What are Christians to be and to do in the world? What does faithfulness look like in these complex and confusing times? Christians are often told either to take over the world in God's name or to withdraw into faithful sanctuaries of counter-cultural witness.

John Stackhouse offers a concise, vivid, and practical alternative based on the teachings of Scripture about the meaning of human life in this world and the next. Why You're Here provides an accessible, concrete program for the faithful Christian living in today's world, fraught as it is with ambiguity, irony, and frequent choices among unpalatable options. Stackhouse speaks directly to everyday Christians who are searching for straightforward advice on some of their most complex quandaries about the challenges inherent in staying true to the Bible's teachings.

Politicians, medical professionals, businesspeople, professors, lawyers, pastors, students, and anyone else concerned to think realistically and hopefully about Christian engagement in society today will find here a framework to both guide and inspire them in everyday life.

This book simplifies, rearranges, and adds new material to Part III of “Making the Best of It,” so as to be a more user-friendly guide to John Stackhouse’s ethics. If you’re trying to avoid the two prominent options of “taking it over for Jesus” or “withdrawing into safe enclaves” and want to engage our world faithfully, effectively, and realistically, this is for you.