0 jbtm vol. 6, no. 2 the proclamation of the gospel - Baptist Center for ...

Re-Thinking the Value of Metaphors ٠ 81
that good metaphors “are not images added, extrinsic; they are the fabric of the thought
itself.” 26
David Buttrick adopted Lakoff’s theory of metaphor. Emphasizing the importance
of metaphor in preaching, Buttrick explained that people live their lives in metaphor
systems, which he termed as “models made from congruent metaphors.” 27 Buttrick’s
metaphor systems correspond to Lakoff’s conceptual metaphors. Buttrick concluded: “The
rather frightening fact is that social metaphor systems are not mere rhetorical
ornamentation[;] they disclose the models that shape our minds, and set our behavioral
patterns with terrifying power. . . . Preachers who wish to transform human lives will have to
grasp the sheer power of metaphorical language. With metaphors, we can rename the world
for faith.” 28 Much of Buttrick’s discussions of sermonic metaphors, however, concern types
and models rather than metaphors.
In Imaginative Shock (1990), Eduard Riegert attempted to show that preaching is a
metaphoric process. His work reflected the modern linguistic and interpretational theories
that metaphor is a process involving not only words but also sentences and discourse. He
believed that metaphor “redescribes reality, and in doing so discloses a world of new
possibilities. Its effect is imaginative shock.” 29 Rather than encouraging the use of metaphor
as literary device in preaching, Riegert emphasized that preachers should become seers and
understand the root metaphors of Christianity in order to reclaim the imaginative potential
of those metaphors. The preacher is to lay the Scripture text alongside the world of the
congregation. Riegert explained: “Our preaching must concentrate on interpreting life
theologically, rather than, as our traditional practice has been, drawing on life to illustrate
theology.” 30
Warren Wiersbe, instead of encouraging preachers to develop their own metaphors,
was more concerned with understanding and communicating the metaphors of the Bible.
Wiersbe advised that preachers should use their imagination in discerning what the biblical
metaphors meant to the original audience and what they mean to congregations today. He
claimed that metaphors build bridges between the listener and the Bible, the listener’s past
and present, and the listener’s mind and heart. 31
1990), 10.
26 Ibid., 254-5.
27 David Buttrick, Homiletic: Moves and Structures (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987), 122.
28 Ibid., 123.
29 Eduard Riegert, Imaginative Shock: Preaching and Metaphor (Burlington, ON: Trinity,
30 Ibid., 128.
31 Warren Wiersbe, Preaching & Teaching with Imagination: The Quest for Biblical Ministry
(Wheaton: Victor, 1994), 77-80.