Cover not available
Article published In:
Metaphor in Religion and Spirituality
Edited by Stephen Pihlaja
[Metaphor and the Social World 7:1] 2017
► pp. 87–102

“When Noah built the ark…”

Metaphor and biblical stories in Facebook preaching

| Newman University, UK

This article investigates the use of biblical stories and text in the preaching of Joshua Feuerstein, a popular Facebook evangelist, and focuses on how biblical stories are used to position the viewer in comparison to biblical characters and texts. Taking a discourse dynamics approach (Cameron & Maslen, 2010), a corpus of 8 short videos (17 minutes 34 seconds) and their comments (2,295) taken from the Facebook are analysed first, for the presence of metaphorical language and stories taken from the Bible. Second, they are analysed for the role of metaphor in the narrative positioning (Bamberg, 1997) of the viewer, particularly as it relates to Gibbs’s notion of ‘allegorises’, or the ‘allegoric impulse’ (Gibbs, 2011). The corresponding text comments from the videos are then also analysed for the presence of the same biblical metaphor, focusing on how commenters interact with the metaphor and Feuerstein’s positioning of them. Findings show that biblical metaphorical language is used to position viewers and their struggles in the context of larger storylines that compare everyday experiences to biblical texts. This comparison can happen both in explicit narrative positioning of viewers with explicit reference to the Bible, and implicit positioning, through the use of unmarked biblical language. Analysis of viewer comments shows that use of metaphorical language is successful in building a sense of camaraderie and shared belief among the viewer and Feuerstein, as well as viewers with one another.

Keywords: Bible, Feuerstein, social networking sites, Facebook, preaching, Evangelical Christian
Article outline
  • 1.Background
    • 1.1Metaphor dynamics
    • 1.2Narrative positioning
    • 1.3Metaphor in online interaction
  • 2.Data collection and method
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1Use of scriptural metaphor
    • 3.2Metaphor and positioning
  • 4.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 20 July 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.7.1.06pih
References
Allison, D. C., Jr.
1987 The structure of the Sermon on the Mount. Journal of Biblical Literature, 1061, 423–445. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bamberg, M.
(1997) Positioning between structure and performance. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7(1–4), 335–342. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2004) Considering counter narratives. In M. Bamberg & M. Andrews (Eds.), Considering counter narratives: Narrating, resisting, making sense (pp. 351–371). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bass, G. M.
1982 The evolution of the story sermon. Word and World, 21, 183–188.Google Scholar
Cameron, L.
(2003) Metaphor in educational research. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
(2011) Metaphor and reconciliation: The discourse dynamics of empathy in post-conflict conversations. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cameron, L., & Low, G.
(1999) Researching and applying metaphor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cameron, L., & Maslen, R.
(Eds.) (2010) Metaphor analysis: Research practice in applied linguistics, social sciences and the humanities. London: Equinox.Google Scholar
Cameron, L., Maslen, R., Todd, Z., Maule, J., Stratton, P., & Stanley, N.
(2009) The discourse dynamics approach to metaphor and metaphor-led discourse analysis. Metaphor and Symbol, 24(2), 63–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davis, G.
1958 Design for Preaching, Minneapolis, MA: Fortress Publishers.Google Scholar
Davies, B., & Harré, R.
(1990) Positioning: The discursive production of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 20(1), 43–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Feuerstein, J.
(2014a) Untitled Facebook Video. Retrieved from [URL]
(2014b) Untitled Facebook Video. Retrieved from [URL]
Foucault, M.
(1981) The orders of discourse. In R. Young (Ed.), Untying the text: A post-structuralist reader. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gibbs, R.
(2011) The Allegorical Impulse. Metaphor and Symbol, 26(2), 121–130. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gillespie, M., Herbert, D. E. J., & Greenhill, A.
(2013) Social media and religious change. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harré, R., Moghaddam, F., Cairnie, T. P., Rothbart, D., & Sabat, S. R.
(2009) Recent advances in positioning theory. Theory & Psychology, 19(1), 5–31. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harré, R., & van Langenhove, L.
(1998) Positioning theory: Moral contexts of intentional action. London: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Hutchings, T.
(2007) Creating church online: A case-study approach to religious experience. Studies in World Christianity, 13(3), 243–260. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jensen, R. A.
1980 Telling the story: Variety and imagination in preaching, Minneapolis, MA: Augsburg Press.Google Scholar
Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. W.
(1984) Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39(10), 1123–1134. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, D., & Cameron, L.
(2008) Complex systems and applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Marwick, A., & boyd, d.
(2011) I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience. New Media & Society, 13(1), 114–133. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Musolff, A.
(2004) Metaphor and political discourse: Analogical reasoning in debates about Europe. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2006) Metaphor scenarios in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 21(1), 23–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Noll, M. A., Bebbington, D. W., & Rawlyk, G. A.
(1994) Evangelicalism: Comparative studies of popular protestantism in North America, the British Isles, and beyond, 1700–1990: Oxford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Packer, J. I.
(1978) The evangelical anglican identity problem: An analysis. Oxford: Latimer.Google Scholar
Pihlaja, S.
(2013) ‘It’s all red ink’: The interpretation of biblical metaphor among Evangelical Christian YouTube users. Language and Literature, 22(2), 103–117. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014) Antagonism on YouTube: Metaphor in online discourse. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Siegel, J., Dubrovsky, V., Kiesler, S., & McGuire, T. W.
(1986) Group processes in computer-mediated communication. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37(2), 157–187. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Watson, G.
2014 The sermon in three acts: The rhetoric of cinema and the art of narrative biblical exposition. Revista Batista Pioneira, 31, 193–210.Google Scholar
Zanotto, M. S., Cameron, L., & Cavalcanti, M. C.
(Eds.) (2008) Confronting metaphor in use: An applied linguistic approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 4 other publications

HAN, HUAMEI
2018. Studying Religion and Language Teaching and Learning: Building a Subfield. The Modern Language Journal 102:2 ► pp. 432 ff. DOI logo
Oyebode, Oluwabunmi O. & Foluke O. Unuabonah
2022. “Noah’s Family Was on Lockdown”: Multimodal Metaphors in Religious Coronavirus-Related Internet Memes in the Nigerian WhatsApp Space. Metaphor and Symbol 37:4 ► pp. 287 ff. DOI logo
Richardson, Peter, Stephen Pihlaja, Miori Nagashima, Masako Wada, Makoto Watanabe & Baramee Kheovichai
2020. Blasphemy and persecution: Positioning in an inter-religious discussion. Text & Talk 40:1 ► pp. 75 ff. DOI logo
Zakharchenko, Artem & Olena Zakharchenko
2021. The Influence of the ‘Tomos Narrative’ as a Part of the Ukrainian National and Strategic Narrative. Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy ► pp. 163 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.