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While the religious experts focused on clarifying boundaries, Jesus focused on what lies at the center.

Why do Christians, who are called to be holy, settle for being weird?

In his commentary on Romans, British scholar James D. G. Dunn noted that in the apostle Paul's day, an inordinate amount of rabbinic writing focused on three aspects of the law: circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and dietary regulations. That is odd. No devout first-century rabbi would have said that these areas were the heart of the law. The heart of the law was clear: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deut. 6:4-5). So why the remarkable emphasis on circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and eating habits?

To explain this, Dunn refers to what sociologists might call boundary markers. Boundary markers are highly visible, relatively superficial practices that serve to distinguish people inside a group from those outside. So if you pull up next to a 1960s VW van plastered with peace signs and bumper stickers that read "Make love, not war," navigated by a driver with long hair, granny glasses, and love beads, you know with whom you are dealing.

If on the other side is a BMW piloted by a hair-moussing, Rolex-wearing, Brie-tasting, chardonnay-sipping 30-year-old, you know his group as well.

Religious groups, perhaps even more than other kinds, tend to want to distinguish themselves from outsiders. So the religious experts of Paul's day spent a great deal of time focusing on boundaries. These practices received the lion's share of attention—not because they were so important in themselves, but because they became litmus tests for determining who was inside and outside the people of God. This was a "boundary-oriented approach" to the spiritual life.

While the religious experts focused on clarifying boundaries, Jesus focused on what lies at the center of faithful life. When asked about the essence of the law, Jesus' response went immediately to its heart: Love God, love people (Mark 12:29). Likewise, when he was asked about why his disciples did not follow the ritual handwashing customs of the Pharisees, Jesus pointed out the source of true dirt: the human heart (Mark 7:1-23).

Consistently in the New Testament we see the spiritual life determined by what is at the center, not by the boundaries. It was a "centered approach" to Christian life.

This explains why so many of the conflicts between the religious experts and Jesus and Paul revolved around issues of Sabbath, eating, and circumcision. Jesus was not simply differing with them on applications of the law. He was threatening the foundation of their very understanding of themselves as the people of God.

Narrowing religious devotion to the boundaries is a constant temptation for people of faith. Those who take following God seriously want to believe it makes a difference—that it makes them different. And if they are not becoming manifestly more loving, they will almost inevitably find some markers to prop up their belief that they are different.

In certain kinds of churches, for instance, the pastor might be resentful or bitter, but as long as the church is "going well," his ministry will not be seriously threatened. However, should he smoke one cigarette in the parking lot while greeting members after a service, he would create an uproar. Why? No one would argue that smoking a single cigarette was a worse sin than a lifetime of resentment. It is because cigarette smoking can serve as a kind of boundary marker.

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August 15 1994, Vol. 38, No. 9