Devils Advocate Quotes

Either help or give up. Right now devil's advocate is just another name for asshole. ~ James S.A. Corey

People have confused playing devil's advocate with being intelligent. ~ Cecily Strong

The essayist ... can pull on any sort of shirt, be any sort of person, according to his mood or his subject matter - philosopher, scold, jester, raconteur, confidant, pundit, devil's advocate, enthusiast. ~ E.B. White

If you play devil's advocate with political correctness, you'll get the horns - deliberate misinterpretation leading to you being fully demonized. ~ Stewart Stafford

I hate people who say 'Just to play devil's advocate.' ~ Seth MacFarlane

However, perhaps the most insidious aspect of the New Age movement is what I call the Optimism Gestapo, or those who regulate and insist on positive thinking by any means necessary, where any criticism or expression of negative or painful emotions are disdained.

I once brought up to an Ashtar Command "ascencionist" (i.e. someone who believes that extraterrestrials will come and save her), the fact that democratic senator Paul Wellstone may have been murdered in order to get republican Norm Coleman elected. Before I could elaborate, she cut me off by saying, "It was just his time."

She was intolerant of the fact that I dared interfere with the reality she was creating, free of conspiracy, cutthroat politicians, and skullduggery. And the more I have played devil's advocate with New Agers, the more I have discovered that such intolerance is the norm. For there currently is a belief amongst New Agers that anything negative that one expresses will only further magnetize negativity. However, those who pursue this line of thinking just end up repressing their negative emotions, only to have them burst forth in uncontrollable ways….

Anyone seeking a supportive metaphysical community should first ask themselves if their ability to think independently is being compromised. For keeping one's metaphysical radar functioning is most important in a world crawling with "forced cheer" gurus, COINTELPRO channelers, and self-help authors. ~ David Icke

Freedom, baby, is never having to say youre sorry. ~ Al Pacino

That's the thing about people who love to play devil's advocate!' I shouted. 'There's no emotional involvement in it for you, there's nothing at stake! ~ Candice Carty-Williams

John Kerry doesn't think in terms of black-and-white. He's all gray, and he looks at all sides of the issues. That makes people think he likes to be devil's advocate. Whatever you say, he'll challenge you on. ~ Douglas Brinkley

I'm the devil's advocate. We have our own worshipers. ~ Frank Zappa

Being a New Yorker is never having to say you are sorry. ~ Lily Tomlin

Working on the editorial page had sharpened Whitney's mind and coarsened her feelings, so she treated every subject as theoretical and abstract. Devil's advocate? Whitney could have been the devil's mentor. ~ Laura Lippman

[It] could be argued that the favorite sin of Satan would not be vanity, as described in 'Devil's Advocate', or even unbelief in the existence of the devil, as described in 'The Usual Suspects,' but the imagining of a generic, Christless God. The very essence of the Christian faith centers on the identity of Jesus Christ as God's only begotten Son, who alone is the source of salvation and author of faith (Acts 4:12). So it stands to reason that Satan's favorite sin is the belief in a God without Jesus, because that is a god without atonement or redemption and that is what populates hell in the name of heaven. ~ Brian Godawa

No one played devil's advocate, a figure that every group needs to avoid foolish or even disastrous decisions like this. It was reminiscent of President John Kennedy's "disastrous" decision to invade Cuba in the Bay of Pigs fiasco.11 ~ Philip G. Zimbardo

So you're getting back together with her? Just like that? Muriel asks.
"Not 'just like that'..." "How then?" Muriel enjoys playing devil's advocate. "For starters, it will have to be long distance for a while..." She doesn't let up. "For a while? Have you booked the U-Haul already? ~ Harper Bliss

If you give people an idea these days, they just think you are sharing it with them so they can critique it, play devil's advocate, and so on. It doesn't occur to them that they might help or get enthused or at least have the courtesy to get out of your way. ~ Esme Raji Codell

This does not mean that the profession is about to abandon Darwin forever or indorse [sic] my views publicly. The situation remains much as it was: the inner circles are full of doubt, but the public utterances are confident. The doubts may be greater now and the confidence less serene, but it will be a long time before the public is given the full dark picture. There is still need for a dissenting voice, a devil's advocate, a skeptical whistle-blower. ~ Norman Macbeth

Whenever you feel like feeling like a devil's advocate, Bible-thump. That, in a worldly world, is the great irony and satire of evangelism. ~ Criss Jami

That's one of those hazards of an interview: You get tired of your stock answer and you try to get creative and even play devil's advocate. ~ Doug Martsch

Greg cut in thoughtfully, "Not to play devil's advocate - "
At this, we all scoffed. All of us. Even Quinn. Synchronized eye-rolling.
Greg clutched his chest and turned an offended look on his wife. "Et tu, Fiona? Et. Tu."
"Please." Fiona gave her husband a dry look. "You have an honorary degree in advocacy for the devil from Harvard."
"And you passed the bar in the sixth circle of hell." Matt grinned.
"Just get on with it," Quinn mumbled under his breath, ~ Penny Reid

Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, but don't swallow. ~ Al Pacino

As a devil's advocate Mr Neville was faultless. And yet, she knew, there was a flaw in his reasoning, just as there was a flaw in his ability to feel. ~ Anita Brookner

If opponents of all important truths do not exist, it is indispensable to imagine them, and supply them with the strongest arguments which the most skilful devil's advocate can conjure up. ' (Mill, 1859:37) ~ Anonymous

Never play the Devil's Advocate. Your words could be the difference between success and failure in someone else. ~ Ingrid Weir

I believe that any doctor that performs an abortion, I would advocate that any doctor that performs an abortion, should be criminally charged for doing so. ~ Rick Santorum

I've seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men - men, I tell you. But as I stood on this hillside, I foresaw that in the blinding sunshine of that land I would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly. How insidious he could be, too, I was only to find out several months later and a thousand miles farther. ~ Joseph Conrad

I am forever an advocate of books, both the reading of them and the writing. There is something sacred to me in that community. Because writing
and reading
is a solitary business. And it's good to know I'm not alone. ~ Shannon Celebi

The devil messing with you doesn't break My heart as much you messing with each other. In those moments, you become like devils. You! My precious children!
(The cry of a weeping Father - GOD) ~ TemitOpe Ibrahim

Honoria ground her teeth. "What on earth am I to do with you?"
Devil's features hardened, "Marry me." His voice was a frustrated growl. "The rest will follow naturally. ~ Stephanie Laurens

Flat Earth theory serves well enough for a trip from the cave to the water hole and back, and a third dimension going up into the sky and down underground serves to accommodate gods and devils A lot of people still think like that, believe it or not. ~ Peter J. Carroll

As I say, I'm a discourse advocate. What form it comes is less important to me than the fact that there is discourse. ~ Jim Lehrer

It's not really that I've been an advocate for hearing aids for a long time, it's just that I've been losing my hearing for a long time! So it's actually very important for me because I'm actually hearing impaired and I simply want to hear better! ~ Leslie Nielsen

Never trust charm, it's the most powerful weapon in the devil's armory. ~ Anthony Gilbert

Worldly wealth is the Devil's bait; and those whose minds feed upon riches recede, in general, from real happiness, in proportion as their stores increase, as the moon, when she is fullest, is farthest from the sun. ~ Robert Burton

With the fate of Roe v. Wade now hanging in the balance, I'm calling for a special 'pro-life tax.' If the fervent prayers of the religious right are answered and abortion is banned, let's take it a step further. All good Christians should legally be required to pony up; share the financial burden of raising an unwanted child. That's right: put your money where your Bible is. I'm not just talking about paying for food and shelter or even a college education. All those who advocate for driving a stake through the heart of a woman's right to choose must help bear the financial burden of that child's upbringing. They must be legally as well as morally bound to provide the child brought into this world at their insistence with decent clothes to wear; a toy to play with; a bicycle to ride -- even if they don't consider these things 'necessities.' Pro-lifers must be required to provide each child with all those things they would consider 'necessary' for their own children. Once the kid is out of the womb, don't wash your hands and declare 'Mission Accomplished!' It doesn't end there. If you insist that every pregnancy be carried to term, then you'd better be willing to pay the freight for the biological parents who can't afford to. And -- like the good Christians that you are -- should do so without complaint. ~ Quentin R. Bufogle

As spokesman for Lipitor, I have been an advocate of preventive medicine in addition to my work with the Jarvik 2000 Heart, which has rescued people from death and sustained a patient with a normal, mobile lifestyle for seven and a half years - the longest in the world. ~ Robert Jarvik

Your grandma always was an advocate of thorough preparedness. She would strongly advise staying not only armed to the teeth, but well equipped in the computational department. You've been taught you should really carry no less than 5 computers on you at all times, like a sensible person. ~ Andrew Hussie

Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation. ~ Albert Schweitzer

I get to advocate issues and ideas that I believe in. ~ Jeb Bush

I grew up hunting with shotguns and rifles, and we had a gun in every corner of the living room. I'm not a gun advocate, but that's the way I grew up. ~ Anson Mount

I am an earnest advocate of manual training and trade teaching for black boys, and for white boys, too. ~ W.E.B. Du Bois

A work of art, so far as it is a work of art, cannot - whatever the artist's personal intention - advocate anything at all. ~ Susan Sontag

Suddenly, [Cecilia Washburn] was getting a lot of attention from her friends," Pabst explained to the jury. "Attention from the dean of the pharmacy school ... .Attention by Dean Charles Couture, the then dean of students; by the Crime Victim Advocate office; by the nurse, [Claire] Francoeur ... .Miss Washburn got attention by the investigator and by the prosecutor. Her regret was replaced by sympathy, attention, and support, and a little bit of drama, and a little bit of celebrity ... .Her regret, fueled by drama, became purpose. She received a new public - and important - identity: victim. ~ Jon Krakauer

