From my non-biblical and non-religious perspective, I would say human beings invented the concept of (D)evil to:

• Avoid taking responsibility for their own lives
• Try to explain the occurrence of negative life experiences that they did not have the knowledge and understanding to explain otherwise
• Try to provide a common metaphor for the duality that exists throughout the Universe
• To control each other's behavior

I'm sure there are other reasons but I think the last one is probably the major reason that this myth perpetuates.

It might be time for me to put on my flame-proof suit now :)

From a higher (God-like) perspective, there is no distinction between good and evil, and there is no time. Everything just is, perfect and eternal, and it is all connected together as one.

The Genesis allegory is an excellent metaphor for our "fall from grace," as it describes our incarnation into the physical world, where we began to experience the passage of time, and to identify differences between seemingly separate things, and to place value judgements on them. In other words, to distinguish between good and evil.

The serpent tells Adam and Eve to eat from the tree, so that they will be like Gods, knowing the difference between good and evil. The big lie is that, by giving in to the temptation to be all-powerful, they made a value judgement; they decided that there might be something better than living in all-seeing perfect harmony within the Garden of Eden. That value judgement created a split, a division between the eternal perfection of the garden, and the desires of their own minds. In essence, they developed egos.

By doing so, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden, for the Garden is merely a metaphor for enlightenment, perfection. Paradoxically, the desire to be more powerful made them less powerful.

According to my research:

Many years before Jesus would come to save this world -- God made the decision to put Jesus' divine brother, Lucifer, in charge of the program that would establish the foundations for human society -- a society based on the personal disciplines of order, loyalty and truth.

In fact, it was in that early development role, that Lucifer eventually fell in love with himself. Men were ignorant and malleable in those days, therefore it was easy for him to discredit his Father's more rigorous plan, and convince most of mankind to pay exclusive and devoted homage to him:

"Flatter me" Lucifer said; "tell me how intelligent and beautiful I am... Then will I surely give you all the liberty that you need, to express the passions and possess the material things that you most desire as men!"

And so it has been, for about 200,000 years. From primitive man, right up until the!time of Melchizedek and Abraham -- Lucifer's doctrines of false and self-centered liberty have been so powerfully inculcated into the hearts of men that religion -- true religion -- has been all but completely forgotten!

That's why Melchizedek and Abraham -- followed by Moses and a long procession of Jewish Prophets and Kings, made it their business to promote religion... For almost 2000 years, they worked to pave the way for Jesus to reveal God to men and put an end to Lucifer's "spirit of the adversary."

Jesus thus ended Lucifer's reign -- but not man's addiction to Lucifer's program of false and self-centered liberty! That's why the great and ennobling truths of Melchizedek, Jesus and Mohammed -- the robust, inspiring and world-wise progenitors of religion's latter-day Prophets and Kings, have been so slow to bear their spiritual fruits in the modern world.

That's why so many modern men continue to habitually over-indulge their baser and self-centered human natures. That's why so many people: limited to the lifeless logic of recorded history and hopelessly confused by modern secular values, find themselves powerless to foster the robust, righteous and disciplined confidence that will enable them to find happiness in life.