About the Book and Author

Now Featured in the Patheos Book Club
Raising Abel
A Life of Faith
By Ronald Ragotzy

About the Book

This manuscript is a compelling study of the life of faith based upon the stories in Genesis 1–11. The author masterfully describes how each story is actually a metaphor in the life of faith and how each subsequent metaphor builds upon the one that precedes it. Although the topic could be scholarly and quite dense, the author speaks in a warm, conversational manner yet with authority and thus inspires trust and confidence in the reader. The author does a remarkable job in guiding the reader through his analysis step-by-step, making it easy to understand and follow. Very well done, this manuscript offers an intriguing and quite thought-provoking perspective on Genesis 1–11 as the metaphorical basis for the life of faith.

Raising Abel assumes that the Bible would not bother with telling us about a cunning serpent, a murderous brother or a resinous gopher tree, if they didn't have something to do with the deeper topic of faith. After all, isn't the Bible 'the authority' on faith? Raising Abel explores the most familiar chapters of Genesis, not as a collection of stories about the beginning of time, but as our first and best guide to the subject of faith. The author of Raising Abel, as a physician, explains faith within the framework of wellness, dividing the Genesis stories into four parts that answer these questions.

1. What does healthy faith look like? (Genesis 1-2)
2. What can cause this healthy state to become 'diseased'? (Genesis 3-5)
3. What medicine is needed to restore us to a healthy faith? (Genesis 6-9:17)
4. What must we do to maintain this healthy faith? (Genesis 9:18-11)

Raising Abel reassures us that, '…there is something greater than a perfectly good world; it is an imperfect world plus faith.' In a perfect world there would be no need of faith. If you are ready to experience faith in a whole new 'light,' keep reading!

About the Author

A practicing physician for 29 years, Ronald Ragotzy has the highest regard for science but a greater passion for the sacred. He spends his weeks working within the evidence-based world of medicine. In his free time, he visits and kayaks with family and friends or travels to see his only son, Declan, at Carroll University. Dr. Ragotzy lives in a Janesville, WI, 1920's, Tudor-style stucco cottage with a city park in his front yard and a forest preserve in his back yard.