The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled...
Posted on: November 9, 2007 - 11:59pm
Offline
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled...
Now I've actually had a theist tell me "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." I don't know where the saying came from, but I'm sure a good number recognize it.
It occurred to me the other day, that, assuming God and Satan exist and all that jazz, the greatest trick the Devil could possibly pull was convincing people that his voice was God's.
So, if you believe in god and satan, then when god "wants" you to do something, how do you know it's god telling you and not the devil?
-Triften
- Login to post comments
I remember hearing this statement even at a young age.
I think it is the same as a "jedi mind trick". People are lead to assume that "most" people disbelieve in the devil. What do I consider "people"? Well, my people. I'm an american so I call other americans "my people".
I've yet to meet the denomination of christianity that believes in god but disbelieves in the devil. Really.
What christian denomination says the devil does not exist?
"I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci
I've also heard something like, "Hell's best kept secret is that Hell doesn't exist."
I wouldn't try to analyze it too much. I think these Christian talking points are meant to scare people about Hell and the Devil.
You betcha! If you can't convince 'em, you resort to scaring the crap out of 'em. I'm embarassed to say that once upon a time, I actually worked in one of those "Hell Houses" that churches put on around Halloween. If you're not familiar, it's where you escort people through different "scenes" of a drama where one character goes to heaven and one character goes to hell. Every year the church posted on their big sign out front how many people they "scared" into gettin' saved that season. The history of Christianity is absolutely crammed full of people getting scared into believing. (see ancient Catholic excommunication and early American Hellfire and Brimstone sermons) Not something to be proud of in my opinion.
Wes.
We could really use another Crusade...
as always we are dealing with word definitions. Devil simply means wrong thinking to many, and in this sense the devil does exist. ... and it's also called organized religion.
That word god is also so freaky in the west and mideast.
That's why I root for the progressive buddhists. They offer some solutions to the maddness ...
Atheism Books.
That's one of those basically meaningless but marginally clever phrases that some Christian came up with in some moment of sheer brilliance and all the other ones latched onto. They're easy to throw out in any theological discussion to try to mask the fact that you don't have a leg to stand on. I hate those phrases. They're the same kind of cute, simple sentences that Republicans are so adept at pumping out and jamming down the public's collective throat in place of any actual reasoned explanations or arguments. They're DANGEROUS, I tell you, DANGEROUS!!!!! AHHHHHHH!
From WikiQuote: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Devil
- "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." Charles Baudelaire, "The Generous Gambler" (Feb. 1864)
Article about Charles Baudelaire on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudelaire
The Generous Gambler Ebook: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0607031h.html
: Freedom - The opportunity to have responsibility.
: Liberty is about protecting the right of others to disagree with you.
Dude, you really should write an essay on that, what you saw while you worked there,etc.
Morte alla tyrannus et dei
Nonsense! This is the greatest trick the devil has ever pulled.
That guy has to have sold his soul or something. No one is that good.
Wes.
I'm not sure of any proper Christian denomination that denies the personhood of the devil (Unitarians are Christian-ish, and they probably deny the existence of the devil).
I didn't believe in the devil when I was a "cultural Christian". I figured it was a metaphor for the evil inside all people. If you ask most people, they'd probably say the same thing.
I don't plan on analyzing the original saying. I just wanted to pose a response to theists who think the devil has tricked all the unbelievers and such.
-Triften
Not for me.
His greatest trick was making me do those 6 jager bombs last night and then eating a hardee's breakfast burrito in the morning.
Did he make you go back for a monster doublethick burger for lunch?
-Triften
The greatest application of this phrase was in the movie The Usual Suspects starring Kevin Spacey.
If you haven't seen it and you like awesome movies that keep you thinking about the film for an hour after the credits stop rolling, you should check it out.
If you're reading this and you HAVE seen it: Sssshhhh....
A place common to all will be maintained by none. A religion common to all is perhaps not much different.
"Keaton always said, 'I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him. 'Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze."
"With its enduring appeal to the search for truth, philosophy has the great responsibility of forming thought and culture; and now it must strive resolutely to recover its original vocation." Pope John Paul II
I don't believe in either of them, but Keyser Soze is cooler. =D