# Do you believe in the Devil?



## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

Just wondering.


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

Definitely. I can't figure out life without the Devil. Not that he's sitting here helping me figure it out, but his existence helps make sense of things.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

As an actual entity? Nope. Not at all.

Mike


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Yes.


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## MalloryMoutinho (Aug 24, 2012)

I married him.  

No, I don't believe in any entities...makes for a rather depressing existence sometimes.

Meh...what can ya do?


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Never did, not even back when I was religious.


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## metal134 (Sep 2, 2010)

Absolutely not.


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## Tatiana (Aug 20, 2010)

Yes.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I believe in evil. I do not believe in a deific personification of it though.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

BTackitt said:


> I believe in evil. I do not believe in a deific personification of it though.


^^^ +1


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Only the one in the details.  

For evil we have ourselves to blame, no one and nothing else.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Is that the Devil I know you're talking about, or the Devil I don't?


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

> I believe in evil. I do not believe in a deific personification of it though.


ditto


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## Natasha Holme (May 26, 2012)

I don't even believe that *I* exist.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I believe that evil does exist.  I also choose to believe that there are things beyond this world that we cannot comprehend.  Of course, the devil also makes a great topic and subject for books, so for that purpose I choose to believe in them.  I have no proof, of course.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

Yeah.  

I refer to her as "my ex."


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Nope, along with a whole bunch of other things I don't believe in. If it turns out there actually is an afterlife and having it be better than this life is dependent upon whether or not you believe some assorted and essentially unprovable "things", then I guess I'm screwed. If I believe in anything -- and it may be more a philosophy than a belief (if, in fact, there is a difference between those two things) -- it is that what you _do_ in this life is much more important that what you _believe_.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

NogDog said:


> If it turns out there actually is an afterlife and having it be better than this life is dependent upon whether or not you believe some assorted and essentially unprovable "things", then I guess I'm screwed.


I'd be there too.

Perhaps there should be an alternative to Pascel's Wager were humans vow to reject the afterlife judgments of Gods and Devils and form our own destiny. If the Devil can rebel against Heaven to reign in Hell, then why not have Humans rebel against both places?


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Not since my mother-in-law died.


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## Indy (Jun 7, 2010)

Oh yes.  I've met personifications of evil several times.  One permanently screwed up my ability to pray, one finished that job and tried to beat me to death, and there was one that got nekkid, ran amok, tried to break my arm, and inadverdently introduced me to hopefully my only stalker.  But for the last one, I found out that if I get angry enough even I can scare the devil for a few seconds.  (And this is why my coworkers now listen to me when I tell them that it's  time to restrain someone.)


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

NO, there is no devil. It's absence of goodness...lol


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

He is definite my next door neighbor.  That man is pure evil.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I think I have had a next door neighbor...and a boss or two...who were definitely satan...or satanic.


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

I wonder if Pascal's Wager could be modified to include mothers-in-law? The New Yorker needs to do a cartoon of a wicked-looking old woman smiling ambiguously at camera with the caption "Pascal's Mother-In-Law."

I'm curious about the perspective of those who believe evil only exists because of humans making choices. How does that work? My personal choice can create an ethical standard out of thin air?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Nope, don't believe in any devil. Quite a feat, considering I was raised roman catholic.   But nope, never believed in a devil, ever. 
Good for fiction novels though.   

I don't really believe in a concept of evil either, more like people do evil things. Yes, people make choices, unless they are mentally impaired.


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## Stephen_Melling (Jun 26, 2011)

The Devil as an Idea, or an entity? Mmmm. Well, not really, but quite a few million other people sure as hell do


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Well I believe in God.
And I believe that man sins by refusing to do God's will.
And I believe that man has free will and often chooses to do evil things, sometimes without realizing how evil those things are to other people.
So we really don't need the "devil" to make life difficult.  Man does a great job all by himself.
So I surely have seen the "devil" lurking just behind someone's eyes as they contemplate doing something reprehensible.

Just sayin......


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## kaotickitten (Jan 9, 2011)

I belive in God so yes I do belive there is a devil.  He is mentioned in the bible as God's adversary. I belive he exists but I don't belive in him I believe in the Heavenly Father.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

Nope. I'm an atheist so I don't believe in anything like that but it's an interesting discussion though. 

I used to work as a family support specialist some years ago, as a court recorder during visits of parents who had had their children taken away. I would write what took place in the visits and then work with the parents to be the parents they should. Some of the parents we worked with were just terrible people. Not all, not even most but there were some that still give me chills to think about. Some of the women I worked with were very religious, Catholic mostly, and swore that they were the devil in the living flesh. Always seemed to me that they were worse than that. The devil always seemed like the sort to try and sway you to the dark side. These were people that didn't need swaying. They were already evil. Anyways, I always used to laugh a little when some of the women would make the sign of the cross after those parents had left until I noticed I tried to never leave my back open to them. I think in my mind I was picturing something more along the lines of the spirit in The Grudge than the devil.


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

MalloryMoutinho said:


> I married him.


Thanks for the biggest laugh that I had all day. That was really funny!


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## metal134 (Sep 2, 2010)

Atunah said:


> Nope, don't believe in any devil. Quite a feat, considering I was raised roman catholic.


I was too. But then, I started reading...


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