Who made the first deal with the devil….
Image result for portrait of faustDuring the bargain, the lore indicates that Faust used Mephistopheles magic and powers in many harmful ways, with no regard to others feelings. In one variation of the legend, Faust seduces a beautiful, young girl who is extremely innocent, he destroys her life and she is almost damned to hell, though, her innocence saves her and she goes to heaven. It seems most folklore crosses paths at some point, whether it’s German or Scandinavian, you’ll find similar characters and religious undertones. Recently, we stumbled upon the German folklore of Faust. Legend has it that, the scholar Faust, was quite unsatisfied with his life, he desired more earthly pleasures and unlimited knowledge. These desires lead Faust to make a deal with the devil in exchange for his soul. There are so many versions of this story throughout the years, but the most detailed version we have found indicated that Faust was a scholar, but tried to take his life and was unsuccessful. He then called upon the devil to fulfill his desires. In this German lore, the devil is represented by Mephistopheles a worker of Satan himself. Mephistopheles makes this deal with Faust, allowing him to use Mephistopheles magic powers for a set number of years and at the end, the devil can claim Faust’s soul for eternal damnation. The term of this deal is unclear, but some sources indicate it may have been a 24 year period. 
In some of the earliest versions of this tale, Faust is carried off to hell by the devil as he believes his sins cannot be forgiven. Though a few variations add the innocent girl into Fausts redemption, she apparently pleads with God to save Faust as she has fallen in love with him and his soul is saved.  To most, this is simply folklore, however, many believe the tale to have derived from the life of Johann Georg Faust, who was an astrologer, alchemist and magician in the period of the German Renaissance. In the 1600’s, Christopher Marlowe wrote a play titled, ‘The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus’ which brought this tale to light. While many other cultures and religions have their own version of soul selling, this is the German legend and we know this tale crosses all languages, religions and cultures, it’s a story told over thousands of years and will probably always be told until the end of time.  In our research of this story, we found that there are many notable stories of soul selling….. Urbain Grandier (1590 – 1634) – A priest who was burned at the stake for having made a pact with the devil. Philippe Musard (1793 – 1859) – A french composer and orchestra leader who was rumored to exhibit magical powers during his performances, fueling the rumor that he had sold his soul… Robert Johnson (8 May 1911 – 16 August 1938) An American blues musician went to the crossroads and sold his soul to Satan to be one of the best blues guitarists ever.  Bob Dylan – In a television interview in the mid 2000’s stated that he made a deal with the ‘chief’ not from this world, but from a world that’s unseen, to get where he is now. See for yourself in this YouTube vid. https://youtu.be/IqvvOD4bdRsRoseanne Barr states on national television that she wrote in her published book that she sold her soul to the devil at the age of twelve to become famous. See for yourself in this YouTube vid https://youtu.be/A9U-rDjddfkSnoop Dog – it’s hard to dispute this one… the guy writes whole songs and albums about how he sold his soul for fame! Could be for publicity, but there has to be a better way than announcing you sold your soul!Kanye West – Surprise, Surprise, well I’m sure none of us are surprised… his on stage rambling rants and attacks on other performers, limited talent and god awful clothing line…but yet still makes millions.. yea it’s pretty obvious he sold his soul to the devil… but if you need proof, check out this video of him on stage, start listening at 1:59, he literally tells the crowd he sold his soul. https://youtu.be/mnQmHgLQHr8Whether you believe in the devil or making a deal with such character…be sure to leave a comment below!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Georg_Fausthttps://www.faust.com/legend/pact-with-the-devil/http://www.jstor.org/stable/538251?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

 

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