Assignment 10 – Feb 18

I would define purity/impurity as the presence/lack of order and self-discipline in one’s life. Purity is represented by a sense of both literal and metaphorical cleanliness while impurity sees equivalent forms of “dirt” discussed in Douglas’ article. While impurity is often referred within in the realm of hygiene as literal dirtiness, to quote Douglas, it is more broadly “matter out of place” (36). People commonly associate purity with organization, whether that be in one’s daily routine, habits, beliefs, or character. Moreover, they see it as something desirable as it manifests as a form of reliability to loved ones and others in their lives and vital towards maintaining important relationships.

I think God might demand maintenance of purity/order from us for this very reason. Through orderly practices such as separating clean and unclean foods, God expects us to order our lives to His will so that we establish a semblance of trust towards Him and develop our relationships with Him. Often these habits also coincide with what is literally healthy for us. In Leviticus 11, God identifies several “unclean” animals which the people of Israel should not eat, and coincidentally these are animals that most people do not eat today either for hygienic or nutritional reasons. God wants us to order our lives in order to benefit ourselves not just through a relationship with Him but also through our own health.