"There may not be any greater need in this moment—for both the church and the larger culture—than a practical theology of the news. Reading the Times is a book that addresses a discipleship crisis of our day. It may be a generation too late, but it's not a moment too soon."

"I am so grateful for a book that steps back from the flash and distraction of headlines to think deeply about the purpose of the news and how Christians are called to engage. In Reading the Times, Jeffrey Bilbro provides readers with a theological framework for our contemporary discourse. He offers examples from the tradition, from the Old Testament to modern heroes of the faith, such as Frederick Douglass and Dorothy Day, that we might apprentice ourselves, as Bilbro puts it, before these models. Like a teacher, Bilbro questions readers about our ways of responding to media, and he leads us to consider how our participation with contemporary news forms us and our community. By contextualizing our reading of the news within kairos, Bilbro shows Christians how, as T. S. Eliot writes, 'to apprehend the point of intersection of the timeless with time.' A relevant and timeless book about how Christians should belong in but not of this world."

"Jeffrey Bilbro's Reading the Times makes a compelling sweep of material, technological, and philosophical history, helping Christians ask pressing contemporary questions: How do we attend faithfully to the news? To what political, moral, social, and spiritual ends do we scroll Twitter, check Facebook, and scan the morning headlines? Attention deficit, hyperpartisanship, and misinformation are familiar problems in our current media landscape, but Bilbro goes beyond these standard diagnoses. In the Augustinian tradition, he examines not just media consumption but media appetite. I find his work both practical and prophetic: one foot in chronos, one in kairos, Bilbro begs us to fight for better media habits and rightly ordered media loves. I hope people will gather together around these pages and attend to them slowly, prayerfully, resolutely."

"Reading the Times is essential reading for today's Christian. Jeffrey Bilbro helps us recognize the philosophical and epistemological narratives underlying current headlines and debates, and he gives his readers a deeper understanding of the life we're cultivating for ourselves when we pick up our newspapers or scroll through our news feeds. Centered on the gospel and its timeless beauty, this book proffers a far better vision for our news consumption and public witness, showing us how we can begin to cultivate sound minds and lives of grace."