Is it okay for a Christian to play devil's advocate?

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Yes

No

[BCRanger10]

Way to steal my thunder @Agape93 😆

Bottom line up front - Yes. In common language, it's just a figure of speech. And yes, it can be used.

But also if I may rant a bit, yes, Agape is correct. The Devil's Advocate is - or at least once was - a major part of the canonization process in the Catholic Church, which, until the last few decades, wouldn't even be opened until at least 50 to 100 years after the candidate died. This person had to be thoroughly convinced that the candidate for sainthood should not be canonized. They would research every aspect of the candidate's life, work, writings, basically anything they said or did and then argue strenuously against canonization. Nowadays, it's more just a ceremonial role, a formality. So many people have been or are in the process of being canonized (some of whom absolutely should not be so recognized) that The Remnant, a Catholic newspaper favored by traditionalists, has taken to semi-jokingly calling it the "Halo Award". We've basically returned to the early days of the Church when they basically just said "yeah, he was a good guy. Make him a saint!"

Would that canonization would be as rigorous and thorough as it had been 500 years ago...

Anyway, rant over.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

🔷 "Agape is correct"

In a religious context, ἀγάπη is _always_ correct lol.

[BCRanger10]

Why, thank you for MHO 🙌

[NathanDavis]

the Pope does it all the time...

the Catholic Church has protected, advocated and enriched more devils than in the Epstein files, so...

but your question was... is it okay?

no it's not... and they will all burn in hell, if that's what they preach... lol

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Burning in hell, if that's what they preach. Out of curiosity, I looked that up, using an official Catholic source and here's what I read:

"Voici la traduction en anglais :

---

🔷 "We often imagine hell as an eternal punishment (the fires of hell) that God inflicts on sinners. This representation is false: it is not God who imposes punishment on us. He never stops loving all people, but out of love, He respects our freedom to the end, giving us the possibility to totally reject His love. It is a tragic possibility. Thus, hell consists in being willingly separated from God. But no one can say if someone is in this situation. The Church itself has always refused to take a position, even in the cases of the greatest sinners! Only God knows each person’s heart."

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

That would require more research, I'm surprised by that statement lol

[NathanDavis]

I see that they updated their definition of hell... in order to justify the billions of dollars invested on real estate across the world...

and how they've always given all those Epsteins a life of luxury retirement, especially in Connecticut, USA

" no one can say all these convicted pedos are sinners who belong in hell... only God can judge "

sure... lol

but I ask a simple question at five years old and I am banned from going back to Church, lmfao..

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

What makes things complicated also is that even the Catholic branch, which is normally centralized (Vaticano), can have rogue churches claiming Catholic affiliation. So maybe hell's definition didn't change, it depends on what church you've been too and if they're formally affiliated

[NathanDavis]

the Pope itself did it...

that's the highest validation you can get from the Roman Catholic Church

"pedos belong with us, not in jail"

[NathanDavis]

and the word for that is not "complicated"

it is "aberrant"

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I hear you, I hear you, it's just that I don't feel like firing upon the ambulance today, french idiom lol

[NathanDavis]

which means... what exactly?

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tirer_sur_l%27ambulance

You're lucky today, the only additional language for this page is English !

[NathanDavis]

www.frenchlearner.com/.../

[NathanDavis]

in Mexico they say... "to make firewood off a fallen tree"

hacer leña del arbol caído

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

oh yeah "beating a dead horse" for a very very very (to me) graphic equivalent

[NathanDavis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH28EnEsS4M

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

God this cow feels too real to me, I hope she isn't 😬😬😬

[NathanDavis]

her name is Clarice Wagyu... and she's fine, don't worry about it

[queenofcardio]

Yes, anyone can play devil’s advocate. The goal is to find the truth by considering all perspectives, even those that go against your own beliefs.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

What is one truth found by using perspectives going against your beliefs?

[queenofcardio]

Sorry, I meant the interpretation of the evidence as truth. Some people base their beliefs on evidence, while others still believe whatever they think is true. It’s all subjective.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

An evidence-based belief? It seems contradictory lol

[queenofcardio]

Lol I'm confusing myself 😂

[queenofcardio]

Maybe I should've responded with a gif. That never fails 😂

[Still-alive]

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

[queenofcardio]

@Maybe_Maybe_not lol I'm still working 😂 ohh I know him too !!!

[Agape93]

Yeah that was literally a role in the catholic church

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Oh wow, let me look that up lol

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

"the Promoter of the Faith: one who "argued against the canonization (sainthood) of a candidate to uncover any character flaws or misrepresentation of the evidence favoring canonization""

[Agape93]

Yeap. Christopher Hitchens was the first person to do it for free against mother Teresa

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Thank you, that was a very nice way to shatter my question, I appreciate lol

[Agape93]

Anytime lol 😂

[OneViewpoint]

Yes a Christian can play Devil's advocate. But more often they choose to be liars, thieves, pedophiles, adulterers, and ignorant assholes.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

You really enjoy puns

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I second that