War Against Delilah: Metaphorising Biblical Characters in Nigerian Pentecostal Online Poster Themes

Scholarship has shown that biblical characters can be recontextualised to convey theological, ideological and cultural meanings. This study explores how biblical characters function as metaphors in Nigerian Pentecostal online poster themes. Specifically, the study investigates the overt and covert metaphorical mappings of biblical characters and analyses the contemporary religious perspectives and sociocultural ideologies embedded in their use. Employing MIPVU procedures and Critical Metaphor Analysis, the study examines 22 poster themes drawn from Pentecostal churches’ Facebook pages between 2020 and 2025. Findings reveal thematic paradigms in the mapping where biblical characters are repurposed to articulate complex contemporary experiences related to adversity, deliverance, transformation, as well as betrayal/sabotage. Additionally, the dynamism and persuasive power of biblical character metaphors in reinforcing ideologies are observed, which is highly appealing in the present Nigerian socioeconomic reality. Similarly, the study reveals a confrontational approach to problems, which is in tandem with a proactive problem-solving mindset supported by Pentecostal doctrines. Furthermore, the study contributes to perspectives on religious metaphor use in digital media and highlights the need for flexible and discourse-informed approaches in metaphor research, especially because of the “blurry line” between metaphors and metonyms.