Christopher B. Zeichmann teaches at Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.

To the question whether contemporaries denounced the Roman army as an occupying war machine, the author candidly acknowledges that “The New Testament lacks a single, consistent depiction of the military” (p. 139). Though sprinkled with allusions to John Wayne, the Life of Brian, and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, the narrative is judicious, clear, and devoid of jargon. . . university, seminary, and military libraries may wish to acquire a copy for its updated scholarly references to a vital eastern military zone and for its analytical close-readings of the New Testament.

• Introduction: A War Machine in the Holy Land?1. Who Were the Soldiers in Palestine?2. What Did the Military Do in Early Roman Palestine?3. The Military in the Gospels and Acts4. The Military in the Pauline Corpus5. The Military in RevelationConclusion: Reading a Complicated Bible in Complicated Times

Christopher B. Zeichmann teaches at Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.

To the question whether contemporaries denounced the Roman army as an occupying war machine, the author candidly acknowledges that “The New Testament lacks a single, consistent depiction of the military” (p. 139). Though sprinkled with allusions to John Wayne, the Life of Brian, and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, the narrative is judicious, clear, and devoid of jargon. . . university, seminary, and military libraries may wish to acquire a copy for its updated scholarly references to a vital eastern military zone and for its analytical close-readings of the New Testament.

• Introduction: A War Machine in the Holy Land?1. Who Were the Soldiers in Palestine?2. What Did the Military Do in Early Roman Palestine?3. The Military in the Gospels and Acts4. The Military in the Pauline Corpus5. The Military in RevelationConclusion: Reading a Complicated Bible in Complicated Times