THE SURPRISING TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: How A Real Church Role Became An English Idiom
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 20 min
Episode description
The familiar phrase "playing devil's advocate" actually originated from a real Catholic Church position where an official was tasked with arguing against candidates for sainthood to ensure only the truly worthy were canonized.
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.
DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
IN THIS EPISODE: In an effort to test one of his theories on social behavior, psychologist Muzafer Sherif released twenty-two 12-year-old boys into a sparsely supervised wilderness camp — and then covertly provoked them to fight each other. (The Robbers Cave Experiment) *** Witch hunts and trials. They didn’t end in Salem – they live on even today in Papua New Guinea. (Papua New Guinea Witchcraft) *** A man in Japan sees small, childlike ashen white aliens. (Childlike Aliens) *** How can a holy book such as the Christian bible bring bad luck? One paranormal museum in West Virginia has the answer with an infamous display of the 666 Bible. (The 666 Bible) *** The people of Hannibal, Missouri in the late 1800s would remain appalled that one of their most prominent residents could be murdered without retribution. Even a $10,000 reward couldn’t bring justice. (The Stillwell Murder) *** A father takes his son to the ruins of an old, burned down building – and the boy sees something his father doesn’t. (The Old Factory Visit) *** “The Devil’s Advocate” – it’s a phrase that can be traced to the Roman Catholic Church that long had an actual official office for a person who was employed to be exactly that – an advocate for the devil. And he still works for the church even today. (The Devil’s Advocate) *** It’s one of the most-enigmatic unsolved cases of the 21st Century. A family of three goes missing in 2009, and despite an abundance of evidence, law enforcement is no closer to solving this mystery today. In fact, it could even be said that the more clues that are uncovered only result in additional questions. (What Happened To The Jamison Family?)
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS…
(Sorry, but this information has been lost over time.)
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“The Robbers Cave Experiment” by Taig Spearman: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4v5259xu
“Papua New Guinea Witchcraft” by Caleb Strom: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckvym9b
“The Devil’s Advocate” by Ellen Lloyd: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8uyaes
“Childlike Aliens": https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/22ujw2jt
“The 666 Bible” by Theresa HPIR: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/32wdwakp
“The Stillwell Murder” by Robert Wilhelm: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9bnkr4
“The Old Factory Visit” by Mike: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3zxf3vje
“What Happened To The Jamison Family?” by Stu Wahlin for Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/stuwahlin
=====
(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
=====
Originally aired: November 12, 2018
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/DevilsAdvocate
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.
DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
IN THIS EPISODE: In an effort to test one of his theories on social behavior, psychologist Muzafer Sherif released twenty-two 12-year-old boys into a sparsely supervised wilderness camp — and then covertly provoked them to fight each other. (The Robbers Cave Experiment) *** Witch hunts and trials. They didn’t end in Salem – they live on even today in Papua New Guinea. (Papua New Guinea Witchcraft) *** A man in Japan sees small, childlike ashen white aliens. (Childlike Aliens) *** How can a holy book such as the Christian bible bring bad luck? One paranormal museum in West Virginia has the answer with an infamous display of the 666 Bible. (The 666 Bible) *** The people of Hannibal, Missouri in the late 1800s would remain appalled that one of their most prominent residents could be murdered without retribution. Even a $10,000 reward couldn’t bring justice. (The Stillwell Murder) *** A father takes his son to the ruins of an old, burned down building – and the boy sees something his father doesn’t. (The Old Factory Visit) *** “The Devil’s Advocate” – it’s a phrase that can be traced to the Roman Catholic Church that long had an actual official office for a person who was employed to be exactly that – an advocate for the devil. And he still works for the church even today. (The Devil’s Advocate) *** It’s one of the most-enigmatic unsolved cases of the 21st Century. A family of three goes missing in 2009, and despite an abundance of evidence, law enforcement is no closer to solving this mystery today. In fact, it could even be said that the more clues that are uncovered only result in additional questions. (What Happened To The Jamison Family?)
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS…
(Sorry, but this information has been lost over time.)
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“The Robbers Cave Experiment” by Taig Spearman: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4v5259xu
“Papua New Guinea Witchcraft” by Caleb Strom: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckvym9b
“The Devil’s Advocate” by Ellen Lloyd: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8uyaes
“Childlike Aliens": https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/22ujw2jt
“The 666 Bible” by Theresa HPIR: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/32wdwakp
“The Stillwell Murder” by Robert Wilhelm: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9bnkr4
“The Old Factory Visit” by Mike: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3zxf3vje
“What Happened To The Jamison Family?” by Stu Wahlin for Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/stuwahlin
=====
(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
=====
Originally aired: November 12, 2018
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/DevilsAdvocate
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