What Defiles Us?
By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal
I like old movies; one of my favorites is One Foot In Heaven from 1941, a film staring Fredrick March and Martha Scott which tells the story of a medical student who, in 1904, answered the call to ministry in the Methodist Church. The movie follows his many years of ministry within difficult, often contentious churches, and the multitude of problems that they faced in raising their children in the fish-bowel of parsonage life. The strict rules of behavior in the Methodist Church during the early 20th century featured prominently in this movie, and are among the things that most intrigued me about it; specifically, the puritanical nature of most of those rules run contrary to the way in which I was raised in a Methodist household and, for that matter, the world in which I currently serve as a pastor. Many don’t realize it today, but the Methodists of the early 20th century were required to follow strict regulations against many things, including prohibitions against the wearing of jewelry, makeup, dancing, drinking, smoking, strong language, and even going to movies. These were not just suggestions: they were specifically listed and prohibited in their Book of Discipline! The argument made was that, by going doing these things young persons would be introduced to bad ideas and behaviors that would encourage them to sin. As common as this way of thinking was – and is, in many parts of the religious world, even to this day – it was simply wrong.
In the biblical period it was believed that one could be spiritually harmed by exposure to things outside the self. If one saw something that was bad or evil, they could be spiritually harmed by the experience. Similarly, if someone were ritually or spiritually unclean – let us say, due to an open sore with bleeding on their skin – they could easily transmit their spiritual uncleanness to someone else by simply touching them! It was believed that spiritual defilement came from the outside … but not according to Jesus.
“Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” (Mark 7:14b-15)
Jesus is talking about our harmful words and deeds, our unthinking and unfeeling actions, our mistreatment and abuse of others; in all of these ways, and more, we defile ourselves.
The word “defile” is a problem for a lot of people. What does it mean and how are we to understand it without running into the danger of being overly judgmental? The Greek word being translated “defile” here is the verb “koinuo.” It means to sully or make dirty; it means to be filthy or polluted; it means to be spoiled or corrupted. This is how the word is usually understood in western Christianity, and particularly in Catholicism, Protestantism, and Evangelicalism. Things which defile us, or make us dirty, are sinful things … things that we, as specific individuals, do to cause us to “fall short” of God’s will. While this is a true statement, as far as it goes, it must also be remembered that sin has a strong societal component; this is especially true relative to the use of the word “koinuo,” which can also convey the sense of “to be made common” or “usual” or “ordinary” or “shared.” “Koinuo” is the root word for “joint participation” – "koinonia," in Greek – which is a very important word is Christian Theology addressing our participation together, as the Church, and with God. The use of the word “koinuo” here can be understood as indicating that we are defiled not just by our own actions or our own personal sins, but also by those sinful things that we, as a society, share in common.
Racism, bigotry, ethnic/racial/cultural supremacy, elitism, sexism, homophobia, the exclusion of others due to socio-economic concerns or political differences ... these are all sins of our society in which we participate. Our societal sin is realized through how we mistreat others; be they institutionalized within a matrix of laws and public policy, or be they simply part of the prevailing majority prejudices, these attitudes and behaviors are all part of our society's sin. Not only does our culture promote sin by supporting these things, but even unwillingly and unknowingly we participate in that sin because we are part of, and benefit from, our society. And, yes, these sins defile us just as assuredly as do our own personal sins.
There’s plenty of scriptural support for the concept of communal or societal sin. The list that Jesus gives here in Mark 7 was reflective of some of those practices that were highly problematic in the Jewish culture of the first century.
"For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23)
Indeed, we still share these sins today, and while people often want to focus on the personal sexual sins in this list, it’s also true that even these are all culturally conditioned and defined. For example, let’s take a look at fornication. It’s not an accident that the Greek word which we translate “fornication” is the word “pornia,” from which we get the word “pornography” … a severe societal plague in which the dignity and personhood of others is denigrated and objectivize. Similarly with “adultery,” which often involves aspects of rape, manipulation, and the violation of covenant relationships. “Licentiousness” is a word that sounds exciting, however its fundamental meaning is brutal, unrestrained violence and unprincipled, self-centered, narcissistic sexual behavior. All these sins can be personal, but they also reflect the deeply seated ills of a society that promoted the mistreatment of women, children, slaves, and the poor at the hands of the powerful, influential, and rich. Something very similar can be said about our society, today.
Humans are cultural beings; we’re creatures of our society, meaning that it’s very difficult for us to be divorced from it or its ills. I was raised by my parents to view racism as a sin … and it is. Bigotry, prejudice, racism … I was taught that these are all sins with a capital “S.” However, perhaps even worse than the personal aspect of these sins is the fact that we live in a society that is structured with a prejudice favoring one group of people over others. In our world, today, that means the interests and identities of white people being preferred and valued over other ethnic and racial groups; it’s the foundation of white privilege — or, put differently, the network of covert and overt advantages that I have because I am a white guy living in North America. That I’m a gay white guy means that some of those privileges have been either neutralized or diminished in their effectiveness, and it is also true that some of those factors continue to be heavily oppressed by the culture at large even if governmentally institutionalized discrimination has been reduced. After all, it’s only been since 2015 that gays and lesbians have been free to marry, and it was only in June of 2020 that the US Supreme Court ruled that the federal ban on discrimination “based on sex” (Title IX) applies to gay, lesbian, and transgender employees. I rejoice in the reduction of institutionalized discrimination, but I am also tragically aware that plenty of prejudice against myself and others like me still exists in the society. None of the resulting disadvantages mean that I don’t still have a lot of privilege because I’m a white guy; I absolutely do, and I name my own participation in that as sin. But all of this – the advantages and the disadvantages – are part of the systemic sin of our culture which prefers some people at the expense of others.
As Jesus said, it’s what comes out of us – including our shared cultural and societal sin – that defiles us. Our personal sin is rooted in our self-centered will; our cultural sin is found in our society’s majority-centered prejudice. All of it is sin – falling short of God’s will for us – and all of it defiles us.
© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
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As a popular teacher, preacher, and retreat leader, Dr. Neal is known for his ability to translate complex theological concepts into common, everyday terms. HIs preaching and teaching ministry is in demand around the world, and much of his work can be found on this website. He is the author of several books, including Grace Upon Grace: Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life, which is in its second edition, and Seeking the Shepherd's Arms: Reflections from the Pastoral Side of Life, a work of devotional literature. Both of these books are currently available from Amazon.com.