# Can you sell somebody else's soul to the devil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709 "2010-12-10T21:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/41 "2010-12-14T02:02:55Z")
Is it true they taste like chicken? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/42 "2010-12-14T02:04:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Define ‘soul’. > Define ‘Devil’. > Define ‘Can’. > Define ‘you’. > Define sell’. > . > . > . I’m not really clear on this “define” concept you’ve mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/43 "2010-12-14T05:32:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t know about that. Where’s the evidence that souls equate to life? After all, we’ve established they can be transferred away without causing the original owner’s death. Well, I’m just going by what **Skald** said once. He was sorely lacking in this thread, so I tried to make up for it. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/44 "2010-12-14T07:44:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Which is the point of my OP. I’ve figured out an angle where I get the benefit and somebody else pays the price. Which is exactly the type of behavior that would result in your soul being damned to hell. Presuming that Hell exists, and that its purpose is to punish the souls of the wicked, you would be damned because your plan shows that you are an exceptionally uncaring person. Based on the parameters of your scenario, the devil might take you up on your deal, but since you acted evilly your soul would end up in Hell anyway. Heaven isn’t for people who benefit from the suffering of others. Hell is. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/45 "2010-12-14T07:49:20Z")
Besides, there are easier ways to profit off of owning souls. > **[Dead Souls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Souls)** > > Dead Souls (Russian: «Мёртвые души» (pre-1918: Мертвыя души), Mjórtvyje dúshi) is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov (Russian: Павел Иванович Чичиков) and the people whom he encounters. These people typify the Russian middle aristocracy of the time. Gogol himself saw his work as an "epic poem in prose", and within the book characterise... Oh and did you steal this idea from the Simpsons? > **[Bart Sells His Soul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Sells_His_Soul)** > > "Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart scornfully dismisses the concept of the soul, and to show he is serious in his skepticism he agrees to sell his soul to Milhouse. However, after several strange events make him think he really has lost his soul, he desperately tries to regain it. > "Bart Sells His Soul" was written ... ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/46 "2010-12-14T08:11:39Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Which is exactly the type of behavior that would result in your soul being damned to hell. Presuming that Hell exists, and that its purpose is to punish the souls of the wicked, you would be damned because your plan shows that you are an exceptionally uncaring person. Based on the parameters of your scenario, the devil might take you up on your deal, but since you acted evilly your soul would end up in Hell anyway. Heaven isn’t for people who benefit from the suffering of others. Hell is. According to all the Chick tracts I’ve read, all you need to do is to accept Jesus in your heart and to make an half-assed attempt to convert someone to Christianity and, hey presto, you’re getting in to heaven. So go ahead and sell someone else’s soul, but don’t forget to repent on your deathbed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/47 "2010-12-14T10:13:00Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > According to all the Chick tracts I’ve read, all you need to do is to accept Jesus in your heart and to make an half-assed attempt to convert someone to Christianity and, hey presto, you’re getting in to heaven. So go ahead and sell someone else’s soul, but don’t forget to repent on your deathbed. No, that’s taking a risk. You might get hit by a truck and killed before having a chance to repent. Be safe and make repentance part of your daily routine. Before going to bed you should repent of any sins you committed that day, accept Jesus into your heart, floss, and then get a good night’s sleep. You’ll want to be well rested for tomorrow’s new sins. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/48 "2010-12-14T10:20:06Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Oh and did you steal this idea from the Simpsons? Isn’t that always the way? You think you’ve come up with an original idea and the Simpsons already did it. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/49 "2010-12-15T16:45:58Z")
