Monday, May 2, 2022

read: Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry Into the News (4 stars)

Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry Into the NewsReading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry Into the News by Jeffrey Bilbro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A thoughtful examination of how to approach the news of the world with a Christian perspective. The author starts with a quote from Thoreau: "Read not the Times, read the Eternities." and breaks down what that means from three angles: Attention, Time and Community.
Each section looks at the flawed assumptions and attitudes most modern readers bring to their consumption of news (and social networks) and contrasts that with writing from deep thinkers like Thoreau, Merton, Augustine, Auerbach and Dante. All of this sounds rather stuffy and scholarly. But the author is brief, direct and readable and also offers practical tips (liturgies) in a chapter at the end of each section. Recommended.

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