A quick comment, then I’ve got to be gone till next Monday (you guys can keep in touch with Marge for me...).
The question seems to me to be one of penetrating the language. Monism is damnably hard to talk about, especially when you’re not necessarily talking in terms of an “it.” And all but a primitive (super, human-like person on the other side of the sky...) monotheism faces language problems too—hypostases, ousia, god-head...
I always thought it was interesting that the Hebrew name for God, YHVH is completely verbal—that is, it’s a verb construct, and one not seemingly in accord with Hebrew grammar: e.g., we say it is a third-person personal form, because, well, it ought to be and seems to be used that way, but... And the Shema can be read at least as equally well as a monistic statement as a monotheistic one. Perhaps both strains were quite ancient in Jewish history and mythology. (Also, BdN, remember your Hebrew henotheism thread...) So it also might be a mistake to read such texts assuming there is only one viewpoint there.
LH, months and months ago, critiqued my usage of “ground of being.” And I have been avoiding the term since. In a sense, I am thinking there are three options:
(1) Talk about ___________ that uses only verbs.
(2) Concede that monistic talk must be in “trinitarian” terms: ground-power-form, bearer-birthing-born—with specification that any singular term is simply being used as a “wrap-up” for the whole complex.
Interestingly, one of the Orthodox objections to the filioque was that it removed the Father (ab) as the ground (and “god-head” ), and forced talk about another god-head concept...
(3) Talk only as you must, and always in riddles... That won’t satisfy anyone who is used to getting all their knowledge classroom style—lecture, notes, memorize, analyze, feedback—but it might shove a few people down the path...
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Okay, none of that was on point—the question just triggered my thinking.
The Sufis are predominantly monist, and do read the Qur’an as being as “obviously” monistic (when read "rightly," and not just a surface reading) as conventional Muslims read it as being “obviously” monotheistic.
“Look to the east, look to the west. Whosesoever you look, there is the face of Allah.” (That’s from memory, and I forget which Surah.
See ya next week...