The Devil

Personally, I don't believe that the devil exists in the sense of an actual being or entity that persuades us to commit immoral or selfish acts. I don't believe in the devil in the biblical sense but if you were to call all of our malicious, primal tendencies the "devil" I would somewhat be alright with and agree with that. I believe that in each and every one of us, there is the potential for great good, but there is also the potential for great evil. We are all imperfect beings, so naturally we will give in to our more selfish and malicious desires at some point. Whether or not this is because of some sort of "devil", I can't say for sure. I think that, if I were to say I believed in any sort of devil, it would be purely as a representation of the potential for evil that resides in all of us. It is, however, interesting to read stories, either in the bible or in folklore, about instances of people or beings encountering Satan. For example, there is the story of the devil tempting Jesus in the desert, or him in the form of the serpent in the garden of Eden tempting Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. It always seems like the devil plays the role of the great tempter in the bible. He is always trying to bring someone to give in to their lesser desires which is why I can agree that he could exist, again, as a representation of those desires. Then you have the folkloric concept of the devil as a maker of deals with grave unforeseen consequences. The concept of "deals with the devil" is prevalent throughout all facets of society and across many cultures. While that definitely makes for great stories/folk tales, I think that the devil, at least in that sense, is just that; a figment of stories and folk tales. Regardless of my opinion, to many people around the world, the devil is very real. They believe firmly that, whatever you call him; the devil, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the prince of lies, the beast, or by any other name, he is very real and very dangerous. That, in a way, makes him real.