and young adults have

School: Church of Body Modification Isn't a Real Religion, disciplines girl with nose piercing

Why is it that pierced ears are acceptable but a pierced nose gets you thrown out of school? Why is it OK for a 14-year-old Catholic girl to come to school with a streak of ashes on her forehead on Ash Wednesday, but if that same girl shows up with a tattoo the proverbial smelly stuff hits the fan?

And what if that girl happens to be a member of the Church of Body Modification (WARNING: Graphic images!), and the ACLU gets involved?

Well, it has churned up a big pile of religious mud that Christians would rather leave undisturbed. It shows just how much special treatment religions get in this country. We're OK when Christians get their holidays and rituals, but when some unconventional ("weirdo") religion come along with oddball beliefs and tries to claim the same privileges, everyone cries foul. The mainstream religions don't like it one bit.

"The purpose of my nose ring is, it makes me kind of feel whole," said Arianna Iacono, the girl at the center of the fuss. [Note: news articles spell her name "Ariana" and "Arianna."] The Church of Body Modification "represents a collection of members practicing ancient and modern body modification rites." And these aren't like the sailor tattoos on Uncle Joe's forearm. Their web site makes it clear they endorse some pretty strong stuff, including suspension, where people stick huge hooks into themselves and are hoisted into the air by their own skin.

But the principal of Arianna's school was having none of it.

Church Members and Gangs: Prove it with Tatoos!

A Christian Church in Anaheim, California (just a few blocks from where I was born!) has discovered what gangs have long known: you can get more loyalty from your members if they tattoo themselves with your gang sign. Or in this case, with a Christian tattoo. It seems the minister and several others promised that if 200 people came to an event they were holding, they would go under the needle and get tattoos.

As one man put it, "... two previous tattoos required years of reflection, but that the City Church ink was a no-brainer. 'I said, you know what, you're my pastor, got to show my support.'" I'll agree with that, it's a no-brainer!

I have a ... let's call him a really good friend ... who has some very elaborate tattoos, some of which are very Christian indeed. Unfortunately, this gentleman has become quite the atheist. He has a pretty laid-back attitude about it, his past is a still a part of him and always will be even though he's moved on. But it illustrates, so to speak, why body art might not be the place to write your girlfriend's name ... or your commitment to Jesus!

Here's a little clip for fun...