What is evil?

What is evil? Well, some of the dictionary definitions of evil are “Morally bad or wrong”, “Causing ruin, injury, or pain” and “Characterized by or indicating future misfortune”, to name a few. So as I pondered the question before me, I became more and more confused as to what my real thoughts were on this particular subject.
I started with, in my opinion, the most obvious and seemingly logical approach to the subject… Is there a “god” that is good and is there a “devil” that is bad? Well, as much as I would like to believe that there is a heaven and hell, I can’t say with 100% certainty that there is. If I were to truly believe the “heaven/hell” theory, the question of “What is evil” would be too easy to answer and explain. God would have a hand in all the good things, while the Devil would have a hand in the bad, pretty straightforward. But I guess that would be too easy and it sure wouldn’t make this essay very interesting. The only w...