The Snake, otherwise known as the Khear Beast

But one there was that had not been shaped by Her, and that was not Her daughter, nor a creature of spirit. But it was the space between the fragments and the nothingness that had been before things were. It had not energy nor delight, but only weight. It had not shape, but could only coil and uncoil itself about the things that were. It was the Snake, and it was not silver, but black.

So goes Creation:2:1 and introduces the Snake in Madrian myth, being introduced after God Herself created the manifest world.

Myths teach us in a form of poetry; great concepts about the world, our place in it, and how we are to arrange ourselves in this little world we inhabit. It can grapple with small concepts, or powerful ones, or mysterious ones; sometimes, all three and more. Humans have been telling myths for millennia, and I would agree with Joseph Campbell when he said that "Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is." Not to say learning history is unimportant; just, in a matter of spiritual nourishment, myths fill a very large portion.

Within Madrianism, this is definitely the case; this is why we have our Scriptures, our Mythos and Teachings. It helps us to understand our reality and our place in it.

Naturally, a question I often come up with is how Madrians (and Filianists) view Evil, and what exactly is the Snake? Why would these things exist in a world created by a good and beneficent God?

I can't pretend to understand deity, and I want to say I don't think any can, as we are limited humans (we don't even understand what consciousness is). But, we can look at the Myth and see what is trying to be conveyed. Let's start with the Snake.

As a precaution, I do want to state that this is my personal interpretation; there is not an authority in Madrianism, and there are various viewpoints. But, over the years, I've developed my own thoughts on why reality and the universe are the way they are, and I find much depth within myths.

To me, the Snake represents entropy, not malevolence or evil. It's an entity that seems to hedge on disordering a system, to sew discontent, and drive beings towards chaos. It is the opposite of harmony. It is a product of manifestation; if we did not progress and grow through time, there would be no change; if there is no change, there is no growth, but also no pain or disorder. This is the unfortunate case of being alive in the material realm; in order to grow and live as living beings, we are subject to growth and decay, to order and disorder, joy and pain. The reality of being alive is a paradox; the reason being is the Snake, reality's "tax", as it were, exists on this plane. We make a choice, and we either step closer to harmony or we step towards the Snake; we work hard to remain disciplined, or we beget more disorder and chaos. I can recommend this article on entropy, if one is not well versed. Honestly, I'd recommend to anyone, as it has great examples of the effects entropy has.

As to the matter of Evil....that is a much more difficult topic. While clearly to me, entropy/the Snake exist, it's a harder argument for Evil. Certainly, evil exists; we witness it in many forms every single day. Injustices abound, war, famine, and plague exist. I cannot, in good faith, profusely state what the nature of Evil is or why it would exist; that is well beyond me. Instead, humbly, I will share how I view it.

It is imperative that we oppose and do what we can to combat the evils of the world; by what limited means we have. We aren't required to subdue all of it, just to do what we can. To me, it's a combination of the effects of entropy/the Snake, the choices that we make, and honestly, the privation of good. We clearly could choose much better for the world and ourselves, but once systems/governments/ideologies become beyond what a small group has control over, it becomes much more potentially insidious and difficult to course correct once certain steps have been taken. We get war, colonialism, and environmental destruction in this manner. It may take just one person sometimes, or a small handful, but also large entities enacting decisions far beyond one person. 

At the end of the day, I don't want to dwell much on evil other than what I can do to combat it; what can I accomplish to step closer to God, help my community, and help others, and the environment? I don't wish to give Evil much thought, aside from what my actions can do to spurn it. 

For, in the Mythos, after God Herself stopped the Snake when the flood was brought on (see Mythos 5-15), She sent forth the Geniae, the great pillars of virtue:

And She set Her seven powers in the firmament, giving one to rule each color of the earth.

This part of the Myth gives us the start of Hope, that there are virtues we can look to and cultivate in order to keep the Snake at bay and stave off entropy and evil. It matters individually and collectively how we choose to wield our choices.