Satans greatest trick is to make you believe that he doesn't exist?

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

Charles Baudelaire, "The Generous Gambler" (Feb. 1864)

NO, I personally believe that satan causes doubt in peoples 'minds that our Lord doesn't exist. If he can persuade people of that then it makes no difference if he is real or not. Satan came to kill, steal, and destroy and the gullible ones that listen ,have no hope for tomorrow., no hope for eternity, no hope for forgiveness, and no hope for a Christ and spirit filled life. So very sad. The ones that know ,are in such awe of Jesus ,and the ones that don't know Him will have to bow to Him on judgement day and know it's too late for a change then.That alone would scare the heck out of me. To come face to face with a man that gave His life for me so I could live forever in Heaven, and know I rejected Him and I'm going to hell. WOW I'm thankful for the grace of God and His mercy I won't have to go through that. I want to hear welcome good and faithful servant.

As a Pagan, I am one of those who understand that there must always be a balance between good and evil. You cannot have one without the other. Nothing but good and the world will wither from the lack of inspiration that comes from the chaos some people describe as evil, it will experience no new growth, will wither and die.

By the same token, nothing but evil (or chaos), and we will have explosive change and chaotic destruction. Each complements and balances the other, keeps the other from going out of control. They are both necessary for making this world work.

answer: no, it's not in the Bible.

This was first said by the famous French poet Baudelaire in an unusual short story about meeting the Devil and having a grand old time.

Elle ne se plaignit en aucune façon de la mauvaise réputation dont elle jouit dans toutes les parties du monde, m'assura qu'elle était, elle-même, la personne la plus intéressée à la destruction de la superstition, et m'avoua qu'elle n'avait eu peur, relativement à son propre pouvoir, qu'une seule fois, c'était le jour où elle avait entendu un prédicateur, plus subtil que ses confrères, s'écrier en chaire:

«Mes chers frères, n'oubliez jamais, quand vous entendrez vanter le progrès des lumières, que la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!»

He did not complain in any way about the bad reputation he enjoyed all over the world, assured me that he himself was the person the most interested in the destruction of superstition, and admitted to me that he had only been afraid for his own power one time, and that was the day when he had heard a preacher, more subtle than his colleagues, shout out from the pulpit:

"My dear brothers, never forget, when you hear the progress of enlightenment vaunted, that the devil's best trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist!"

"Le Joueur généreux," pub. February 7, 1864; translation by Cat Nilan, 1999¹ (emphasis mine)

The astute may notice that Baudelaire begins by referring to the Devil as "she." Throughout the whole of the story, Baudelaire refers to the Devil as "he," except for the one paragraph containing the above excerpt. The reason, I think, is because in the paragraph in question, Baudelaire refers to the Devil as "Son Altesse," which is feminine despite being used for a masculine object. After this phrase, Baudelaire continues to refer to the Devil as "elle" until the preacher's quote, wherein the preacher says "il n'existe pas." Here, the Devil is "il" because (presumably) that's what the preacher said, and after this the Devil remains "il." Baudelaire uses "Son Altesse" once more in the short story, but there are no pronouns referring to the Devil before another masculine word ("personnage") is used to describe him.

A similar quote was said by Jim Carroll: "The Devil's greatest accomplishment was convincing the world he didn't exist."²

The most popular reinterpretation of this quote (the one the title of this node is taken from) is in the 1995 movie The Usual Suspects, written by Christopher McQuarrie.

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gods greatest trick is to make you believe he exists.

Some cult

most likely Christianity