In this paper, I argue that retrieving a patristic model of “Scripture as food” can greatly nourish the church’s doctrine of Scripture today. I first trace the biblical text in both the OT and NT to demonstrate Scripture’s affinity for describing God’s Word, both spoken and written, as food. I then develop this food model by querying the works of three patristic fathers: Athanasius, Origen, and Gregory the Great, gleaning insights for how their understanding of Scripture as food informs their pastoral theology and highlights the authoritative, vital, consistent, and complex nature of Scripture. I conclude by applying these fathers’ insights to draw out ten practical implications for the church’s approach to Scripture today, including how the model of Scripture as food highlights Scripture’s necessity, accessibility, perspicuity, consistency, and diversity.
My research interacts with Origen’s Philocalia, Athanasius’s “Letter 7: Easter 335” and “Letter 49: Letter to Dracontius,” Gregory the Great’s Moralia in Job, Eugene Peterson’s Eat This Book, Norman Wirzba’s Food and Faith, Havilah Dharamraj’s “On the Doctrine of Scripture: An Asian Conversation,” Duane L. Christensen’s Deuteronomy 1:1-21:9, John Nolland’s Luke 9:21-18:34, Daniel Migliore’s Faith Seeking Understanding, and my own book, Eat the Bible: Food, Metaphor, and the Nature of Scripture (Pickwick, 2024).