Catholic Discordance: Neoconservatism vs. the Field Hospital Church. By Massimo Borghesi. Translated by Barry Hudock. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021. viii + 271 pages. $29.95.

Abstract

John Martens). These chapters go well beyond biblical texts to consider other sources of each era, as well as archaeological evidence that has the potential to expand and inform biblical exegesis. The remainder of the chapters in the book take up either particular texts—there are two chapters that consider the thorny challenges proposed by  Corinthians , while another considers the theme of diasporic childhood in Esther—or important intertextual themes, such as using contemporary understandings of traumatic violence and its impact on children as a lens for interpreting conflict narratives and their aftermath in the Hebrew Bible. Another important distinction of this book is that, whereas the  volume was mostly written by professors teaching in Christian colleges and seminaries, this book is largely written by religion professors working at public universities. As such, although it has vital relevance to those doing biblical exegesis work related to children, it has a potentially wider audience. This book fulfills each of the expectations a reader who understands the nature and purpose of the series it is part of may have. Its comprehensive approach to its subject matter and the thoughtful selection of a wide variety of authors—many of whom have already made notable contributions to the field—provide an excellent primer for anyone new to the topic and will be a reliable reference in the years to come as this field continues to develop. At the same time, with the global growth of research related to children, it is hoped that both this field of study and future editions of this text might be able to diversify their contributions beyond white Euro-American authors to embrace perspectives from scholars throughout the rest of the world who have often experienced childhoods more strikingly like those of the biblical world than we do in the privileged West.