Friendship: A New Method to Read the Bible

Dust accumulates on the cover of my Bible as it eagerly sits in the corner of my room. You would think that since the Bible offers countless insights on how to live, I would build a strong, friend-like relationship with it. Sadly, I often disregard the fact that God depicts in the Bible that he deeply desires to be my greatest friend and ally. Instead, I turn to social media or the news to satisfy me because they deliver quick bites of pleasure, often absent when reading the Bible. However, Mullins’ argument might persuade me to try again.

In his book, Enjoying the Bible, he argues that Bible readers should form a new emotional fascination towards the Bible, becoming fully immersed in the feelings evoked by the text. In sum, Mullins’ view is that we should remove our “Cartesian” eyes so we can fall in love with the Bible and ultimately God. I agree with this stance. In my view, reading the Bible as a piece of literature instead of a fix-it-quick instruction manual will fill the empty void within my heart, a space capable of only being filled with a deeper friendship with the Lord. I believe that his suggestion to implement patience, become enchanted by the literature, and consume the word will help me rely on the Bible like I rely on a best friend, not strictly for use but for joy, relationship, and communion.

Mullins transforms my perception on how the Bible ought to be read by encouraging readers to slow down, use the virtue of patience, and absorb the text in its entirety by not splicing the message. A common tendency is to summarize Bible passages and extract only the vital lessons. Mullins points out that when we summarize, we look for the core or heart of the message stating, “to summarize or distill the Bible is to read the text looking for this heart by cutting away whatever is unnecessary” (Mullins 83). In other words, once we find the central message of a passage or story, we can disregard the extra fluff. However, the supporting stories should not be thrown out into the pointlessness garbage disposal. When a reader uses patience, they appreciate the small details and gain a greater sense of what the passage is revealing.

When we skim rapidly through the Bible, we are prone to take a message out of context. Mullins makes an interesting point stating, “studying the Bible like this all the time is like loading up on appetizers and then being too stuffed to eat the actual meal you were intended to enjoy” (Mullins 84). I understand this metaphor to say that when we summarize or distill the Bible, we are prone to stuff ourselves with the wrong meanings or messages. The world is full of quick, pleasurable finger food and the Bible should not be treated likewise. The Bible is intended to be read with patience, slowly and carefully.

There are valuable experiences to be had in the “extra fluff” of the Bible. When we slow down with the text, we can enjoy every word. If we look at the Bible as if it were a friend, we wouldn’t want to rush the time spent with them; we want to get to know them, and we will not know everything about them all at once. Patience enables us to discover joy upon learning that those long, annoying stories our friends tell us stabilize a friendship and give it strength to its structure. Personally, I am guilty of using the Bible as a quick source of satisfaction, an appetizer so to speak. I’ve used it to temporarily suppress my hunger pains. However, in the end, I did not have the proper nutrition to energize my faith in the long run. If we consume the Bible in its entirety, becoming patient with the seemingly extra details, we will be satisfied on our journey of faith longer than if we were to only eat a small tidbit of its message.

Mullins also reshapes how we are to look at the Bible by claiming that we should be enchanted by the Bible instead of studying it like a textbook. According to Mullins, “if you want to read the Bible, and not just study it like you’d do for school, then you have to stop abstracting from it and start being enchanted by it. Instead of trying to identify the main idea in a story, embrace the labyrinth of relationships, conflicts, characters, and resolutions and the frequent lack of closure” (Mullins 86). The essence of Mullins’ argument is that we should view the Bible’s stories as a thrilling TV show or cliff-hanging book. We are fully immersed when we take part in reading or watching these forms of entertainment because they form a new reality around us. We are transported to new worlds and experience the emotional struggles and victories of the characters.

Mullins encourages us to do the same with the Bible. Become dazzled by the trials and tribulations of the Bible passages, and plant yourself into the world of the Bible’s characters to understand their story more fully and how they interacted with God. As an example, let us look at the verses depicting Christ’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22:42-44 states, “‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.’ And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony, and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.” Typically, I would look at this passage and say that the main message is obedience and that the Lord experiences sorrow.

Considering the lesson that Mullins teaches, I am now encouraged to personally feel the pain of Jesus. I should now be captivated by the distress in his voice, becoming one with the text. I believe that this new way to read the Bible is beneficial because it will lead to more accurate interpretation and a fuller, more satisfying experience. Returning to the simile of the Bible as friend-- when in the presence of a true friend, we can be entirely enchanted by them. Our focus is completely on them because we respect our friends and what they have to say to us. If we just looked at our friends like a college textbook, only extracting information beneficial to us, can we call them a true friend? If enchantment is our goal when reading the Bible, we can be transported into the stories themselves and can now fully experience the text with our entire selves enabling the gut.

Finally, Mullins proposes that Bible readers consume the text by reading with their gut rather than just with their brains. He writes, “the Bible is a thing to be taken in by our heads and our hearts; it’s something we’re supposed to digest” (Mullins 80). Like becoming enchanted with the text and absorbing the literature, Mullins suggests that we consume the Bible in its entirety, letting it settle in our gut. In other words, we are supposed to make the Bible a part of our physical being just like food. Food replenishes, satisfies, and becomes part of our cells. The Word of God is intended to transform our very being just like a healthy meal would.

I typically look at the Bible as if it were brussel sprouts. Bland, sour, and unsatisfactory. However, by aligning my mindset with Mullins’ interpretation, I predict that the Bible will become an all-you-can-eat buffet leading me straight to the relationship I long for with Christ. God speaks directly through the sentences and phrases of the Bible, and I am meant to delight in the process of building that friendship not only with the Bible itself but also with my Lord.

Whether you look at the Bible as a friend or as a meal to satisfy, we’re meant to bask in its presence, absorbing all that it offers like a plant bathing in the sunlight. Reading with our guts will ensure a whole-being experience, one differing greatly from the typical, “Cartesian” eye instruction manual method of interpreting the Bible. When I practice the virtue of patience, I can consume the whole Bible, not just the pieces I think are important. You may have heard it said, “Show me your 5 closest friends and I’ll show you your future.” Now considering the message delivered by Mullins in his Enjoying the Bible, will Christ become one of the friends that influences me?

Works Cited

Mullins, Matthew. Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures. Baker Academic, a Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021.

The Bible. The New American Bible Revised Edition, Fireside

Catholic Publishing, 2011.