Nicholas Baines

LATEST ARTICLES ( 617 )

• Religious Illiteracy (again)

  

  Sometimes I (and others) feel like we are banging a drum that just irritates people who have an ideological reason for not wanting to listen to any critique of... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Heroism

  

  I can't believe I have just been in Germany and failed to buy a book I want to read. OK, I didn't know it existed until I got back and saw it reviewed in... Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Cold Comfort

  

  I have just been to Jena, Germany, to do a lecture at the Friedrich Schiller University and preach at a service to open the winter semester. A bit of a trek –... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Questions, Questions and More Questions

  

  I have not had time to post on all the myriad of things going on in the world. I am writing this on the train back from London before heading off to lecture... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Defending England

  

  The English Defence League – minus most of its recently-resigned leadership – is coming to Bradford on Saturday.In one sense it is really nice that lost of... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Daily Male(factor)

  I wonder if the Daily Mail has finally succeeded in opening the eyes of its apathetic readers to the true nature of its anthropology (that is, what they think i... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Pilgrim

  The Church of England has issued a new course aimed at providing a basic resource for catechesis – that is, nurturing people in Christian faith. Hardly... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Daily Disgrace

  

  The heart can only despair. The Daily Mail has a low enough view of humanity, but its piece on Ralph Miliband is execrable. Its decision to print the original... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Mustn’t Grumble

  

  Here's the text of this morning's Pause for Thought on the Chris Evans Show on BBC Radio 2. The guests on the show today were Chas n Dave, Keane's Tom Chaplin... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Persecuted Christians?

  Whenever there is an atrocity committed against Christians elsewhere in the world I get asked what we are doing about it here. Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Leading Questions

  

  There are times when being a news editor must be the worst job.What ought to lead the news today? What should be the order of priority? Which is most important... Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Poverty and the Food of Love

  

  “My sole concern as I write these lines is my stomach. All thinking and feeling, all wishes and hopes begin with food.”So writes the anonymous author of the mos... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary…

  

  I am spending four days this week with the bishops of the Anglican churches in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Meeting in Oxford until Thursday, we are... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Little Germany…

  

  … is where the Meissen Commission met from Thursday last week until yesterday (Sunday). Locating the annual joint Commission meeting in part of Bradford called... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2013 SOCIETY

• Russian Roulette

  It's a bit of a game, isn't it?Keen to take the initiative, the USA and France ratchet up the pressure to attack Syria on the grounds that Syria must be deterre... Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Questions, Church and Other Stuff

  

  The Diocese of Bradford is currently hosting the Bishop of Khartoum, Sudan, as we celebrate 30 years of a diocesan link. Talking with the bishop over the last... Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• “Something Must Be Done…”

  

  If I had a pound for every time I get told, “something must be done” – about something – I would be a rich man. The trouble is, however, that the phrase only... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Syria

  

  Having had a big needle in my shoulder yesterday, I followed the Syria crisis developments without knowing whether to or how to respond. So much has been said... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• What Every Vicar Needs to Know

  

  Having just got back from holiday, I am missing the Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham. This also means I missed the launch of Jeremy Fletcher's advice to... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Safe and Sound

  

  Being away has made me feel a little detached from the sound and fury of home. But, as I used to work for them, I have followed the GCHQ/NSA business quite... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2013 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY