[Serious] The Good

[WinterHold]

(This conversation started in the Shoutbox, but I thought it deserved a bigger scope.)

There are different concepts of what the Good is. Some people hold that Good and Evil are both real. Others say that only Good is real and Evil is its privation. 

This may vary even within a religion. I think it would be interesting to look at and compare different ideas, especially in reference to different thinkers. For example, if Avicenna and Averroes differ. Or different views within Christianity. 

There are ancient concepts which I'm not very clear on -- for example, the idea that being is in some way identical with the good. 

I'm looking forward to different views. 

For starters, here's a link I gave in the Shoutbox to the Catholic Encyclopedia's article:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06636b.htm

A very interesting idea to discuss if not mostly crucial to one's faith; because it touches the respect one is holding for the deity they choose.

I personally side with the concept that evil and good are two separate entities; with one God created them both.
The concept is not taken from any scholar or school of thought; rather directly from Islam's source book; as I was reading it I found out a number of verses that pointed to this concept in explicit language making this thought an Islamic essential concept.

If we came to why I chose to believe in this image of God; we'll come back to respect: meaning is "how can I respect a God only capable and only knows good? if so; then he is missing and lacking something".

Otherwise I believe that as a creator of all; he created both good and evil; but chose good over evil. That's why "good" is attractive to us; not because "good" has its own unique power or evil have its own unique power.
We just see "good" as "pure" because God chose it. If God chose evil; evil would've been the attractive concept for us.

After all; we can see this in nature. Some animals live on causing misery to humans; to us it is misery; to them it is joy and life.

God made our scope prefer what is known as "good". If he wanted; he would've made us enjoy "evil" at birth; and become evil by birth.

The above is my personal theory and personal belief based on the Quran alone.