[http://marineparade.net/wewantyoursoul/](http://marineparade.net/wewantyoursoul/) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/50 "2010-12-15T17:00:01Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > One question, though–does the devil only make deals with people who have unblemished souls? I mean, why bother taking a soul from a scoundrel if you know he’s going to Hell anyway? Maybe different souls have different values and different wishes/fantasies/whatever have different prices? “I want to fuck Rosario Dawson!” “Eh… you’re going to Hell anyway, buddy. I think I’ll just wait you out.” “Wait wait wait! C’mon, there’s always a chance that I’ll become righteous! Work with me, Satan. Christina Ricci?” “Look, either make a serious offer or I’m out of here.” “Twenty-year old Sandra Bernhard?” “… done.” But it doesn’t matter, because those of us who’ve seen _Bedazzled_ know that our souls aren’t ours to sell. So you can get whatever wishes you want and turn it in later for a refund! Jackpot! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/51 "2010-12-15T17:43:00Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > [http://marineparade.net/wewantyoursoul/](http://marineparade.net/wewantyoursoul/) I tried to get a price quote on my soul, but their system is busted. After you go through their questions you get an error message instead of an offer. Bummer. Or maybe my soul is busted and it’s not worth anything. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/52 "2010-12-15T18:40:34Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Maybe different souls have different values and different wishes/fantasies/whatever have different prices? That’s why I’m keeping it reasonable. I’m not asking to be Emperor of the World or anything. I’m just asking for a threesome with a couple of hot women. Quite a bargain for the devil. Theophilus, Faust, Urbain Grandier, Tom Walker, Paganini, Jabez Stone, Robert Johnson, Dorian Gray, Stanley Moon, Bobby Shelton, Elliot Richards - they all got more than that. Okay, Homer Simpson only got a donut but that was his own fault. ---
**Author:** ![goodie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@goodie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goodie)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/53 "2010-12-15T20:50:38Z")
OK, I’m a decent person, my request of the devil isn’t sinful in nature, no sex, I just want a green thumb, or a car with better mpg…Can I sell the devil a soul that I didn’t actually buy…just sort of “acquired accidentally”…See I sort of “sucked the soul” out of my first husband and I’m not doing anything with it now, soooo… ---
**Author:** ![Dioptre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Dioptre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dioptre)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/54 "2010-12-16T12:19:06Z")
When you sell your soul to the devil, you are selling your after-life self into eternal slavery and torment. If the people who sold their souls to you were (however frivolously) agreeing to sell their after-life selves for eternity, not just for however long you were able to use them, then it is perfectly valid that you are acting as middle-man for them to sell their souls for 5 dollars to the devil. There is a genre theme of this nature - middle men who get some reward for conning others into selling their souls to the devil. That’s all you are really doing, just on a wholesale basis rather than a direct commission. The devil would approve of such sound business arrangements. Unfortunately, he would eventually trick you into selling a soul you don’t have yet, and then dying before you can make up the shortfall. Those are the perils of doing deals with the devil. ---
**Author:** ![ch4rl3s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c4cdca/32.png) [@ch4rl3s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ch4rl3s)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/55 "2010-12-16T12:51:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A good point. Because I’ve always said that even if I was theoretically willing to sell my soul to the devil in exchange for something I wanted, the actual appearance of the devil to consumate the deal would be enough to make me renege. … his attempts to lead people to damnation have probably saved plenty of people who might otherwise have been damned anyway. Which is why it’s been said, “the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.” (Charles Baudelaire) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/56 "2010-12-16T13:39:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I summon the devil Right here, your plan is already doomed to fail. If there’s one thing the Devil is good at, it’s stacking the cards in his favor. He traditionally shows himself just when an individiual is most vulnerable, exactly at the point one is most likely to agree to give up one’s soul. He preys upon people who’ve hit Rock Bottom and are easily convinced that they have no better option. So you think you can just “summon” him? I doubt it. If he just popped up from Hell every time some schmuck yelled, “Hey, Luce, I feel like boinking some hot celebs,” he’d never get _anything_ done. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/57 "2010-12-18T17:31:23Z")
Nobody has seemed to point out the obvious. If Nemo gets his threeway then we’ll all be damned anyway. Lord knows I will. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/58 "2010-12-18T19:53:10Z")
> [@nd\_n8](#): > > If Nemo gets his threeway then we’ll all be damned anyway. That’s right. I’m the Keymaster. Rosario and Maggie are the Gatekeepers. And it’s Gozer time. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/59 "2010-12-18T20:12:55Z")
Some things are worth being damned for. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709/60 "2010-12-18T21:34:04Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I tried to get a price quote on my soul, but their system is busted. After you go through their questions you get an error message instead of an offer. Bummer. > > Or maybe my soul is busted and it’s not worth anything. You seriously think it’s a technical issue. Come on. That site will NEVER work properly. Do you really think Satan is going to tolerate the competition? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sell-somebody-elses-soul-to-the-devil/563709.md?page=4)