Shock and Awe

"Shock and Awe" is a short story published in 2005's Alternate Generals III by Harry Turtledove. In the story, the history of Christianity has been rewritten slightly, with Jesus Christ himself taking on the political idea of a messiah, leading a military rebellion against the Roman authorities--with very different results.

Turtledove's story makes liberal use of scriptural quotations, instead utilizing them in favor of military conquest rather than spiritual ideas. In a final twist, the reader learns that the Roman general who successfully crushes the rebellion and executes the Chieftain and his lieutenant, the Rock (OTL's St. Peter) is none other than Pontius Pilate, the angst-ridden Roman leader in our timeline.