Nicholas Baines

LATEST ARTICLES ( 612 )

• Resources Along the Way

  

  We never walk alone. One of the things discovered by many people in the recent strange weeks of Covid-19 lockdown is that we have the time and space for a new... Read more

  Posted on 14 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• The Journey Continues …

  

  Easter Monday. All sorted, then. We’ve had the glorious light of new life and the future is all bright.Well, not quite. Like everything in life, the end is... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Drawn by Hope

  

  Easter Day. The day when Christians rise early, watch the sun come up and join together in numbers to celebrate the resurrection. Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Empty Saturday

  

  . The worst.You know what it is like when you have been bereaved. You somehow get through the hours that follow and life is thrown out of kilter. There is a... Read more

  Posted on 11 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• So, Where is God in All This?

  

  Good Friday. Darkness. Loss. Suffering. Death.When I was a vicar we used to start at the church door on Good Friday and walk around the building, re-telling... Read more

  Posted on 10 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Denial

  

  Maundy Thursday. It’s all closing in. Jerusalem welcomed Jesus and his friends when he rode in on Palm Sunday. But, the tension is growing, the drama... Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Betrayal

  

  Wednesday of Holy Week. One of the friends of Jesus is Judas Iscariot. I have sympathy for him.I grew up with the notion that Judas deserved what he got. He... Read more

  Posted on 08 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Hard of Hearing

  

  Tuesday of Holy Week. Why does Jesus have to make it so complicated?As he walks towards what will become his place of execution, he keeps talking to his... Read more

  Posted on 07 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• People Like Us

  

  Monday of Holy Week. We continue the walk with Jesus and his friends, thinking about what all this stuff means in a pandemic-shaped western society. Read more

  Posted on 06 April 2020 RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• 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