Language is tricky. Your using a whole nuther set of terms here.
Let's start with the unconditional mind if you please. Is this more than a mind that is not bound by the here and now? I've heard Kaku expound on this in connection with quantum physics.
Language is tricky.
My understanding of the word used for heaven in 1:1 is a plural used as a singular much like we say a bunch of grapes; one bunch but many grapes. This leads me to think that heaven has the same dualistic qualities of of the creation.
An informative post. For some reason the way I see scripture, it's meaning seems unhindered by anyone else's opinions on the matter but more an understanding of the English language.
That said the singular usage of the Hebrew word for heaven seems to imply duality in heaven in verse 1:1 which...
In reality I'm looking at the Biblical account with a view that the Biblical world and the natural world coincided at " the beginning " and trying to understand if the beginning included a preexisting natural world.
So far, I see no conflict between the Biblical account and Taoism. I'm therefore trying to deepen my understanding of Genesis as the narrow minded Biblist I claim to be.
A long and thoughtful reply. Thank you for the time and effort.
And I think I'm one of those boys. I really am trying to keep this simple. As a foil for my look at the beginning is the Taoist cosmology. Simply put it says out of the great emptiness arose the supreme ultimate which gave rise to...
Also, according to the text, the firmament of heaven (the second heaven) contained the celestial bodies. That's not emptiness.
So is the the firmament of heaven a product of the dichotomy.
Finally, are heaven and earth part of the dichotomy that was first mentioned as being created?
I agree that God created dichotomies. Yet one of the first dichotomies created was heaven and earth and yet it was earth that was formless and void not heaven.