# Would you sell your soul to someone claiming to be the devil? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616 "2013-03-11T05:24:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/21 "2013-03-11T12:36:57Z")
I don’t believe in souls, the devil or hell, but I still wouldn’t be comfortable selling my soul. What’s interesting is that if someone offered me money for the flying spaghetti monster to take me to pasta hell after my death, I’d take the deal. So, at some level, I must see the probability of the devil existing as greater than the FSM. Or I’m less afraid of pasta hell. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/22 "2013-03-11T12:41:10Z")
I’d take the $75 – but if I could fleece him for more I would in a heartbeat. Just how deep are this fool’s pocket’s anyway? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/23 "2013-03-11T12:44:41Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I don’t believe in souls, the devil or hell, but I still wouldn’t be comfortable selling my soul. > > What’s interesting is that if someone offered me money for the flying spaghetti monster to take me to pasta hell after my death, I’d take the deal. So, at some level, I must see the probability of the devil existing as greater than the FSM. > Or I’m less afraid of pasta hell. I’m picturing Pasta Hell as being the place where Spaghetti-Os come from. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/24 "2013-03-11T12:48:57Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I’m picturing Pasta Hell as being the place where Spaghetti-Os come from. Or Whole Wheat Lasagna (never eating that again) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/25 "2013-03-11T13:11:49Z")
The FSM’s heaven features stripper factories and beer volcanoes. The FSM’s hell is much the same, but the beer is flat and the strippers have STDs. Or so they say. To the OP: No. I don’t believe in a soul but in a reverse-Pascal’s Wager sort of way it would be stupid to sell it so cheaply and then discover it exists. And if it doesn’t, I’d feel bad about cheating the guy. Either way, the answer is still no. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/26 "2013-03-11T13:21:17Z")
[Simpsons already did it.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Sells_His_Soul) ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/27 "2013-03-11T13:32:55Z")
No. Because as rational and intelligent as I (think I) am, there would always, always be the thought in the back of my mind, “What if he’s really the Devil?” No, I do not believe in God or Satan, but I know my fucked-up brain. ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/28 "2013-03-11T13:37:07Z")
Rule #1 of any financial transaction is to only agree to deals you completely understand and can determine that it makes sense. I have no idea what a soul is, if I have one, if it’s fungible, and what’s its value is. I’m not in a position to decide if this is a good or a bad deal. Therefore, no deal. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/29 "2013-03-11T14:27:50Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > No, I wouldn’t want to take advantage of the mentally ill. why not? those same nut jobs are on TV every Sunday morning, or on a local pulpit, asking for 10% of their audiences income, and getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/30 "2013-03-11T14:40:20Z")
It would depend - am I fully stocked up with beer and cigarettes and Jager until my next payday? If not, then sure. why the hell not? ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/31 "2013-03-11T14:56:17Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > No, he won’t kill you the moment the deal is done. He promises on whatever might make you comfortable not to kill you, nor harm you, nor otherwise hasten your allotted time alive. Yeaaaaaah … he says that. But he also says that he’s the Devil. I have no reason to believe anything he’s saying. I don’t believe he’s the devil. And I therefore can’t trust his word on other things. Maybe he’ll stab me in the face as soon as I touch the money. I won’t take his word on this or anything else. Why should I? ---
**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:** [March 11, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/32 "2013-03-11T15:06:12Z")
Sell my soul? No, but I have considered [investing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=588810) in other people’s souls. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/33 "2013-03-11T15:07:14Z")
I have no desire to talk to weirdoes on the street, let alone perform financial transactions with them. If it was a less creepy situation (e.g. a professional looking kiosk in the mall), I might. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/34 "2013-03-11T15:09:31Z")
No, of course not. The trouble with a deal like this is that agreeing to sell your soul is a mortal sin. Once you do that, the Devil gets your soul anyway, and doesn’t even need to give you the $75. Didn’t somebody try to sell his soul on Ebay a while back? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/35 "2013-03-11T15:18:55Z")
Regardless of one’s beliefs, such a transation is, at best, unethical, and at worst, self-damning; I would not accept such a deal for any amount of money. On a personal level, I do believe in the soul, more or less, but I also believe it is something that is non-transferable. That is, even if I wanted to sell it, I can’t. Not because of some idea of ownership, but by its very nature. Imagine your favorite color is blue and someone offered to pay you money if you would change your favorite color to orange. Sure, you could outwardly make it appear that way by saying it is, wearing orange clothes, buying an orange car, but your actual preference inside your mind is not something you can just change. I think the soul is similar. Thus, it is unethical to sell it. Thus, asking me to sell it is ironically not all that different because it would basically be asking me how much my ethics are worth to me, which really isn’t all that different from the classical idea of selling one’s soul to the devil. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/36 "2013-03-11T15:39:14Z")
If the guy has such “deep pockets,” why settle for $75? I don’t have any qualms about selling something that doesn’t exist, but this guy apparently thinks it’s real. If so, he should be offering me a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/37 "2013-03-11T15:50:00Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > $75 is not nearly enough to deal with a crazy person. This. If it were significantly more, I might consider doing it. But I’d like to think I’d actually try to get the poor guy some medical help instead of taking advantage of him. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/38 "2013-03-11T16:18:10Z")
I would sell it for $75. But, I would also hold out for more. How deep do those pockets go? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/39 "2013-03-11T16:35:15Z")
I don’t believe in the devil, or that I have a soul, but I most certainly don’t believe in the notion of exchanging something that even _represents_ great self value or worth, even if I believe it to be fiction, for money. It strikes me as morally repugnant (for me) and I want nothing to do with it. This is not, forgive my ironic use of the word, a _damnation_ of anyone who would accept the deal. Instead it represents my personal need to live as good a life in the face of my atheistic beliefs so that in the end I know I was not coerced by any means into my attempt to live the best life I can. So it’s a personal choice, that’s all. As an aside I would believe the gentleman has issues, but unless he looks like he is going to immediately injure himself or others I would neither interfere with his plans nor support them, rather let him go on his merry way. You’re allowed to be crazy, I draw the line at dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616/40 "2013-03-11T16:47:56Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > You’re allowed to be crazy, I draw the line at dangerous. That’s a great frickin line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-sell-your-soul-to-someone-claiming-to-be-the-devil/652616.md?page=3)