Lucid and inspiring, Behold the Man is a unique exploration of Catholic spirituality for men. Much of the literature written for Catholic men focuses on topical issues such as fatherhood and sexuality. While this book does not exclude these subjects, it is the first to present a comprehensive picture of Catholic male spirituality. What is authentic male Catholic spirituality? What distinguishes it from Protestant male spirituality? How does masculine spirituality complement feminine spirituality? These questions and many more are answered in this book. Drawing from Scripture and Church teaching, the author roots Catholic male spirituality in a covenant relationship with God and the cross of Jesus Christ. He demonstrates that when a man embraces the cross he is truly able to be himself the man that God created and calls him to be. Behold the Man can deepen a man s experience of Christ and help him to know the Lord more intimately.

The truthful Man . . . falsely accused. The innocent Man . . . illegally tried and wrongly convicted. The gentle Man . . . who suffered punishment few could imagine, much less endure. The murdered Man . . . who forgave His own merciless killers. The divine Man . . . who died as a common criminal. The willing Man . . . who gave His life for others. The ordinary Man . . . who was, in fact, the extraordinary Son of God. The pathway Jesus took to the cross of Calvary is commonly called "the Passion." This sorrowful path weaved through soul-wrenching prayers and illicit deals made in shadowy darkness. It descended into corrupted courts bereft of justice and circled by prejudiced rulers stripped of power. On this pathway of His passion, Jesus paused for a torturous scourging and plodded on doggedly to a horrific death on a hillside called the Skull. But why? In this incredible, historically accurate account, you will come face to face with Jesus-the Man of Sorrows. If you're honest, you'll find the amazing answer to why . . . and you'll change. When you stop long enough to look, to think, to imagine, and to truly Behold the Man, you'll never be the same again. Chuck Swindoll leads us through a detailed examination of the events surrounding Jesus as he follows the winding pathway of his passion to the cross. This story-based investigation of the last week of Jesus's life-from the Last Supper to his death-focuses on "Why?" And in his Epilogue to this powerful, insightful book, Swindoll clearly explains to the unchurched and non-Christian reader why Jesus was willing to walk this sacrificial path to die-he did it for them. Releasing simultaneously with Mel Gibson's stirring movie The Passion of The Christ, Swindoll's book provides Christians an excellent evangelistic follow-up tool to give to their unchurched or non-Christian friends and families who see the film. As Chuck said after a private viewing of the movie, "You'll never be the same again." And Behold . . . the Man will help ensure that fact.

In this book, Colleen Conway looks at the construction of masculinity in New Testament depictions of Jesus. She argues that the New Testament writers necessarily engaged the predominant gender ideology of the Roman Empire, whether consciously or unconsciously. Although the notion of what constituted ideal masculinity in Greek and Roman cultures certainly pre-dated the Roman Empire, the emergence of the Principate concentrated this gender ideology on the figure of the emperor. Indeed, critical to the success of the empire was the portrayal of the emperor as the ideal man and the Roman citizen as one who aspired to be the same. Any person who was held up alongside the emperor as another source of authority would be assessed in terms of the cultural values represented in this Roman image of the "manly man." Conway examines a variety of ancient ideas of masculinity, as found in philosophical discourses, medical treaties, imperial documents, and ancient inscriptions. Manliness, in these accounts, was achieved through self-control over passions such as lust, anger, and greed. It was also gained through manly displays of courage, the endurance of pain, and death on behalf of others. With these texts as a starting point, Conway shows how the New Testament writings approach Jesus' gender identity. From Paul's early letters to the Gospels and Acts, to the book of Revelation, Christian writings in the Bible confront the potentially emasculating scandal of the cross and affirm Jesus as ideally masculine. Conway's study touches on such themes as the relationship between divinity and masculinity; the role of the body in relation to gender identity; and belief in Jesus as a means of achieving a more ideal form of masculinity. This impeccably researched and highly readable book reveals the importance of ancient gender ideology for the interpretation of Christian texts.

Discussing examples in which both attractive men and women are idealized as "the norm," Behold the Man argues that men are experiencing the same injustices as women - splashed on the covers of magazines and in advertisements, based on their sex appeal, sometimes to promote nothing more than their looks. Within this book, you'll find topics on how society portrays 'the ideal male' through advertisements for clothing, cologne, sunglasses, automobiles, and shaving products; how well-built males and their bodies are featured in movies, music videos, and literature; and how advertisers and authors faithfully follow the "bigger is better" theory - from pectoral and bicep muscles to penis size. Revealing how men alter their bodies by dieting and cosmetic surgery to achieve the look found in advertisements, this book also examines how today's growing number of male eating disorders are caused by the notion that only good-looking, muscular men are acceptable.

The history of mankind is chiefly the record of the character and exploits of the men and women who exerted the greatest influence upon their generation and nation while the Scriptures were written to reveal to the human family a Person - its author and chief subject, Jesus Christ. "Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thornes, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the Man!" - John 19:5

A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream—the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy New York Times Bestseller • Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award • An ALA Notable Book NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • The New York Times Book Review • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Chicago Public Library • BookPage • Refinery29 • Kirkus Reviews Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future. However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades. When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice. Praise for Behold the Dreamers “A debut novel by a young woman from Cameroon that illuminates the immigrant experience in America with the tenderhearted wisdom so lacking in our political discourse . . . Mbue is a bright and captivating storyteller.”—The Washington Post “A capacious, big-hearted novel.”—The New York Times Book Review “Behold the Dreamers’ heart . . . belongs to the struggles and small triumphs of the Jongas, which Mbue traces in clean, quick-moving paragraphs.”—Entertainment Weekly “Mbue’s writing is warm and captivating.”—People (book of the week) “[Mbue’s] book isn’t the first work of fiction to grapple with the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, but it’s surely one of the best. . . . It’s a novel that depicts a country both blessed and doomed, on top of the world, but always at risk of losing its balance. It is, in other words, quintessentially American.”—NPR “This story is one that needs to be told.”—Bust “Behold the Dreamers challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] beautiful, empathetic novel.”—The Boston Globe “A witty, compassionate, swiftly paced novel that takes on race, immigration, family and the dangers of capitalist excess.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Mbue [is] a deft, often lyrical observer. . . . [Her] meticulous storytelling announces a writer in command of her gifts.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune