Did evil exist at the time of Genesis 3:5?

[tonychanyt]

Genesis 3:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

God used the serpent to test Eve.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

Eve misquoted God's words but that's an innocent mistake.

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

The serpent formally contradicted God according to First-Order Logic.

5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

God knew everything. God knew evil existed. But at this point, has anyone done anything evil?

I think so. Contradicting God was an evil act. I think the serpent was a manifestation of the devil Satan. Jesus said in John 8:44 he was a liar from the beginning.

The innocent Eve was no match for the evil serpent. She failed the test. Immediately, she and Adam experienced bad thoughts that were not bad before. They saw that being naked was no good. They developed their independent definitions apart from God's.

What about today? How do we decide what is good or evil?

Well, I have been born of the Spirit. The more I grow in the Spirit, the more the Paraclete councils me and guides me in my conscience.

 

[Vambram]

Satan, aka the Devil, was already a fallen angel long before he tempted Adam and Eve.

 

[eleos1954]

Genesis 3:


God used the serpent to test Eve.


Eve misquoted God's words but that's an innocent mistake.


The serpent formally contradicted God according to First-Order Logic.


God knew everything. God knew evil existed. But at this point, has anyone done anything evil?

I think so. Contradicting God was an evil act. I think the serpent was a manifestation of the devil Satan. Jesus said in John 8:44 he was a liar from the beginning.

The innocent Eve was no match for the evil serpent. She failed the test. Immediately, she and Adam experienced bad thoughts that were not bad before. They saw that being naked was no good. They developed their independent definitions apart from God's.

What about today? How do we decide what is good or evil?

Well, I have been born of the Spirit. The more I grow in the Spirit, the more the Paraclete councils me and guides me in my conscience.

The first "evil act" was committed in heaven by the lead of Lucifer (satan) passing around lies about God ... and satan has never changed the way he operates by spreading lies using deception.

 

[tonychanyt]

The first "evil act" was committed in heaven by the lead of Lucifer (satan) passing around lies about God ... and satan has never changed the way he operates by spreading lies using deception.

See Lucifer = Satan? and follow up

 

[rodm1974]

Short answer YES..... Scriptures say of the evil one, for you were in the garden of Eden (my paraphrase)

 

[cappylr]

God created us in his image to live on earth didn't he already know we would fail the test with the evil already existing here in the snake?

 

[tonychanyt]

God created us in his image to live on earth didn't he already know we would fail the test with the evil already existing here in the snake?

Yes, see The evolving role of satan [lowercase]