Our Christian faith isn't based on an idea or a philosophy, or on some accumulation of cultural myths and traditions. It's based on a man: Jesus, the God who was born in ancient Nazareth and lived in the flesh and died; Jesus, the Word of the Father who was and is and ever shall be, a man.

We also believe that knowing this man is essential to our very salvation. That's why Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, archbishop emeritus of Bologna, Italy, and close friend of Pope Benedict XVI, wrote The Man Christ Jesus - to give us an intimate portrait of Jesus as we meet him in the Gospels. Only by experiencing a close, personal encounter with Jesus in his full humanity - just as his first disciples did - can we develop a true and salvific belief in the Christ of Faith. And so, meticulously following the Gospel data, Cardinal Biffi reveals:

• A man of unsurpassed physical strength, vigor, handsomeness, and charisma

• A true friend who exhibits selflessne