I'm not big on bible thumping, nor reading the damn thing but I do have this one particular quote saved. The concept of your conversation has been in the bible since the beginning of time: Faith without works means absolutely nothing. If you want to lose weight, you can't expect for this to happen if you eat a gallon of ice cream everyday or if you want a house, you can't expect for it to fall from the sky. You have to go about doing something (actions/work) to make what you want (belief/faith) happen.
Here are some different translations:
http://bible.cc/james/2-17.htmThis also reminds me of the Drowning Man parable and there are many variations on this too.
A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.
Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."
The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."
So the rowboat went on.
Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."
To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."
So the motorboat went on.
Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."
To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."
So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to
discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me,
you let me drown. I don't understand why!"
To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you want?"