Anyone have a good answer to this paradox?

Question

Assume the Christian God. God is all powerful. Therefore God should be able to make a rock that even he cannot lift. However, if he cannot lift it, he is not omnipotent. Also, if he cannot make such a rock he is not omnipotent. Any good solutions for this one?

Just to note, yes I am an atheist, but it was my religious friend who brought this one up to me today.

Also, I'm just looking at this from a logic problem standpoint, not necessarily religious. No preaching please.

Answer 1

I am glad to see someone is resurrecting the omnipotence paradox. I have suggested a site below that will keep me from explaining it, no doubt not as well as the site.
However, one might as well add "how many angels fit on the head of a pin?" while we are at it. While these things are lots of fun from a logical standpoint, especially to help us understand the vagaries of language, they do us very little good in understanding the nature of God.
As much as we require knowledge and wisdom to lead us towards Him, we cannot understand Him without our expression of love first. As Mark 12:33 says, " And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
How to accomplish this is a more worthwhile endeavor, in my opinion.

Answer 2

This is the 'omnopotence paradox'.

1. The being can either create a stone which it cannot lift, or it cannot create a stone which it cannot lift.

2. If the being can create a stone that it cannot lift, then it is not omnipotent.

3. If the being cannot create a stone which it cannot lift, then it is not omnipotent.

There are several ways out of this philosophicsl quandry... most of which involve re-defining (or limiting the definition of) omnipotence. One way is to say not that "an omnipotent being can do anything", but rather to say that "an omnipotent being can do anything that is logically possible."

Rene Descartes said that omnipotence operates outside the bounds of logic... for example, could create a 3-sided square. That sounds pretty absurd to me.

Personally, I think that omnipotence is just plain impossible, by ANY definition.

Answer 3

How about this: God can create a rock that exists in a quantum state so that he both can and cannot lift it.

Or the other answers is that you are creating a scenario that attempts to contradict definitions that you have set yourself. It's like asking if God can create a rock that does not exist. The problem is that creation necessitates existence. This does not mean that god is not omnipotent it just means that you are using two conflicting words.

It's like asking what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. This question makes no sense because an unstoppable force precludes the possibility of an immovable object and vice versa.

Answer 4

Is the God of the Bible omnipotent?
The word "omnipotent" is never used in the Bible, but has been inferred primarily by one of God's Hebrew titles, "Shadday," which is most often translated "almighty."1 However, the Bible never claims that God can do all things. In fact, the Bible makes a point that there are things that God cannot do. The Bible says that God cannot commit sin.2 God cannot lie.3 Therefore, biblical omnipotence does not mean that God can do all things. God cannot do anything that is contrary to His holy character. However, God can do anything that He determines to do. This is a true meaning of omnipotence - the ability to do anything that one sets out to do.

Specific arguments against omnipotenceSome of the arguments against omnipotence are plain silly and stupid. Can God create a spherical triangle? Saying that omnipotence requires the ability to do logically impossible things is stupid. God cannot turn truth into a lie. If humans define a triangle as a two dimensional object formed by the intersection of three lines, it makes no sense to ask if God could make one that was spherical. When one says that God is all-powerful, one means that God is able to accomplish all that He desires to do. Even an all-powerful being cannot do what is impossible by definition. God can do many things that are humanly impossible. However, there are some things that even an all-powerful being cannot do.

Can God create a rock He cannot lift? Since an all-powerful being will always be able to accomplish whatever He sets out to do, it is impossible for an all-powerful being to fail. The above atheistic argument is arguing that since God is all-powerful He can do anything - even fail. This is like saying that since God is all-powerful He can be not all-powerful. Obviously, this is absurd. An all-powerful being cannot fail. Therefore, God can create a rock of tremendous size, but, since He is all-powerful, He will always be able to lift it. The ability to fail is not a part of omnipotence.

Could God think of a time when He was not omnipotent? If He can't think of it, He isn't omnipotent, but if He does think of it then there was a time when He wasn't omnipotent? This question is quite similar to the rock question above. The answer, of course, is that God can never think of a time when He wasn't omnipotent. God has always been omnipotent. His inability to contradict His divine character does not mean that He isn't omnipotent.

ConclusionThe atheist distorts the biblical definition of omnipotence in order to "prove" that God cannot exist. Contrary to their claims, omnipotence does not include the ability to do things that are, by definition, impossible. Neither does omnipotence include the ability to fail. By defining omnipotence as requiring one to have the ability to fail, atheists have defined omnipotence as being impossible. Of course, an omnipotent God would never fail.

These kinds of arguments are clearly illogical and even silly, although they are commonly used by inexperienced atheists. Most intelligent atheists have dropped these kinds of arguments long ago.

Answer 5

Since God is a Spirit and not in a physical plane, the whole Universe is weightless. How do you think it stays in place? A pound is only a pound to someone that is weighing it or trying to carry it with his body. Until it has this encounter it is weightless too. Nothing becomes matter until it is preceived as such through human conciousness. Even time and space cannot be discribed from the spiritual cause there is no time or space without being preceived through a body. If you were to stand outside of your body, then how big would anything be? How big are you and how much do you weigh without your vehicle (body).

Answer 6

There is no rock he cannot lift. If he created a rock he cannot lift he would be able to lift it.

It's something our minds can't deal with, just like infinite.

God is, as Christians believe, infinite in the same way. Logic doesn't hold him back. He can do anything at all.

Answer 7

HA! Methinks you be a fundy atheist!!
You may be a fundy atheist if....
1) You think that the primary aim of an omnibenevolent God is for people to have FUN.
2) You believe that extra drippy ice-cream is a logical proof against the existence of God, because an omniscient God would know how to stop the ice-cream from being extra drippy, an omnipotent God would have the ability to stop the ice-cream from being extra drippy, and by golly, an omnibenevolent God wouldn't want your ice-cream to be extra drippy.
3) You think questions like, "Can God create a rock so big that He cannot lift it?" and, "Can God will Himself out of existence?" are perfect examples of how to disprove God's omnipotence and ultimately how to disprove God. When someone proves to you the false logic behind the questions (i.e. pitting God's omnipotence against itself), you desperately try to defend the questions, but then give up and go to a different Christian site to ask them.
4) You're a spoiled fifteen year old boy who lives in the suburbs and you go into a chat room to declare that, "I know there is no God because no loving God would allow anyone to suffer as much as I...hold on. My cell phone's ringing."
5) You consistently deny the existence of God because you personally have never seen him but you reject out of hand personal testimony from theists who claim to have experienced God as a reality in their lives.
6) You can make the existence of pink unicorns the center-piece of a philosophical critique.

Answer 8

Gee, what an original question!

Y'know, they have a search engine in this forum to see if a question has ever been asked before. Run this one through it and see if you can read all the different answers.

Sorry for the sarcastic edge. I just got done typing an answer to the last person who posted this question.

The rock God cannot move - your heart, unless you willing yield it to him.

The burrito He cannot eat -

That's a matter of wisdom. God's got better sense.

chuckle, smile, glad we could share a moment together.

Answer 9

your question may sound like it makes sense. The problem is the rock. The rock is an impossibility. It's kind of like asking if god can make a square circle. God is still bound by logic.

Answer 10

That's sort of a flawed argument. You're basically saying, "If God isn't omnipotent...how can he be omnipotent?"

God can create a rock of any size. And he could lift it.