A Pact with the Devil

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I recently found out that there are actually still people who think someone can make a literal pact with the Devil. Does the Catholic Church have any official (or a common unofficial) position on whether that is possible?

If anyone knows, does the Orthodox Church teach that it is?

(Note, I am not interested in making a pact with Satan, just curious as to what these two churches views are)
 
I’ve always been under the impression that it is indeed possible to make a pact with the devil.

He is real you know. He is out there. And he wants your soul for himself. The last thing in the world he wants, is for your soul to go to Heaven, and to see the God that he knows he can never see.

Anyone who thinks that you couldn’t make a pact, and then “tried it just to show it wasn;t possible”, would be doing a very dangerous and naive thing…
 
Something else to consider, that the attempt to barter/negotiate/deal with Satan, whether it’s possible or not, tells God that that person would rather put faith or deal with Satan than God, who is the one who we should put faith in. I don’t know for a fact if the church does recognize deals with Satan, but I see it the same as the above poster, and it sounds like a very grave mistake.
 
Alot of silly notions regarding pacts with the devil have found there way into popular culture over the centuries. Most are theologically unsound though. One is not bound by any laws whatsoever with the father of lies.
 
When I was a child I tried as far as I know it didn’t work.
Then again I tried with God also and I still couldn’t fly.
that was 16 years ago and I was 6.
I still feel dirty just thinking about it.
 
ErrorCMDR said:
When I was a child I tried as far as I know it didn’t work.
Then again I tried with God also and I still couldn’t fly.
that was 16 years ago and I was 6.
I still feel dirty just thinking about it.
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If in doubt, carry it to confession.

But I think God has enough sense to know when a child is just being childish, don’t you?
 
Makes me think of a play of Faust I saw a few years back. It was based on Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus (different from Goethe’s version where God intervenes and saves Faust).

I’m sure a pact with the devil is possible but extremely dangerous. Plus, I’m not too sure if the Father of Lies would be someone who would keep their end of the deal.
 
dixibehr said:
If in doubt, carry it to confession.

But I think God has enough sense to know when a child is just being childish, don’t you?
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This is slightly o/t and I apologize, but I would just like to state it. When in the confessional, one is not required to confess a doubtful sin.

This isn’t a mortal sin anyway. But you should go to confession if you doubt that you’ve committed mortal sin, just to be safe. That’s for lax people, not scrupulous people. But there is still no need to mention a doubtful sin to the priest. You’ll still be absolved anyway.
 
A pact with the devil…reminds me of the ‘Blasphemy Challenge’ taking place on you-tube where a person deliberately commits (or at least tries to) the unpardonable sin by blaspheming the Holy Spirit thereby damning themselves to hell, which none of them (?) fear because they don’t believe in the Holy Spirit. I wonder how many have knowingly (or unknowingly) made a pact with the devil before they do the blasphemy ??

blasphemychallenge.com/
 
Wow… John7 that blasphemy challenge sounds absolutely terrible. Makes the verse “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” sound more like “what does it profit a person to gain a DVD and forfeit his soul?”.
 
“deal with the devil” I don’t know.

I do very strongly believe that the devil has demons and demonic forces manifested in this world and it is very dangerous to meddle in such things. I do not watch shows like Ghost Hunters etc. oujii boards and such things I believe are the true work of demons and I believe that this is one of the reason the so called religion of Wicca is very dangerous because it is demons behind spell and things. read the book, Kingdom of the Occult by Walter Martin. it is a great read, its Protestant and it has some anti-Catholic tendencies but they are so small as to be easily ignored and I still believe it to be a great book.
 
🤷 I guess it could be done. I question the mental health of the person doing it. I mean, if you acknowledge that the devil exists, you also acknowledge the existence of the all-powerful God. Then, you decide to make a deal with the devil in complete opposition to the all-powerful God? Doesn’t make much sense to me, but I’m sure it can and has been done. What has been accomplished through such a pact is questionable.

I’m sure there are some hard-core satanists out there that have done it. In fact, back in high school, I knew a few. I really don’t know whatever happened to them. Last I checked (approx. 10 years ago), one of the boys was still painting pentagrams at every available opportunity. Whatever possessed him (pun intended) to do that, I don’t know. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or true satanic possession, it’s not for me to know. Another kid that everyone had suspicions of being a devil worshiper died in a drunk driving accident shortly after graduation. And another guy, well, he’s never stopped spinning his tires in life–36 years old, never been married, still hits the bottle and the mushrooms, a slough of DUI arrests and relationships with crazy girls. Pity, too. Did these guys, who danced with devil in ways they should not have, end up this way because of their pacts with him? Or did the fact that they were naughty boys anyway lead them to making deals with satan?

Anyway, my conclusion is that it can be done, I suppose. Wouldn’t recommend it, though.
 
Since I feel outgunned negotiating with used car dealers, I think theology aside, I’d come out poorly trying to deal with the father of lies.

Paul
 
T700 said:
Since I feel outgunned negotiating with used car dealers, I think theology aside, I’d come out poorly trying to deal with the father of lies.

Paul
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Agreed. This whole notion that you can “trick the devil”, as propagated in Constantine (film) and other popular media is not helping, either.
 
I don’t know about making a pact with the devil but I do know that the devil can try to tempt you with sin, and put obstacles in your path to stop you from making peace with God in confession.
 
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