Nicholas Baines

LATEST ARTICLES ( 598 )

• Obedient Freedom

  

  I had hoped to finish Ferdinand Schlingensiepen's biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer before coming to Basel to begin my study leave proper. I failed. But, I... Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Bashing the Bishops

  Before I went to Kazakhstan for the first time in 2003 I had little idea of its post-independence history. I knew it quite well (from a distance and in a bit... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Remembering Memory

  

  On the way to the Brocken with friends a couple of days ago, we drove through a village called Elend. Elend is the German word for 'misery'. There is a place... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Faith and Patriotism

  

  It is a bit odd to be in Germany at a Meissen Theological Conference while the General Synod meets in London – especially as both bodies seem to be addressing... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Reconciliation

  

  Any conference in Germany is haunted by the 20th Century. The fact that churches in Germany and England maintained their contact and solidarity during the... Read more

  Posted on 11 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Reading the Times

  

  Just a question, but if every country in Europe did what the Swiss have done today – voting in a referendum to limit immigration into their land – what would... Read more

  Posted on 09 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Surprised Gratitude

  

  I have not long got home from a tour of the cathedrals in Wakefield, Bradford and Ripon following the announcement this morning in Leeds of my nomination to be... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• A Moving Announcement

  It was announced at 10am this morning by 10 Downing Street that I have been nominated to become the first (Anglican) Bishop of Leeds for the new diocese of... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• More Religious Broadcasting?

  

  The Sandford St Martin Trust (which I chair) has just launched its new website here.The first in a series of guest blogs is written by me, but to read it you... Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Dying Discreetly

  

  The first day of my sabbatical. Thirty books to start on – two months to read as much as possible. I am afraid there's going to be an awful lot of book stuff... Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Dead Scrolls?

  

  The second book I have just read (see here for the first) from the imaginative Princeton University Press series Lives of Great Religious Books is John J.... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Book Stories

  

  Princeton University Press is publishing a series of books about books: Lives of Great Religious Books. Among the first batch is (perhaps predictably) The Book... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Religion and Conflict

  

  Just about to pack up for the night and a last glance at the news websites messes it all up.Tony Blair has written in the Observer today about the need for the... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Re-calibrating Reality

  

  This probably marks me down as a little bit miserable, but so far this year I have read three books and the one I am about to finish is not exactly a comedy. Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Happy New Year

  This is the text of this morning's Thought for the Day on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme:I’d love to wish everyone a happy new year, but, apart from the genera... Read more

  Posted on 01 January 2014 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Voting and Reading

  I was amused to read today that people are declining to vote because they despise politicians. Or, to use the media wording: “Fury at MPs”.The numbers of... Read more

  Posted on 27 December 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• #christmasmeans

  

  … the Christmas presence you've always wanted.… love sprouts eternal.… God among us, God with us, God one of us, God for us.… matter matters: the Word became... Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Strictly Speaking…

  

  This is the script of this morning's Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans Show with Jake Bugg, a Salvation Army band and the Strictly Come Dancing... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Poor Show

  

  The newspapers variously report today on the debate in the House of Commons about foodbanks.OK, make allowances for the natural party-political hype and... Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Walk the Talk

  

  This is the text of my one-minute reflection on this morning's BBC Radio 2 Good Morning Sunday with the wonderful Clare Balding:When I heard that Nelson... Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY