Metaphor, which is to be taken here inclusively as
any representation of one subject matter in terms liter-
ally appropriate not to it but to some different subject
matter, has been pervasively present within religious
discourse from earliest known times. The explicit rec-
ognition of metaphor as metaphor, however, logically
presupposes some structured beliefs or theory about
what may and may not be considered “literally appro-
priate” modes of representation when applied to reli-
gious subject matter. This additional sophistication, first
met explicitly in ancient Greek thought, brings with
it the need for exegesis and therefore provides a stimu-
lus for rival theological theories. Consequently, the
history of the idea of metaphor in Western religious
discourse, involving not only the vital transition to
self-consciousness about the “literal-nonliteral” dis-
tinction in religion but also the long development of
various approaches to religious uses of nonliteral ex-
pressions, may illuminate aspects of the theological
situation in recent years.
