Raising Abel: The Recovery of Eschatological Imagination [Paperback]

James Alison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

Raising Abel is a theological exploration of a huge change of mind: the change which the apostolic group underwent as a result of the Resurrection—and how that paradigm can transform the world today. Making use of the thought of Rene Girard, the author shows how the God who was revealed by Jesus subverted the violent language, imagery and expectations of the early Christians.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Given the immense popularity and widespread influence of ReneGirard's mimetic theory of violence, this book--which is an accessible application of the theory to consideration of the eschatological imagination--is sure to find a significant audience. The book begins with a straightforward recapitulation of Girard's theory, then considers the significance of the Resurrection as "end" in the middle of time. The result is a critical perspective on human action, a turn away from reactive accounts intended to exonerate the actor for past acts of collective violence and toward a proactive account, which acknowledges participation in present acts of collective violence and grounds hope in God's act, not ours. Steve Schroeder

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082451565X
• ISBN-13: 978-0824515652
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book opened my mind and heart, September 7, 2005

By 

Paul F. Ford "author of Companion to Narnia a... (Camarillo, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raising Abel: The Recovery of Eschatological Imagination (Paperback)

I teach eschatology and was attracted by the subtitle of this book, the first by James Alison that I read. It led me to all of his other books. The experience was electrifying and life-changing! To use the language of St. Luke, my heart burned within me (Luke 24:32) and the scales came off my eyes (Acts 9:18). I saw so many troubling passages in the scriptures, especially the New Testament, with new eyes. I have given away at least 20 copies.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars re-constructing our view, February 11, 2001

By 

Anna Negrete Culbert (Metepec, Edo. de México Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Abel: The Recovery of Eschatological Imagination (Paperback)

J. Alison offers the view of faith from the side of the victims. He guides us through a tour of our preconceptions an all other ideas we take for granted, without even analizing them to see if they are contradictory. It is critical of violence, not only the one we recognize as such, but also the violence of our high and mighty motality, and of our socially accepted ways of excluding those we fail to understand.

18 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Editing Needed, August 2, 2003

By 

A Pastor (Salem, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Abel: The Recovery of Eschatological Imagination (Paperback)

I knew I was in trouble when I read the second sentence of Chp. 1. "Theology is perhaps for those of us who can't find an obvious sense in what may be very simple perceptions, ones which are understood intuitively by better Christians than ourselves; theology would be for those of us who are obliged to the hard labor of dragging our obstinate intellects through the spines and thistles of our own self-deciet so as to bring each thought, each remnant of intellectual pride, captive before Christ, ploughing out meaning from arid and sterile soil." This book is filled with tortured syntax and run-on sentences. The author himself tells us that the book is his own translation of lectures he gave at a theological institute in Chile. Too bad, I think he has forgotten how to communicate in English.

All of this is unfortunate, because the author seems to have something important to say. He teaches the meaning of eschatology within the context of resurrection and the life of the 'victim' Jesus. This is an important corrective to the wild eschatologies so popular not only among some in Latin America but also deeply influential to most American Christians, too. We all need to hear Allison's important reminder that God is not out to do violence against us. God loves us. A patient editor could have helped him to make this point more effectively.