What is the earliest reference to evil, what was it's name and how and where was it born?

Question

Satan is not the earliest reference, do your homework, nor is lucipher.

DT, you're either deeply religious or in denial about the existence of evil or both.

Surely there's something older than the snake in the garden. Did evil come from nature or is it an invention by man. What i mean is, Does premeditated killing (hunting) out of necessity count as being evil? When was the line drawn and where? Do simpler forms of life have the intelligence to distinguish good from bad. When was this distinction realised? Did it begin with the gods of the earliest signs of domestic life? If so....?

Answer 1

This would be impossible to know because 'evil' has many interpretations based on personal experience. Otherwise, Plato was the first to consider 'evil' a philosophical arguement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil

Answer 2

Actually the homework says that Lucifer fell from heaven before sin was in the Garden of Eden. Evil was first found in him and he brought it to earth when he was thrown out of heaven. Technically the earliest reference is found in Genesis chapter 2-3. But Isaiah and Ezekiel record something that happened long before that.

Answer 3

References of evil have been around since the beginning of time, every known religion has an 'evil' deity... long before Satan or Lucifer were invented.

Answer 4

The earliest reference is when god lied by telling Eve & Adam that they will die on the day they eat the fruit.

Next evil was when god punished Eve & Adam for eating the fruit since you have to eat the fruit first to know good & evil.

And the next evil was when god ripped the skin off a living sheep to make garments for Eve & Adam.

Answer 5

since it's about memory and faith, history doesn't seem to matter here

we have vedic stories on stone that predate it all from India

but thier version of evil is not about a birth but rather the fall from eternity into a series of rebirths until we escape it and enter into eternity again

large volumes of writings points to a long time that needs to be escaped from

short amounts of modern faith begs for short time expanded into a heaven and long time

polar opposites

evil is referenced rather as a poor choice a decision to help or hurt by a person to self or others

Answer 6

Good/bad, God-like/evil - they are the stuff of social construct and agreed upon mores. You simply cannot compare the agreed upon value system of today with what transpired thousands and thousands of years ago.

By today's standards, Chronos eating his children would be considered evil. By today's standards, burning people at the stake would be considered evil. By today's standards, denying a black person access to a hospital emergency due to skin color would be considered evil. Get my point?

Answer 7

I don't know, but I've come up with this working definition of Evil.

"Evil is the attempt to emotionally rip a known value that is held emotionally by one that had no control in accepting said value in the first place. By demonizing that person's value, thus winning absolute control of said person, for ones own personal agenda."

Answer 8

a;though i agree wit some answers about god's lie to adam and eve, i am deeply religious n very involved with the church and have always been taught since i woz very young that the snake in the garden of eden was first evel

Answer 9

Would it be the serpent that was sent to tempt Adam & Eve? Or was that the start of evil when Adam & Eve went against what God had said

Answer 10

you are evil and sad, get a life i feel sorry for you hope you get therapy it must be hard being so lonely and its all your fault well guess you don't go to party's u got no friends you will be the only person at your funeral, so think about why you are behaving this way and stop trying to offend people, they just dismiss you, try smiling while you still have teeth