This has boggled many great philosophers I think, and that is why it hasn't been tackled recently for fear of failure. I have to say it has given me many a sleepless nights, so I was hoping to turn it to the Yahoo! community to see how you could possibly answer this question.
2006-11-01 15:16:58 · 28 answers · asked by hondapride67 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Maybe those philosophers should just ask why God didn't commit suicide in boring ol' heaven ^_^ Or if God can even feel bored in the first place...
1) God does things with purpose.
I believe all religions (or a-religions) can agree to that. A rock which even He cannot lift is not exactly #1 on His Christmas to-do list (or will ever be for that matter. Actually, we'll never know until we meet Him in heaven and ask Him ourselves. *If* we ever enter heaven, that is).
2) IMO, God does not 'work' in *our* logic.
Imagine God as a human. The heaviest rock is a dot on a paper he can't erase using an eraser. But he can still burn the paper, and the dot will disappear. There are an infinite number of ways he can affect the dot, even though he can't erase it. He can cover it, smear it, turn it into "I RULE, BABY!!!." Does not being able to erase the dot make Him any less powerful? The answer is no. With regards to the rock, He can still crush it, melt it, turn it into a harmless human who can only whip up questions like the above =3, and etc. He still has power over the rock even though He can't lift it. Our logic is only comparable to the eraser; His, meanwhile, encompasses all mankind is able to whip up, and more.
3) By introducing the "if" at the beginning, the question aims to suggest that God is not Almighty.
If God created an untouchable rock that He can't affect it any way, that would be equal to creating another God (as the rock is Almighty-er than God Himself), which is totally *not* what the 'concept' of God-hood is about. But then again, it all depends on what you believe, or what your religion teaches. This is what I think: God is able to create an equal, but not anything greater than Him. So my *real* answer is...
"Yes, God *can* make a rock too heavy for Himself to pick up, but He is still All Powerful and Almighty, regardless."
Who said there *was* a God in the first place? I think mankind would better benefit by pooling its resources to answer this most important question in history:
Which is slower: snails, sloths, or... some other animal? LOL =) Long live God! God RULES!!!
2006-11-01 15:39:24 · answer #1 · answered by espers_cypher 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rock, you say? Rock? . Rock has no mind. No life. It is inert.You are challenging the God about a heavy rock, even after seeing the mighty Himalayas mountain , the Andees and the Alps?
I would say the creator made something that is challenging him more than an inert rock.. Man. The creator, in his infinite wisdom , made man , reflecting his own power and intelligence. Can you imagine such an intelligent, all powerful entity feeling bored and not able to have any challenge at alll.
Did you notice that the creator stopped , long ago, making behemoth creatures like the Dinasour, the Dragons and the rest and he is , now , concentrating on very minute things .. the HIV virus, the bacterias and many others that need to be found out? That is his style.
He created man and rightly he is enjoying the thrill of the man`s challange. Humans have started cloning now. They have broken the secret code of the DNAs. They have reached for the skies.
Gos is happy man is catching up qwith him. very happy. Or else with one swipe he would have destroyed the whole lot.
May be , just may be, the creator overlooked one thing. He forgot to keep the human mind on leash. It is running away from Him.
2006-11-01 15:44:05 · answer #2 · answered by YD 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He has made something still heavier...!
A mind that can cook up such a question, and remain crushed beneath its own weight.
Just step out of the mind and look at it , and the answer will be beside you, just within...
Logical mind has input from sensory level perceptions.
The very definition of "heavy" is relative and limited, with the size of the planet earth. So also the rock, which perhaps can be replaced with a very huge planet, milky way or even universe. The God contains everything within him, so is already lifting it, and can create anything within self, and contain it, not merely lift it. Now to answer if he can create something so big, that He cannot contain, ..... EVEN in logic, there are exceptions where the ' converse ' is not relevant... so what about something that is beyond logic, the logic of just the very very limited sensory organs fed mind !
Wish you a sound sleep.
2006-11-01 15:28:30 · answer #3 · answered by Spiritualseeker 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Isn't this a question from the minds of people in the dark ages?
My philosophy teacher said that this question is such a freshmen level question. The answer is no. Being all power doesn't mean that god can just do anything. God is bound by logic, like everything else, and a perfect being would have to be perfectly logical, therefore, would not be able to do things that are illogical. This question violates the law of non-contradiction, one of the more fundamental aspect of logic. God can't do something, yet not do it at the same time, that is impossible and illogical.
2006-11-01 15:32:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
God is infinite. As such, he can make a rock infinitely heavy past where his infinite strength can pick it up. But, since he is infinite, all he has to do is add the difference between the two infinities to his previous infinity and he would be able to pick it up again. So, it's not that he can't make the rock heavy enough or that he can't pick it up, it's that since he is all-powerful he can keep adding infinities. But remember, the point of God is not so we can try to figure out if he can lift rocks. And why would he spend his valuable time doing something so dumb?
2006-11-01 15:36:35 · answer #5 · answered by Smiley 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God cannot create something more powerful than god. You're really asking can god create something better than god. No he cannot because he can't make another god. There is 1 most powerful being in the universe and that is god. If he can make something stronger than he isn't god the stronger thing is. God is the strongest, he is at the top which none can be greater. He cannot make a rock he can't lift
2006-11-01 16:03:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ha!Ha! Very good. Not original, but good. It's been asked a long time ago.
The answer is no. An all powerful being does not have the power to create something he can not move. It is just a harmless consequence of: "There is no rock so big God can not move".
So no matter how big a rock an all-powerful being could create, he could still move it.
2006-11-01 15:25:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
For a power to be deemed "all powerful," I think it would necessarily have to be an evolving force, something that could stay on top regardless of the flux of the universe. Therefore, God could potentially create something too large to move, then a second later, his power could evolve to eclipse this new object. So to answer your question: Yes, he could, and then he would immediately proceed to pick it up anyway!
2006-11-01 15:29:30 · answer #8 · answered by beuford_010 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If that's what you want, maybe God will just turn you into that rock..
if that's what you want, God will create one that he cannot pick up just to prove it to you... but if he can't do it, do you think you can..???
and does that make him any weaker?? NO!! He will not be able to pick that up.... but doesn't mean he cannot disintegrates the rock, or turn it into water, or destroy it...if he can create, he can destroy too.. so he's still more powerful than that big rock he can't carry...
anyway, if he's able to prove to you that he can't carried the rock, you will not believe him either, so why will he do it??? and if you are to believe it.. you will never ask that question again... why create such contradiction to yourself....???
2006-11-01 15:42:31 · answer #9 · answered by cheesecake 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hahahaha that is a REALLY ironic question. hmmmm...i think maybe the question cancels out itself....since if gods soo powerful...he can lift ANYTHING...but if he makes a rock too heavy that even he cant pick it up...then he isnt all powerful. OR hes all powerful...until he creates something he cant concour...then god just owned himself. kinda like how the romans were ALL POWERFUL...and in the end they got owned since they couldnt handle so much of thier own power.
2006-11-01 15:23:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