Purity is being in accordance with the natural order. The idea of purity stretches beyond that which is clean- to a coherence with social standards. As Mary Douglas writes in Purity and Danger, dirt is “matter out of place… it is the by-product of a systematic ordering and classification of matter, insofar as ordering involves rejecting inappropriate elements” (36). Humans were created with the intention of carrying on God’s work, done through naming and ordering over his dominion. For something to not be pure then it is in violation with our God-given task. Purity is guiltless and innocent. Therefore, treating your body under the standards of purity, it is abiding by order. God requires the maintenance of purity as it corresponds with one’s worship. There is a deliberate care when one eats food, that is done under God’s blessing. Part of reestablishing the Eden of Genesis 1 is walking along with God and his creatures. It is also respecting His creation and the rules he set- an act of trust. So when God establishes the specific eating rituals, it is an extension of following his lead.
The food laws prohibit the consumption of foods that do not abide by the natural order. For example, we are not to eat the “various winged insects that walk on all fours” (11:20). As each category is described, it is followed by banning the anomaly to the group. While eating these foods do not directly pollute the person, it is their action of proliferating “dirt” and disorder. Douglas writes that “eliminating [dirt] is not a negative movement, but a positive effort to organize the environment” (2). Following the food laws is acting with the intention to act within the social order, and God’s natural order.
Kathleen's Theology Blog 