Why does the Bible have such a downer on stiff-necked people?  This morning I have a stiff neck (and shoulders and a fair few bruises all over) and I find myself wondering, albeit flippantly since I know what it really means, about this source of divine displeasure.

I remember being told about some work that the theologian John Hull was doing on the pejorative use of the concept of blindness in the Bible borne out of his own experiences of losing his sight.  I guess we need to be reasonably alert to the way we use metaphors, especially of goodness/badness so that we don't inadvertently either build prejudices against people who, for example, have stiff necks or make then feel as if they are somehow inferior.

Anyhow, stiff-necked or not (in either sense of the word) I am back in the land of work and today met not one soul coming in the other direction... maybe the jogger grapevine has sent out the word to beware relatively early morning walking ministers...?