devil's advocate
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May 9, 2025
To be, or play, the devil's advocate means to argue for a point that one may not necessarily agree with, to argue the counter point to provoke debate or strengthen the original argument.
The term is a translation of the Latin advocatus diaboli. This was the popular title given to the official appointed by the Roman Catholic church to argue against the proposed canonization of a saint by bringing up all that was unfavorable to the claim.
The post, which was officially known as Promoter of the Faith (promotor fidei), seems to have been established by Pope Leo X in the early sixteenth century. --medievalists.net
The term is a translation of the Latin advocatus diaboli. This was the popular title given to the official appointed by the Roman Catholic church to argue against the proposed canonization of a saint by bringing up all that was unfavorable to the claim.
The post, which was officially known as Promoter of the Faith (promotor fidei), seems to have been established by Pope Leo X in the early sixteenth century. --medievalists.net
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