"Devil's Advocate"

I like the meaning behind this phrase, though not the phrase itself. Unfortunately, I can't think of any substitutes.

Have you ever done this with your characters? I'm in the middle of doing this to one of mine.

He's a young man. A very sincere Muslim. He's grown up fairly protected by doting parents. But he's on his own. And he has found an ally in a very unfriendly world. The problem is that the ally proclaims himself to be an atheist.

How can our young Muslim learn to communicate Islam with this man? How can he hope to convince him?

The old man plays "devil's advocate." Along the way, the young man learns. Islam is more than rituals and phrases. His faith deepens as he works to teach the old atheist.

I enjoy writing dialogue. And I'm getting a lot of satisfaction from this particular story line. I especially like watching the young man mature into a stronger faith.