Raising Abel: The Recovery of the Eschatological Imagination

by James Alison

Raising Abel is a theological exploration of a huge change of 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.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction

204 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

James Alison (b. 1959) is a Catholic theologian, priest and author. He grew up in an evangelical family in England and converted to Catholicism as a teenager. Alison studied at Oxford and earned his doctorate in theology from the Jesuit Faculty in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He was a member of the Dominican order from 1981-1995.

Reviews

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book exploded my brain in a good way

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best theologians writing today; he's saying God is love and not violence (works with Rene Girard's theory of mimetic desire & the scapegoat--a taste:
“…in the measure that we learn unconcern about our reputation, in that measure the Father can produce in us the same love which he has for his Son and the same love which he and his Son have for the human race. Here is where we have to make an imaginative effort, or at least I do. That love is in no way marked by any desire for vindication, for restoring besmirched reputations, for turning the tables of this world, and all that might seem to us to be just and proper, given the horror of the violence of our world. That love loves all that! It loves the persecutors, the scandalized; it loves the depressives and the traitors and the finger pointers. That love doesn’t seek a fulminating revelation of what has really been going on as a final vengeance for all the violence, even though we may fear that it will be so. That love is utterly removed from being party to any final settling of accounts. That love, the love which was the inner dynamic of the coming of the Son to the world, of Jesus’ historical living out, seeks desperately and insatiably that good and evil may participate in a wedding banquet."

[Aeisele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone must read gay Dominicans! Really, Alison is quite brilliant. This book is basically about the transformation of our conception of who God is, and what the world is, through the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. While I'm not all into the Girardian scapegoat theories (it's kind of a lack of nuance on what ancient sacrifice was), I do find Alison's reading of NT texts really invigorating. One of his basic insights is that Jesus is the crucified-and-risen victim, the Lord of history who is also the victim of history, and that this fundamentally transforms our imagination. Instead of our imagination being controlled by death and exclusion, it is opened up to the complete deathlessness of God. This transforms our desire from being one of rivalry and envy to one of gifting and receiving. That's his basic thesis, and he reads biblical texts from that lens. Although I don't think he always does a great job explaining the "vengence" passages in the NT, his exegesis really is fascinating.

[Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alison has read Ratzinger’s eschatology and it SHOWS.
His articulation of Christian hope (why does he not call it grace?) in contradistinction to progress was so on point. I was uncomfortable with his comments about Stonewall/gay activism but I assume this is mostly a product of time/being a priest. I appreciate Alison’s mimetic systematics but I think I am left wondering what sort of moral systems can be created out of this them. But I think Coakley, et alia are probably the shape they would take—desire, but transformed through asceticism, in Coakley’s formulation. This practice of retraining desire has a beginning, Allison would argue, in recognizing the fundamental mimetic shape of the desire and acknowledging it rather than denying it.

Lovely system, or at least sketch of one, to make sense of hell, particularly in the midst of current debates.

[John Forbis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book through Girardian theory shows how the Crucifixion doesn’t necessarily have to be about atonement for our sins. Rather it’s the radical way to expose the lie that a few “scapegoats” can be sacrificed for the good of all. Ultimately death does not have the final word. So violence then is exposed for what it truly is. Jesus’ whole understanding of his life is to show us how we can reject and counter violence with God’s notion of “deathless” life. I thank God for a book like this. And THANK YOU, James Alison!!!

[Jared Korver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply a landmark work. One of those books that stays with you when you’re not reading it, working through your life in real time.

[Joseph Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A smashing book…in every possible way!

[M Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my Bible study over the past 20 or so years, I've read plenty of articles by Rene Girard and his followers regarding the impact of mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism upon theology. I've found these articles, for the most part, interesting and helpful. Some years ago, I read a review of this book by James Alison, who had written some of those articles, and decided I needed to read it. Alas, it was quite a comedown. In "Raising Abel," Alison expands upon the ideas of Girard but his own work in this format is wandering, occasionally incoherent, and left me extremely unsatisfied. The interested reader should peruse Paul Neuchterlein's website, "Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary" (http://girardianlectionary.net) keyed to the Revised Common Lectionary and let this poor book slide into obscurity. Note: I bought the book used from the King County (WA) Library System, where it had never been checked out. Now I know why.

[Andrew Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rates among the most powerfully stimulating books I've ever read. I wish I could give it, say, seven stars. Alison is among the most creative & inspiring developers of René Girard's thought. The emphasis is on a theology of the Resurrection & what that means for all us in the here & now as well as in the future. The witnessing to the power of the forgiving Victim shakes up our tendencies toward accepting "righteous" violence to a deep vision of God as a God of life.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been awhile since I read this book. However (from what I can remember) the book is based on the Mimetic theory:understanding humans based on how they interact socially. The focus is on our "culture of death" and it's only through a change in our perception of God that we change our perception of ourselves and those we interact with socially. Love anyone?

[James Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would faith look like if we knew -- really knew -- that death is not a boundary? Alison's approach to faith and reconcilliation is breath taking, and his approach to atonement is life-saving. Highly recommend.

[LVD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to read this again.