If God can do all things? Why can He not make a stone which He can not carry?

Answer 1

What a deliciously unanswerable question. Often repeated, never really defeated.

The only way to argue against this question is to state that it is not with God's character, or that he "doesn't want to", or omnipotence isn't actually the same old 'all powerful' omnipotence we used to have, or that God can limit or change his own ability, or it's an illogical question.

Whichever option you take, you end up discounting God's omnipotence or limiting him to the universe he supposedly created. Which is, of course, the entire point of the question.

So, we keep asking the question, and they keep worming around it. The circle of life continues.

Answer 2

I wonder how many more times some clever person, new to the Internet, will read this on some website and feel as though they must copy and paste this profound insight for the Yahoo Answers participants, because they've probably never ever had anyone ask that before?

Nevertheless, about five hundred versions of this question ago I came up with what I thought was a good answer. Since Christians believe that Jesus is fully divine and fully man, this is not the paradox some might believe it to be. For surely God the Father can create a rock/burrito/hamster too big/hot/hairy for the human nature of Jesus to lift/eat/shoot out of a cannon.

But more seriously, if anyone wants a real study on why this insistence on God's ability to perform nonsense transcendence has nothing to do with Christianity, read the Pope's address to the University of Regensburg, where the Pope dismisses this view of absolute transcendence where God must be able to fly in the face of reason.

Answer 3

He can... and he can carry it.

Its not paradoxical though. Christians would give you the same answer initially... but then claim its because he is all powerful and can perform paradoxical actions.

The fact of the matter though is that if he was all that powerful, he could make a rock he couldn't move... and then make himself able to move it. That is to say that the rock initially couldn't be moved by the initial god... but then he could change himself to suit the task....

Then if you're asking whether god could move an immovable rock..... THAT... he could not do... because the rock would be immovable. One of the aspects of omnipotence one must understand is that being all powerful means one can do anything that can be done... and have all powers that exist. It does not include having powers that themselves cannot exist due to being intrinsically self-denying...

Therefore god cannot move an immoveable rock because that rock cannot be moved... full stop... end of story. He could move the rest of existence around the rock, causing a relative transition... but objectively speaking that rock would not have been moved.


Of course all this is theoretical, one must remember.... since there is no thing in actuality as omnipotence...

Answer 4

God according to Titus 1:3 can not lie.

God is able to do everything that is in harmony with his purpose.

This act would serve no purpose. Im sure he has enough to do without making a stone he can not carry.

Answer 5

The topic of omnipotence (the ability of God to do anything, i.e., God is all-powerful) is frequently cited by atheists as proof that the God of the Bible cannot exist. The claim has been made that if there is anything that God cannot do, then God cannot be omnipotent and, therefore, does not exist.

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 6

Hi there, good question and one I used to ponder about myself many years ago.
the short answer is this, God would not do that which is senseless to Himself.
If you think about it this way it may help, God is all knowing, with wisdom and knowledge that we could not begin to imagine,now to picture God would not be God if He needed to test Himself in this way, I mean can you really picture God scratching his head saying to Himself, now I wonder if do something that I can`t undo.

Answer 7

Well, that's religion finished. Brilliant logic, I guess everyone better pack up their churches and go home.
Boy are our faces red, arguing amongst ourselves when all the while you were sitting on this little gem of reasoning. How did you come up with it? It's such a clever, original thought. And so simple, too. That's its real strength, I think, its simplicity. After reading your question, I don't see how anyone could possibly continue believing in this God character.

Answer 8

Why in the hell would he want to? You are going to have to work harder to come up with either logical questions or silly questions that amuse. This fails on both counts.

Answer 9

First of all - He doesn't have to make a stone like that. Secondly, you seem to anthropomorphize God. He isn't human like we are with arms and legs.

God can do ANYTHING.

Answer 10

With God, all things are possible.