(V):

> Why is there good and evil, why do we perceive those items as such, what causes them... I don't see it in context of some outside demon or DeViL...

I prefer the Zoroastrian version of good and evil. Zoroastrianism is the oldest monotheistic religion and it predates the Abrahamic religions by at least 1000 years. It is still practiced among Persians (Farsi) in India and to some extent Iran.

According to Zoroastrianism, at the moment of creation Ormazd (Ahura Mazda) was manifested as the twins Spenta Mainyu (bounteous mind or spirit) and Angra Mainyu (destructive mind or spirit). It was in the form of Spenta Mainyu that Ahura Mazda conceived creation and life. Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) becomes its antithesis, and hence the originator of death, destruction and evil.

Zoroastrians exist in that duality of good and evil arising as manifestations of a single deity. Yet, according to their religion Ahura Mazda chanted the Ahuna Vairya, a sacred chant that puts Ahriman in a stupor. Zoroastrians recite this chant as the most sacred hymn of their religion.

The point is, Zoroastrianism sees good and evil as arising from the creator itself, with the personification of good (Ormazd) defeating the personification of evil (Ahriman) . Creation on Zoroastrianism is not limited in time (as in 7 days), but a process that has taken aeons. Time is divided into three eras: creation (where good and evil arose), mixture (our present era where good and evil coexist) and separation (Fashokereti).

Ultimately Ormazd is superior to Ahriman and Ahriman will be defeated in the Fashokereti, the time of renovation of the universe when good and evil will be separated and living beings will become one with God.

I find the duality of Zoroastrianism much better than the Christian view because Zoroastrians see good and evil as personifications emanating from the one God, rather than somehow Lucifer suddenly becoming evil out of "free will". If God created everything, then God created evil too, and Zoroaster wisely recognized that in the duality of the twins that arise at the time of creation. Those twins fight the great war of good and evil, even though they both arise from the same God. This is more true to the conflicted nature of human existence where good and evil coexist in the same person, the same society, the same world, etc.

Well, it is obviously more involved than my simple paragraph, but you can read more in Wikipedia, and there you can find links to the Avestas (scriptures):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
http://www.avesta.org/