Play the Devil’s Advocate
A figure of speech which means to play the role of the opposing, usually less popular side of an argument. Has little or nothing to do with the actual devil, unless of course one is literally defending Lucifer in a court of law or at least championing some of Satan’s seditious philosophies. One might properly call himself the devil’s advocate if, for example, he publishes a treatise on the merits of eating, drinking, and being merry—on the rhetorical basis that since we will die on the morrow, no degree of salvific action is worth exerting. (I once had a colleague at Oxford who attempted this very feat—and with remarkable success.)
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The Commonplace Notebook 