Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality

by Richard Beck

Striving after good theology is similar to managing a sweet tooth. Psychological dynamics will always make certain theological systems more or less appealing. And yet psychologically appealing and intuitive theological systems are not always healthy. In short, these psychological dynamics function as a sweet tooth, a kind of cognitive temptation that pulls the intellectually lazy or unreflective (because we are busy folk with day jobs) into theological orbits that hamper the mission of the church. As with managing the sweet tooth, vigilance and care are needed to keep us on a healthy path.

Humans are most likely the only species that experiences disgust, and we seem to be the only one capable of loathing its own species. —William Miller, The Anatomy of Disgust

We find magical thinking at work in Matthew 9. If sin is “contagious,” extending hospitality becomes impossible.