Elohim as Ground: A Comparative Theological Reconstruction Integrating Dao, Emptiness, and Christology

This paper proposes a revised theological ontology in which Elohim is interpreted not as a personal tribal deity but as the universal Ground of Being—an impersonal, non-interventionist ontological source compatible with contemporary cosmology and comparative metaphysics. Within this tripartite framework, Yahweh is understood as a culturally mediated manifestation of the Ground within Israel’s covenantal imagination, while Jesus Christ is presented as the sole historical and personal self-disclosure of the Ground in human form. Drawing on philological analysis, ancient Near Eastern contexts, Daoist and Buddhist metaphysics, and classical Christology, the paper distinguishes three levels: (1) Elohim as Ground; (2) Yahweh as narrative mediation; (3) Christ as ontological bridge. This model seeks to resolve long-standing tensions in classical theism—such as divine agency, immutability, the problem of evil, and religious pluralism—while preserving the uniqueness of Christ and enabling genuine dialogue with global philosophical traditions.