It should come as no surprise to anyone that Protestants place a high value on Scripture. Examples of this attitude abound: the popular Awana program gives an award to second graders who have memorized 150 Bible verses. “Bible quizzing” effectively makes high schoolers memorize whole epistles. Teachers and parents teach children their Savior’s voice by drill: God’s words are imprinted in the hearts of the young with the hope that they will follow the Lord’s precepts until their death. This trust in Scripture’s transformative power is a definitive mark of the culture found in many Protestant congregations.

The imagery of reveling in the Word of God, tasting it, and even consuming it in a physical, almost sacramental way is so...