Wagers and pacts are made with angels - or with devils. ~ Paulo Coelho

Idle time is the devil's play. ~ Mark Dayton

He that preaches war is the devil's chaplain. ~ John Ray

Compelling a man by law to pay his money to elect candidates or advocate law or doctrines he is against differs only in degree, if at all, from compelling him by law to speak for a candidate, a party, or a cause he is against. The very reason for the First Amendment is to make the people of this country free to think, speak, write and worship as they wish, not as the Government commands. ~ Hugo Black

It serves the American socialists as a leading argument in their endeavor to depict American capitalism as a curse of mankind. Reluctantly forced to admit that capitalism pours a horn of plenty upon people and that the Marxian prediction of the masses' progressive impoverishment has been spectacularly disproved by the facts, they try to salvage their detraction of capitalism by describing contemporary civilization as merely materialistic and sham.
Bitter attacks upon modem civilization are launched by writers who think that they are pleading the cause of religion. They reprimand our age for its secularism.
They bemoan the passing of a way of life in which, they would have us believe, people were not preoccupied with the pursuit of earthly ambitions but were first of ali concerned about the strict observance of their religious duties. They ascribe ali evils to the spread of skepticism and agnosticism and passionately advocate a return to the orthodoxy of ages gone by.
It is hard to find a doctrine which distorts history more radically than this antisecularism. There have always been devout men, pure in heart and dedicated to a pious life. But the religiousness of these sincere believers had nothing in common with the established system of devotion. It is a myth that the political and social institutions of the ages preceding modem individualistic philosophy and modem capitalism were imbued with a genuine Christian spirit. The teachings of the Gospels did not det ~ Ludwig Von Mises

The Devils also believe and know abundance: But in this is the Difference, their Faith works not by Love, nor their Knowledge by Obedience; and therefore they are never the better for them. And if ours be such, we shall be of their Church, not of Christ's: For as the Head is, so must the Body be. ~ Various

I feel my body weakening but my spirit is fine, ready to go to war with devils at the drop of a dime ~ Immortal Technique

I did," Henric said, with a triumphant look.
"Oh," Meena said, opening the book to the page 74, the one from her dream. "You mean this
prince?" She pointed at the illustration of Lucifer.
Henric's grin faltered slightly. "Precisely."
"He's not a prince," Meena said. "As you know perfectly well, he's a fallen angel. And what was
Lucien's mother?"
"A p-princess," Henric stammered. But there was terror in his eyes.
"No," Lucien said, shaking his head. "She was an angel."
Meena swung around to look at him. Tears glittered in her eyes as she gazed up into his, which
had gone back to their normal deep brown.
"Yes, Lucien," she said, holding the book open in front of him. "That's why Henric was trying to
keep this from you. Because he realized it was the one thing that might help you remember what your
mother always taught you. You, of all people, really do have a choice. You can choose to be good . . .
because you are part good. No matter how hard you try to be the devil's son, you've still got an angel for
a mother. ~ Meg Cabot

Karika's hands aren't just stained with blood. They aren't just dirty. They're laden with the devil's fingerprints. ~ K. Weikel

The most horrible wickedness and cruelties, and the greatest miseries that have troubled the human race began with this thing called revelation, or revealed religion ... It would be far, far better for us to let a thousand devils roam the world, and publicly preach the doctrine of devils (if there were such a thing, which there isn't), than to let one impostor and monster such a Moses, Joshua, Samuel or the Bible prophets come speaking the so-called word of God, and causing men to believe it. ~ Thomas Paine

I'm not going out of my way looking for devils; but I wouldn't step out of my path to let one go by. ~ Robert E. Howard

Lobbyists are in many cases expert technicians and capable of explaining complex and difficult subjects in a clear, understandable fashion. They engage in personal discussions with Members of Congress in which they can explain in detail the reasons for positions they advocate. Because our congressional representation is based on geographical boundaries, the lobbyists who speak for the various economic, commercial, and other functional interests of this country serve a very useful purpose and have assumed an important role in the legislative process. ~ John F. Kennedy

God has not left us defenseless against the devil's strategies of deception. If Satan's weapon of attack is intellectual deception, then our defense and counterattack consist in truth. ~ Vincent Cheung

The Tigris in parts is wonderfully tortuous, and at one great bend, 'The Devil's Elbow,' a man on foot can walk the distance in less than an hour which takes the steamer four hours to accomplish. ~ Isabella Bird

Ambiguity is the devil's volleyball. ~ Emo Philips

All depend upon the engagement of as many people as possible on all levels, from civil society to national leaders, to advocate for the kind of national and international commitments, legislation, and public/ private partnerships that can make the difference. ~ Queen Noor Of Jordan

Carolyn Maloney is very, very comfortable with a whole host of issues, but on women's issues, she is really just one of the few people who understands that women are not only half of the world and half of the United States, but they need an advocate; that they have to have advocacy; that our issues cannot be ignored. ~ Eleanor Smeal