There definitely needs to be a balance. As for your philosophy, I’d have to say ‘yes and no’. There are distinct examples in the bible and in the lives of people around us, where God has not helped people who sat on their bums and asked them too, there is also precedent for God showing people great mercy in providing answers and help to people that have done nothing more than ask. It’s by his mercy that he helps people who have not helped themselves, but I think those examples are not as many as the ones where he has blessed activities that have gone forth, actively, depending on him to bless them.
It reminds me of a very funny song by The Idea of North, it’s called The Unfortunate Tale of a Country Chicken. Shame it’s not available for listening on their website. The story is that a chicken gets stuck up a tree in the flood and animals come to help, but she says “No, God will rescue me!”

To be honest, I don’t think there’s a great contradiction in science and Christianity. Some things are just obvious, to me it’s obvious that a great God made this world, it’s obvious that he wound his wisdom and beauty into it and into us, it’s also obvious that we want to do things our own way. Why is it obvious? Well, the bible says so and as I look around and can see that what the Bible says is true. I also believe in DNA and proteins and Haemoglobin carrying oxygen around my body etc. Why? Because of electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, cross-breeding experiments, scientific method.

There are just as many divisions within scientific thought as there are between so-called Christian thought. So there is no reason that you have to go with one or the other.

I’ll put Angels and Demons on my list. ;)

One of my main questions is, do you align yourself with an action you think is right even if the other people doing the action are doing it for different or wrong reasons. For example, do I join forces with someone else who wants to take care of the environment, when my reasons for doing so is because God charged us to take care of his creation and their reasons for doing so is to save ‘Mother Earth’ and accrue good karma or something like that (I’m not saying anyone I’ve come into contact with or read about has those reasons, they’re just examples). We doing the same actions, but our end aim is entirely different. By working with someone, do you indirectly endorse their reasons for doing things?

Well, sorry that reply was so long! :P

I personally believe that there needs to be a balance of faith and physical action. you can’t expect something to happen and place your trust in god to make it happen if you don’t put effort in it yourself. Or maybe you can? … is there a definite answer to that question?

My philosophy is that God helps people that help themselves… by putting effort into doing something or at least initiating a change, that would do a lot of good into supporting that statement. In addition to praying to God for help, I am such that I have to do something myself too — if I eventually fail at it or if it doesn’t go my way, I can safely say that I have “covered all bases” and I won’t be as bitter.

One has to take action and still keep the strong faith. The whole science vs. religion debate has been going on for 1000s of years (the big bang theory, Adam and Eve, monkeys etc.) — no one will/ can ever win that battle … what comes down to it, and what matters in the end is what you believe. Nothing is going to take that away from you.

To me, I am torn, I have strong faith but I am also a great follower of science. I may be contradicting myself tremendously but that’s why i am torn. You have to read Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons — although it is fictional, it’s a great novel trying to get to grips with this whole science vs. god thing.