Making a 'Deal with the Devil'??

Not sure where to place this so I opted for here...


I was thinking about this today and wondered.... Has it ever really happened?


I always assumed that the ole' saying ment to 'sell out' moral rightousness for selfish wants, but surely there has to be more, right? I mean, has there ever been a case where someone actually sold there soul to the Devil? Made a damned deal? In the Bible?? Some obscure dead sea scroll?? Somewhere else???


The only real refrence that I can think of is in the Bible when Jesus was approached by Satan and he offered 'the world' for his pledged alliance, but he declined as it were. And although there was no contract in hand, it appears to me to be a offered 'deal'..


It just so happens that I believe in the whole 'heaven and hell' concept (albien not the spoonfed religion we tend to assume when God is mentioned) and have conceeded to believe the notion is possible. However, I have yet to see or read anything dealing with such an issue that did not fall in the realm of fiction or metaphoric other that what was allready mentioned.


So, do you really think its possible? Has it been doccumented?? I'm really not interested in debating weather this whole 'heaven and hell' thing is real, and would like to keep this as open-minded as possible, but if you would like to offer something of substance, please feel free!


Best reguards, Ron..

[edit on 25-6-2007 by HomeBrew]

If Satan exists, and is the evil character we make him out to be, Who wouldn't trade an eternal soul for a disposable commodity?

I don't know of any specifically cited cases where this has happened, I always viewed it as an allegory for not looking towards God and living a kingdom based lifestyle, not praying and seeking his will, rather doing things through our own manipulations. I think that this was a concept popularized by Faust more than anything.If you are interested in the story of Faust and the symbolism and allegory contained in the play here is an excellent site on it that I ran across in relation to your question.

www.levity.com...

Originally posted by brotherforchrist
I don't know of any specifically cited cases where this has happened, I always viewed it as an allegory for not looking towards God and living a kingdom based lifestyle, not praying and seeking his will, rather doing things through our own manipulations. I think that this was a concept popularized by Faust more than anything.If you are interested in the story of Faust and the symbolism and allegory contained in the play here is an excellent site on it that I ran across in relation to your question.

www.levity.com...

Hey, thanks!


I'll have a look....

Being a guitar player, I have heard umpteen times of the supposed myth of Robert Johnson, King of the Mississippi Delta Blues.

Legend has it that he sold his sould to the devil at the crossroads in order to be able to play the blues like no other. Mind you this is legend/lore to the guitar community, but there is no "proof" that this event ever happened.

This scenario has been replicated loosely in the Ralph macchio film "Crossroads" in which the final scene has Raplh doing battle with the devil (Steve Vai) in order to win the soul of his friend back.

Other than this particular myth, I have never heard of any others.

Originally posted by Don Wahn
Being a guitar player, I have heard umpteen times of the supposed myth of Robert Johnson, King of the Mississippi Delta Blues.

Legend has it that he sold his sould to the devil at the crossroads in order to be able to play the blues like no other. Mind you this is legend/lore to the guitar community, but there is no "proof" that this event ever happened.

This scenario has been replicated loosely in the Ralph macchio film "Crossroads" in which the final scene has Raplh doing battle with the devil (Steve Vai) in order to win the soul of his friend back.

Other than this particular myth, I have never heard of any others.

Good movie!


I did not know is was based on a real 'myth' though. But this is kinda just the thing I am talking about. Although there is no proof, it is a living legend and if one were to research properly, I would bet it may be based in something other than fiction, no??

In some way it's possible, you can decide to be evil and greedy and that way get power for yourself based on suffering from others. But i think even Satan hates people like that.

Originally posted by Don Wahn

This scenario has been replicated loosely in the Ralph macchio film "Crossroads" in which the final scene has Raplh doing battle with the devil (Steve Vai) in order to win the soul of his friend back.

Jack Butler was not the devil.. he was another guitar player who sold his soul.

::end guitar nerd post::

I stand corrected.

Thanks for keeping me on my toes Cug!

Eventhough I was factually incorrect about my description, you have to admit that that movie was sweet. I have been trying to get Ralph's scale down for eons.

Still not as good as Ry Cooder.



[edit on 6/25/07 by Don Wahn]

I saw it the day it opened way back when.. I also got the DVD the first day it was released.

To get back on topic

In the crossroads legend, one waits at the crossroads until Papa Legba shows up. Legba is a Voudon spirit who opens the gateway between the human and divine worlds.

When you sell your soul you don't deal with the devil directly, Legba is the messanger between you and the devil. If you remember in the movie when Willie Brown signed the contract he dealt with Legba. it was only later he dismissed Legba (the guy in the Trans-Am) and demanded to talk with Ol' scratch himself.

[edit on 6/25/2007 by Cug]

That same type of thing happened in the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" with a young black man named tommy who sold his soul to learn how to play guitar. also one of my favorite movies with all that good old timey music.

This is awesome, other guitar dorks who know the history of the late great blues man Robert Johnson. The story of him selling his soul to the devil is just that, a story, but must certainly have some validity to it considering he wrote two songs about this very topic - Crossroads Blues, which was rwedone by Eric Clapton (Cream) and even the great Led Zepplin, and the second song was a lesser known tune called Hellhound on my Trail, a haunting acoustic guitar piece that expressed the fear and frustrations Johnson had. It was as if the man was tormented or believed that he was being chased down by the Devil himself, like he was doomed for eternity. Great stuff, I love the delta blues and all of it's legends and tales


And Crossroads was one of my favorite movies growing up, that nasty Ry Cooder slide piece really struck a nerve and it made me want to learn to play the blues myself...much better than the Steve Vai bit, which was also pretty smokin