“I would sell my soul to the Devil if I could blank”, if you don’t believe in the Devil isn’t it a nonsensical statement to make?
I have heard people in the past say they would sell their soul to the Devil to get with a person they are burning in lust for, or for some success endeavor wise, etc. If one doesn’t believe in the Devil (which would be kind of hard to do and believe in evolution too), would it not be a nonsensical statement to make? Why not say ”I would sell my soul to Alice in Wonder land if I can X”, or “I would sell my soul to the Man in the Moon if I could get X”, etc.? It would be just a plausible or make as much sense as selling your soul (if you even believe you had one, if you had one it has to go somewhere once you die, but that is another story) to a Devil that doesn’t exist. If one just says it because it is a phrase that has been around, why blindly says something that is untrue and has no chance of being remotely plausible?
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Nah. It’s just a saying man. I say “Oh my God!” all the time. Do I have a god? Hell no! And I don’t believe in Hell, either.
I’ve never heard anyone say that in real life. I’ve heard of it tho.
Are you familiar with the term “Faustian Bargain”?
If not, a little reading up on the continuing themes found in this medieval legend would give you all the answers you need.
All throughout history and up until the present day there are so many cases of people who compromise their principles for the sake of short term gain.
It’s one of those universal themes found over and over again with only the details of each situation differing.
The “deal with the devil” scenario has so little to do with a literal devil that ones belief (or lack thereof) aren’t that significant. It’s the metaphor and perfect illustration of one of the primary and persistebt failings in the human condition.
Everybody knows one or more cases of people willing to compromise their morals or principles so the metaphor of the “deal with the devil” is the shortcut summation of the situation. It says it all in one elegant phrase. It is such a constant theme in plays, movies, tv shows that it has become pervasive. It’s a cultural touchstone rather than any type of religious story.
Well, sure it’s nonsensical to say it if you don’t believe in devils. So, naturally, only people who don’t believe in devils can reasonably use this phrase.
Think about it – what kind of fool would utter it if he actually did believe?
I don’t believe in the Devil because I have no good reason to do so. I don’t believe in souls because I have good reasons to NOT think they exist. So to answer the question, if I could actually get something of tangible worth by selling nothing to nobody, I’d leap at the chance.
It’s just a figure of speech.
@ETpro!!!! HI!!!!!! Welcome back. :D
It is not nonsensical, so long as there is someone present who does believe, or even might. That is one person who has been convinced of your determination.
I thought this question was a new game at first
@dxs Nah. It’s just a saying man. I say “Oh my God!” all the time. Do I have a god? Hell no! And I don’t believe in Hell, either.
Then in reality you are not saying ”Oh my God!”, you are actually just saying ”Oh my god”, choose any made of wood, stone, metal, etc.
@Buttonstc The “deal with the devil” scenario has so little to do with a literal devil that ones belief (or lack thereof) aren’t that significant. It’s the metaphor and perfect illustration of one of the primary and persistebt failings in the human condition.
If the Devil has nothing to do with it, why not use Humpty Dumpty, Brayer Rabbit, Aladdin’s genie, etc. if it is just a metaphorical point, and especially if one doesn’t believe in the existence of any? If it is an illustration, that if the Devil is not used would lose its punch, or wind, then why? If there is no Devil then what can he really represent in any account?
@ETpro So to answer the question, if I could actually get something of tangible worth by selling nothing to nobody, I’d leap at the chance.
What chance? As you say, if you possess nothing that you can sell to no one, what is there to gain because there is no one to offer anything. What chance are you taking then?
@Hypocrisy_Central
Psst! Let me respond to that secret! Again, it’s just a saying, so I can interject to whichever *^@&ing supernatural being I want to.
@Hypocrisy_Central “If the Devil has nothing to do with it, why not use Humpty Dumpty, Brayer Rabbit, Aladdin’s genie, etc. if it is just a metaphorical point, and especially if one doesn’t believe in the existence of any?”
Again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole. That’s your answer. The intention is to be over-the-top to make a point, and the notion of a deal with the devil is both sufficiently well known and dramatic enough to do exactly that. Not all language is literal. That’s what keeps it from being dull.
I am a Christian and the idea of selling my soul is something I can’t do because it is entrusted to me by God. It doesn’t belong to me to sell in the first place. Certainly I should don the asbestos suit, but I actually have real problems saying this particular phrase in the event someone takes me up on the deal. Besides, there isn’t anything that is that important to me.
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