# Would you sacrifice the love of your life to spare 10,000 strangers by cancer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504 "2011-10-04T01:26:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/101 "2011-10-06T01:02:56Z")
Well, Mephistopheles offering this choice and having the power to enforce it, presumably, does seem to say the Christianity is the true path. In that case, the only correct answer is “get the behind me, Satan”. Refusing to even deal with the question would be the most likely way to remove his influence, so that’s the way to go. If that doesn’t work, you’re probably stuck with a monkey’s paw and totally screwed no matter what. Either way, not giving up my love. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/102 "2011-10-06T01:08:01Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > In this case God has allowed a choice to be made however/-obviously the daemon can be lying. In this case he/she/it may decide to kill both the 10,000 and the loved one no matter what you do Qin, your affectation for using British spellings has led you astray. I don’t think you mean the word _daemon_ above. You mean _demon_. A _daemon_, in Greek myth, is a supernatural entity intermediate between men and gods, and not at all all malevolent. (At least, no more likely to be malevolent than any random god or human.) Mephistopheles is a _demon_ – a fallen angel, an immortal spirit in rebellion against the capital-g God. He’s made of malice. Hell, he’s the Maker of Malice. While it’s true that _demon_ descends from _daemon_, and _daemon_ is an archaic spelling of the other term, calling Old Scratch a daemon is all kinds of wrong no matter which side of the Pond you live on. Okay, that’s the grammar fascist part of me. The rest of me is just here to say this: Seriously, dude, it’s Mephistopheles. If you’re a Christian, your only reasonable option when he offers you a deal is to say _Get thee behind me, Adversary of God and Man_, followed by a _Help! Jesus, or at least Michael, if you could come save my ass, that’d be great!_ ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/103 "2011-10-06T01:14:10Z")
Now ask yourselves when would you ever get an opportunity to save 10.000 dying souls? That may be enough to leave your name in history book. And we all know how fickle “love” is. Still no? ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/104 "2011-10-06T01:23:59Z")
What, and risk having to start dating again at my age? They can all die. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/105 "2011-10-06T02:16:13Z")
Not just no, but hell no. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/106 "2011-10-06T02:26:29Z")
At the risk of earning additional Skald-wrath, to those who say no, would you feel comfortable telling your SO that you let 10,000 people die so they would still be with you? Do any of you think your SO would have a problem with that? My wife’s a good enough person she’d surely never forgive me. Which is, I assume what Mephi had planned all-along. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/107 "2011-10-06T02:31:14Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > At the risk of earning additional Skald-wrath, to those who say no, would you feel comfortable telling your SO that you let 10,000 people die so they would still be with you? > > Do any of you think your SO would have a problem with that? My wife’s a good enough person she’d surely never forgive me. Which is, I assume what Mephi had planned all-along. My wife would never forgive me. My baby sister would at a minimum punch me in the face, but she might forgive me later. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/108 "2011-10-06T02:43:15Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > While you may not love them, wouldn’t most people at least feel a little bit of sympathy for the 100,000 dead of Haiti or the many others of various other natural disasters? > > In this case God has allowed a choice to be made however/-obviously the daemon can be lying. In this case he/she/it may decide to kill both the 10,000 and the loved one no matter what you do You originally chose the name **Curtis LeMay** , who caused the deaths of thousands. What does that say about you? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/109 "2011-10-06T04:02:53Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > At the risk of earning additional Skald-wrath, to those who say no, would you feel comfortable telling your SO that you let 10,000 people die so they would still be with you? > > Do any of you think your SO would have a problem with that? My wife’s a good enough person she’d surely never forgive me. Which is, I assume what Mephi had planned all-along. That’s pretty much [what I asked](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14325432&postcount=81). So far, only CrazyCatLady answered and she said she’d be fine with whether he took it good or bad. Personally, I’d probably take the save the 10,000 option. I would hate to lose her and vis versa but I’d rather she hate me because of some fake Satan mind warp, than hating me because I was actually so selfish as to value her company over that many lives. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/110 "2011-10-06T04:12:57Z")
No deal with the Devil. First of all for all you know, they are going to get perfectly healthy and then he will have stroll out of a hospital and walk over a cliff. They get no guarantee of a longer life, or a better life – they are just restored to health. **Maybe** they live longer. Me and my love don’t get to live any longer, we just have the time we have and no more. So fuck that deal. You may have guessed that I’m a glass half empty kind of guy. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/111 "2011-10-06T04:24:09Z")
This a moral dilemma hypothetical, IMHO. Saying the Devil will completely renege is kind of a cop out. But I guess that’s Skald’s choice by making this about a deal with the “actual” Devil, leaving all that trickery to speculation. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/112 "2011-10-06T04:40:35Z")
All the hatred from my love wouldn’t change my mind, I’d definitely save the cancer ridden people. I don’t get how this is even a difficult choice for you people. I mean, I love my boyfriend as much as anyone possibly can, and of course I’d be so sad to lose him forever, and even sadder knowing that he hates me for betraying him. But come on, the lives of all of those people combined are worth way, WAY more than our love. He and I would move on with our lives and find new people, and those cancer ridden patients would get to live their lives healthfully. Have you guys never loved and lost someone only to get over them eventually and find someone new??? Odds are the relationship you are in right now is probably going to end anyway. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/113 "2011-10-06T04:46:42Z")
Who else but the “actual” devil could make a deal like that in the first place. And allow me to remind of all of the phrase, “the devil is in the details”. Especially in a case like this, is not copping out to say the devil would renege. More to the point, the deal is so… vague that the devil could do practically anything and claim not to be reneging. It’s a bad deal for that reason alone. If I could have a really good lawyer draw up an iron clad contract which guarantees these people a longer healthier life without an underhanded moves by the devil, I might go for that. But that’s not what the OP lays out. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/114 "2011-10-06T04:48:41Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > … Odds are the relationship you are in right now is probably going to end anyway. Odds are all those people are going to die anyway sooner or later. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/115 "2011-10-06T05:07:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I would personally murder 10,000 to get her back. Love this answer. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/116 "2011-10-06T05:39:59Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I would personally murder 10,000 to get her back. Is that with the (mistaken, according to the OP) assumption that she died, or would you actually do that to get back her love if she stopped caring about you? Because one is a little creepier than the other. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/117 "2011-10-06T10:22:17Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Because one is a little creepier than the other. 😉 Baby pleeeease open the door ! I brought chocolates and the hearts of 10.000 innocents ! They’re you’re favourite ! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/118 "2011-10-06T12:14:37Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Baby pleeeease open the door ! I brought chocolates and the hearts of 10.000 innocents ! They’re you’re favourite ! Ugh. No way she’ll open the door. Not with that grammar! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/119 "2011-10-06T12:40:33Z")
Hell no. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504/120 "2011-10-06T12:47:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Who else but the “actual” devil could make a deal like that in the first place. So if it was a Leprechaun or super advanced Aliens testing human interactions, would you save the 10,000? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sacrifice-the-love-of-your-life-to-spare-10-000-strangers-by-cancer/598504.md?page=7)