Purity is the act of being pure and clean that qualifies a person or object for contact with the holy space and interaction with the Lord. Acts of purification such as certain forms of sacrifice are simply making one ready for that contact. Impurity is something that makes one impure and unclean, and it disqualifies them from holy contact. Impurity is contagious and can be transferred from one person or object to another by physical contact or sharing space. Impurity can also defile holy objects. God requires the maintenance of purity as in order to worship God in all of his glory, we must have the highest degree of purity. Interacting with either the middle or lowest degrees of purity makes the highest category impure. If the person is impure, they are unable to perform their worship to God, and therefore cannot reenter communion with him. We also see many times that God focuses on the order of things, such as in the Creation story, and by maintaining purity, we are maintaining order.
As the footnote states “the logic of the purity rules is an ongoing point of debate.” However, it is suggested that there is a double source for impurity: sex and death. Hence, actions associated with these two sources are considered impure and should be avoided. Mary Douglas also states that “any given culture must confront events which seem to deny its assumptions” (40). If this is the case, then God created these laws in order to deal with the anomalies, or the impurities, that may arise in the Israelite culture. This allows cultures to approach this uncleanliness through order. In terms of the food laws, God states that we should not eat certain animals because “they are unclean for you” (Lev 11:9). He grants us permission to eat certain animals, but does not permit us to eat others as they are missing qualities that qualify them as pure. As stated before, contact with an unclean or impure object means that you also become impure. Therefore, you are unable to joyfully be with God through the act of worship. As we saw with Noah and the killing of animals after the flood in Genesis, there are certain things that God only has control over and certain things that humans have permission to do. Since we know that God is a merciful and just God, his laws concerning purity must be for our benefit.
Emma Danes's Theology Blog 
Emma,
This is a superb analysis of Leviticus and the Douglas reading. In my opinion, your commentary on purity as it relates to the food laws is absolutely correct. I wonder, however, how exactly the distinction is to be made between which animals are pure and which are not. It definitely seems arguable that eating any meat whatsoever is impure and wrong. How would you approach such a perspective?
LikeLike
Emma, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on purity and impurity as shown in Leviticus. I especially like the point that you bring up about how acts of purification such as sacrifice prepare one for contact with the holy space and interaction with God’s presence. I was wondering, do you think once someone has come in contact with something that is not clean, and therefore becomes impure, it is possible to become clean yet again? Or is the act irreversible? Great job overall!
LikeLike
Emma, I enjoyed reading your response in the second paragraph, especially the inclusion of the Mary Douglas quote, “any given culture must confront events which seem to deny its assumptions.” Do you think the event which caused the Israelites to deny their assumptions was the giving of this law described in Leviticus, or some other events for which the law was a solution?
LikeLike
Emma,
This is a very solid response that hits all the important points. You spoke about the laws on food that god gave to his people, do you think theres a specific way he decided what was to be considered pure vs what was impure? or do you think that he just made the rules for his people to follow to test their loyalty to him? Great response!
LikeLike