Selling your soul: Would you?

[Realitycrash]

So, in fiction-land, people sell their souls for "awesum powerz" all the time. But they always seem to lack the basic deduction which clearly states that "hey, if the Devil is real and he trades in souls, there is a fair chance that God is real too. Maybe I should give this one a miff?"

I'm always confused by people getting suckered by this. Sure, they might think "Oh, this guy is seriously crazy, so sure, he can have my 'soul'", but that only applies if you sell it for something that is not supernatural, like money. If the offer is "awesum powerz", in a setting that either has a clear Good Vs Evil (and supernatural powers), or a modern-day setting (with no supernatural powers), it would seem like an obvious suckerbet.
D&D comes to mind, where I am always baffled that clearly Evil gods have followers at all.

But, maybe I am wrong? Would you sell your soul? If so, why, and for what price?

Edit: Yes, for clarity, let's assume that by "soul" I mean "traditional Judeo-Christian personal soul".

 

[Kahunaburger]

No, and I have no idea either. It always strikes me as a bit of a stretch when characters do that.

 

[Jonluw]

If souls turned out to be real, I wouldn't sell mine for anything in the world.
Whatever I sold it for would be temporary anyways.

Unless I already knew that I was going to hell anyways of course.

 

[smithy_2045]

If someone wants to buy my soul, I'm happy to take their money.

 

[TehCookie]

I wouldn't sell it, but I would give it out as a lone. Awesome powers/money for 50 years and an eternity is hell? Not worth it. If they only had it for the same time I had the benefits then release it, I'd think about it.

 

[DoPo]

If souls turned out to be real, I wouldn't sell mine for anything in the world.
Whatever I sold it for would be temporary anyways.

Well, how are you sure the soul isn't temporary? Maybe a nice Porsche would last longer than it. Also, are you really using your soul? I don't think so. You have no real use of it, or at least very little. Think realistically, you can get something better. Almost for free. Want a Porsche? A big wad of money? Half-Life 3? All of these? Just sign here next to the pentagram.

 

[Cheesepower5]

ME: "Hmmmmm,should I keep this non-existent religious concept... or should I have cool super powers?



CONCEPT IT IS."

 

[Jonluw]

If souls turned out to be real, I wouldn't sell mine for anything in the world.
Whatever I sold it for would be temporary anyways.

Well, how are you sure the soul isn't temporary? Maybe a nice Porsche would last longer than it. Also, are you really using your soul? I don't think so. You have no real use of it, or at least very little. Think realistically, you can get something better. Almost for free. Want a Porsche? A big wad of money? Half-Life 3? All of these? Just sign here next to the pentagram.

Considering the scenario we're discussing, I'm assuming the soul we're talking about is the soul in the christian sense. i.e. the eternal soul.

Although... A porsche for eternal damnation? Not that bad a deal.

 

[Realitycrash]

ME: "Hmmmmm,should I keep this non-existent religious concept... or should I have cool super powers?



CONCEPT IT IS."

We are assuming that it is real, since someone is offering a great deal for it. Sure, that someone might be crazy, but an average genre-savvy person would still be suspicious.

 

[Lionsfan]

Yeah I would definitely sell my soul. Eternal Damnation doesn't have to be so terrible ya know?

 

[hazabaza1]

Let's see... eternal pain and damnation in a neverending afterlife for some temporary power?
No thanks bro.

 

[Lucem712]

Could one of my super powers be immortality? Cos if so, yes. I would sell the shit out of it. Actually, on my interpretation of Hell, I'd see it more as a drug and hooker bender than a place of punishment.

The Devil is all for that shit, you think he'd be rewarding you for your horribleness.

But, since we're talking classical Judeo-Christian Hell, ehhhhhhh, I don't know. Guess I'd have to know the full extent of my punishments to make a choice.

 

[White Lightning]

It would cost ALOT. But I would do it. Actually, I would try to find some sort of loop hole where I trade the souls of others. I would say something along the lines of "You know, one soul is well and good. But what if I told you I could get you TEN souls?"

 

[Rowan93]

I wouldn't sell my soul if it was an evil-god eternal-damnation setup, but the cosmology doesn't necessarily work that way. What if hell is actually pretty alright? What if there's just a bunch of gods, of varying dickishnesses but not evil for the sake of evil? What if selling your soul means you get to be a badass demon for the rest of eternity?

I'd need a lot more clarity on the offer before I agreed to a deal, but I wouldn't necessarily refuse any and all deals that can be summarized as "sell your soul to me and I will give you stuff"

 

[WhyBotherToTry]

Could I trade my soul for a better one? I could sell my present crappy one and get back my soul 2 . 0

 

[Moderated]

Yes.
I'd probably go to hell anyway, if it existed.
How exactly does the deal work anyway?
People always ask for fame or money, what would happen if they asked to not go to hell? Or for eternal happiness, or something else that would cancel out selling your soul?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I wouldn't sell it for anything like "awesome powers" or money or life extension, or anything along those lines.

In Supernatural (the TV show), the main characters are always selling their soul to save their loved ones. I guess I might do that, well ok... I probably still wouldn't, but their's a higher chance of me selling for this reason than the former, provided there's no Ghost Rider style catch.

AKA: I only said the cancer wouldn't kill your father. I didn't say he couldn't die some other way.

 

[Dags90]

Considering the scenario we're discussing, I'm assuming the soul we're talking about is the soul in the christian sense. i.e. the eternal soul.

Although... A porsche for eternal damnation? Not that bad a deal.

If you wished for something like eternal happiness, Hell sort of becomes a moot point because you're going to enjoy it (you dirty, dirty boy).

 

[ChildishLegacy]

Depends what would happen to my soul after death if I didn't sell it.