Mary Douglass defines dirt, or impurity, as “matter out of place,” (p. 36). It follows that impurity means disorder within a community of within society. Purity, then, is a system or a society in which every aspect is in its right place, that place being as God commands it. We can recall that God took dirt in Genesis and made it into the first human, Adam. The definitions of purity and impurity follow God’s original actions and commands of making things and ordering things. He made humans from dirt, and he expects them to be ordered, or pure. Douglass also says, “Dirt is the byproduct of a systematic ordering and classification of matter, in so far as ordering involves rejecting inappropriate elements,” (p. 36). Impurity, by this claim, occurs when people do things wrong, or don’t follow God’s commands.
God requires that humans follow purity laws and to maintain their purity as a method in which to strengthen the covenant and maintaining or reentering into communion with God. Disorder is the last thing that God wants. According to Genesis, he created the world out of disorder, and wishes to maintain that order. Requiring humans to follow such painstaking and detailed rules ensures that none of them will fall out of order.
Regarding the laws relating to purity, specifically the food laws, Douglass claims that, “The dietary rules merely develop the metaphor of holiness on the same lines,” (p. 55). That holiness, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, is completeness and wholeness. Douglass mentions that the human body is a temple. God did make humans in his own likeness, and it is respectful to follow rules involving what humans put into their bodies to maintain that completeness and purity. We are meant to see the body as a symbol of society; if we do not take care of it, society and order will collapse.
Macy's Theology Blog 
I like how you describe purity as everything being in place or as it’s meant to. By staying true to God’s ideals of purity, we can maintain and develop a stronger bond with God. Do you think that it is fair for God to expect us to abide by these rules in order to be closer to Him?
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I think it’s interesting that you point out that God made man from dirt. By Douglas’s definition, impurity is the presence of “dirt,” or things being out of place. Do you think this could suggest that true purity is unachievable since man was literally made from impurity/ dirt, or is that too literal of an interpretation?
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I like how you pointed out the connection between purity/impurity and God’s making and ordering of the world. I also thought it was interesting that humans, though made from dirt, are supposed to strive to be pure. What do you think this says about God’s intentions for humanity from the beginning?
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I like your argument that disorder is the last thing that God wants on His creation. However, I keep getting stuck on the Tower of Babel account from Genesis. Why do you think God would encourage disorder in one story but discourage disorder in Leviticus?
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