this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
747 points (100.0% liked)

196

16597 readers
2163 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.

Rule: You must post before you leave.

^other^ ^rules^

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 114 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

There's a subtext that you guys are missing. The devil wins whether he says Johnny won or lost.

  • If the devil wins, he gets Johnny's soul per the terms of the bet.
  • If Johnny wins, the devil gets Johnny's soul because he's committing multiple deadly sins purely by boasting and challenging the devil for a golden fiddle: pride, greed, vanity.

If he deems Johnny the winner, Johnny is less likely to challenge the decision, and he's also more likely to continue committing the sins of pride and vanity (by boasting of his victory over the Devil Himself).

Johnny's only chance to avoid his fate (per most strains of the Christian faith) is to acknowledge and repent/confess/absolve his sins by seeking divine mercy. The devil knows this is unlikely.

Johnny lost as soon as he uttered his first line.

[–] [email protected] 69 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's okay Johnny's Protestant he just has to repent

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago

even if he wasn't, that golden fiddle would have bought him many indulgences

[–] [email protected] 47 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The boy said "My name's Johnny,"

"And it might be a sin"

"So I'd uh... I'd better not"

"I'm actually gonna go."

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Except everyone is a sinner by default, so what's the downside? That's the problem with these "temptation" parables. Nothing Johnny could do himself would ever avoid that fate, so why act like it?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago

I'm just pointing out that within the constructs of the predominant Christian mythologies... Johnny's fucked himself over unless he recognizes he's being a shit and atones for it.

Whether you assign any validity to the underlying dogma is an individual choice. People have a tendency to overlook logical inconsistencies in their faith frameworks, in any case.