Muktheduck said:
They don't realize you can't just casually invoke evil. He still claims your soul whether or not you're flippant about it. And this guy is living proof he doesn't wait till the afterlife to devour you
The devil has continually been "casually invoked" as a figure in art and literature and folklore and music and comedy and dramatic performances for centuries. As a villain, as an antihero, as a plot device, as comic relief. A guy with horns and hooves, who may be red with a cape or a pitchfork, isn't in the Bible. Summoning the devil to negotiate a Faustian bargain, perhaps at a midnight meeting in the woods or at a crossroads, isn't in the Bible. The devil manifesting as an alluring stranger coming to town and causing mischief and mayhem isn't in the Bible. Black masses and pentagrams and dancing under the moon aren't in the Bible. The devil appearing on your shoulder to advocate bad behavior is not in the Bible. These are all tropes from literary and folk traditions that extend well beyond and outside of the religious. The Ned Flanders devil is not the same thing as the one from the Bible.