Though the Roman Empire has been a hot topic within New Testament studies in the twenty-first century, its military aspect has--strangely--been almost entirely neglected. This volume will fill that lacuna by reprinting pivotal, but difficult to access, essays on the topic from the past forty years. The book will help bring scholars up to speed on what Roman military experts have been saying on the matter and give a sense for key developments within the field over the last forty years. The contents of this book include a variety of pivotal essays, though most are difficult to find without access to a major research library.
Though the Roman Empire has been a hot topic within New Testament studies in the twenty-first century, its military aspect has—strangely—been almost entirely neglected. This volume will fill that lacuna by reprinting pivotal, but difficult to access, essays on the topic from the past forty years. The book will help bring scholars up to speed on what Roman military experts have been saying on the matter and give a sense for key developments within the field over the last forty years. The contents of this book include a variety of pivotal essays, though most are difficult to find without access to a major research library.
Even though relations between the Jewish people and the Roman state were sometimes strained to the point of warfare and bloodshed, Jewish military service between the 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE is attested by multiple sources.
This eye-opening book invites readers of all political and denominational stripes into a more meaningful conversation and community with soldiers and veterans. If Jesus is God, then God is a grunt—the humble, hardy folk placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy who are relied on to accomplish the dirtiest, most difficult (and most thankless) work. This is good news for millions of Christian soldiers and veterans in the U.S. because they have had to make an impossible choice, with no perceivable middle ground, between patriot and pacifist. In his new book, God Is a Grunt, Logan Isaac offers an opportunity for GIs, veterans, and those close to them to read Christian traditions as a soldier would—by and through the lived experiences of military service. This well-researched, meditative guide for Christians who have served their country delves deep into the Bible, while Isaac shares his own beliefs and thoughts on the life-altering experiences of battle. He attempts to fill the void most Christians in the military feel by providing theological resources to discern a better way of discipleship for GIs, affirming the nuance and complexity of armed service and the gifts GIs extend to Christians around the world.
The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages.
After twenty years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global pandemic, protests against racial violence, and frequent shootings, more Americans than ever are living with the effects of trauma. The good news is that Jesus was born and died in a traumatized world, and his story speaks forever to wounded people worldwide. Army veteran and Episcopal priest David Peters explores Jesus’ life story through the post-traumatic lens with which the Gospel writers first wrote it—as people who had seen their leader executed by the same oppressive government that had already shrouded their whole lives in anxiety and fear. Meeting the post-traumatic Jesus—the only Jesus the world has ever known—can be a balm to the wounds of modern Christians and spiritual seekers.
A diverse group of scholars charts new paths in the quest for the historical Jesus. After a decade of stagnation in the study of the historical Jesus, James Crossley and Chris Keith have assembled an international team of scholars to envision the quest anew. The contributors offer new perspectives and fresh methods for reengaging the question of the historical Jesus. Important, timely, and fascinating, The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus is a must read for anyone seeking to understand Jesus of Nazareth. Contributors Michael P. Barber, Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, United States of America Giovanni B. Bazzana, Harvard Divinity School, United States of America Helen K. Bond, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom James Crossley, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway, and Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements, United Kingdom Tucker S. Ferda, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, United States of America Paula Fredriksen, Boston University, United States of America, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Deane Galbraith, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand Mark Goodacre, Duke University, United States of America Meghan R. Henning, University of Dayton, United States of America Nathan C. Johnson, University of Indianapolis, United States of America Wayne Te Kaawa, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand Chris Keith, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway John S. Kloppenborg, University of Toronto, Canada Amy-Jill Levine, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, United States of America, and Vanderbilt University, United States of America Brandon Massey, University of Münster, Germany Justin J. Meggitt, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Halvor Moxnes, University of Oslo, Norway Robert J. Myles, Wollaston Theological College, University of Divinity, Australia Wongi Park, Belmont University, United States of America Janelle Peters, Loyola Marymount University, United States of America Taylor G. Petrey, Kalamazoo College, United States of America Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa, Canada Rafael Rodríguez, Johnson University, United States of America Sarah E. Rollens, Rhodes College, United States of America Anders Runesson, University of Oslo, Norway Nathan Shedd, William Jessup University, United States of America, and Johnson University, United States of America Mitzi J. Smith, Columbia Theological Seminary, United States of America, and University of South Africa, South Africa Joan Taylor, King’s College London, United Kingdom Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University, Canada Robyn Faith Walsh, University of Miami, United States of America Matthew G. Whitlock, Seattle University, United States of America Stephen Young, Appalachian State University, United States of America Christopher B. Zeichmann, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
Though New Testament scholars have written extensively on the Roman Empire, the topic of the military has been conspicuously neglected, leading many academics to defer to popular wisdom. Against this trend, The Roman Army and the New Testament provides a clear discussion of issues that are often taken for granted: Who served in the military of early Roman Palestine? Why did men join the Roman army, seemingly at odds with their own interests as subject peoples? What roles did soldiers serve beyond combat? How did civilians interact with and perceive soldiers? These questions are answered through careful analysis of ancient literature, inscriptions, papyri, and archaeological findings to paint a detailed portrait of soldier-civilian interactions in early Roman Palestine. Contrary to common assumption, Judaea and Galilee were not crawling with Roman legionaries with a penchant for cruelty. Rather, a diverse mix of men from Palestine and nearby regions served as soldiers in a variety of social roles: infrastructure construction, dispute mediation, bodyguarding officials like tax-collectors, etc. Readers will discover a variety of complex attitudes civilians held toward men of Roman violence throughout the Roman East. The importance of these historical issues for biblical scholarship is demonstrated through a verse-by-verse commentary on relevant passages that stretches across the entire New Testament, from the Slaughter of the Innocents in Matthew’s nativity to the climactic battle with the Great Beast in Revelation. Biblical scholars, seminarians, and military enthusiasts will find much to learn about the Roman army in both the New Testament and early Roman Palestine.
Alliance politics is a regular headline grabber. When a possible military crisis involving Russia, North Korea, or China rears its head, leaders and citizens alike raise concerns over the willingness of US allies to stand together. As rival powers have tightened their security cooperation, the United States has stepped up demands that its allies increase their defense spending and contribute more to military operations in the Middle East and elsewhere. The prospect of former President Donald Trump unilaterally ending alliances alarmed longstanding partners, even as NATO was welcoming new members into its ranks. Military Alliances in the Twenty-First Century is the first book to explore fully the politics that shape these security arrangements – from their initial formation through the various challenges that test them and, sometimes, lead to their demise. Across six thematic chapters, Alexander Lanoszka challenges conventional wisdom that has dominated our understanding of how military alliances have operated historically and into the present. Although military alliances today may seem uniquely hobbled by their internal difficulties, Lanoszka argues that they are in fact, by their very nature, prone to dysfunction.
Contains nearly 2,000 annotated citations (primarily English language works) divided into forth-eight sections ; citations refer chiefly to works published between 1961 and 1992.
