Nicholas Baines

LATEST ARTICLES ( 623 )

• Facing Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)

  

  Palm Sunday. Normally Christians would be walking through the streets with a bemused donkey before beginning Holy Week in church. Not this year. Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Back to Exile

  

  I seem to spend most of every day on Zoom. It is brilliant to see and hear people and we get a surprising amount of work done, too. Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• The Missing Bits

  

  I have spent most of today chairing or participating in Zoom meetings. Each one was efficient, disciplined and we did the necessary business. Read more

  Posted on 30 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• A Passion for Hope

  

  So, Bob Dylan has released his latest epic. 17 minutes of references to the last sixty years of politics and music. Brilliant stuff. Called ‘Murder Most Foul’,... Read more

  Posted on 29 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Fear and Faith

  This is the text of an article published in the excellent and impressive Yorkshire Post today.There are some memories I try to forget. Anything involving... Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Does the Tune Exist…?

  

  Just over a year ago I sat in on a quiet day at the School of Theology, University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. I picked up a book of poetry by RS Thoma... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Losing My Religion

  

  REM didn’t just create an anthem; in the title of the epic song they put their finger on something vital. There are times when ‘my religion’ needs to be lost. Read more

  Posted on 26 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• A Longer View

  

  One of the challenges of Lent for Christians is to avoid confusing process with event.That is a shorthand way of saying that the stories we read in the... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Time

  

  Christmas Eve 2019, looking back from the ancient chancel of Ripon Cathedral towards the nave.However, the interesting bit isn’t what you can see. Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Don’t Forget About Delight

  

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought with Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 (but from my office in Leeds).Do you know what it’s like when you get an... Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Small Gods

  

  I know. I nicked the title from the late great Terry Pratchett. But, I also used it in the book I published last year for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany: Freedo... Read more

  Posted on 23 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Strange Land

  

  Speak of ‘strange land’ and musicos will immediately think of the great, anthemic album by Keane. Older people (ahem) might recall an echo of Boney M or, even,... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Hard Times

  The silence outside the house is a little unnerving. The birds clearly haven’t spotted the problem yet – they just keep tweeting. Read more

  Posted on 21 March 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Waiting for a Miracle? Politics, Wisdom and Faith

  This is the basic text of a lecture given at Bradford Cathedral on Sunday 16 February 2020, followed by a Q A and a sermon (at Choral Evensong) on Revelation... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Who’s Afraid of the Media?

  

  This is the text of a commissioned article published last week in the Church Times.Whenever I go to New Broadcasting House in London I can’t avoid the statue... Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• 75 Years After Dresden

  

  75 years ago tonight Allied bombers destroyed nearly 90% of buildings in the German city of Dresden, killing around 25,000 people. Dresden became synonymous wit... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• How to Listen

  This is the script of this morning’s Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2 with Zoe Ball.I have just returned from speaking at a convention in the United States. Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Commitment

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.I live not far from Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters. The... Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill

  This is the text of a speech in the House of Lords at Second Reading of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill today. I was the sixth speaker of... Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Throwing Stones

  This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Being in the public eye is clearly often a very uncomfortable... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY