Do You Believe Your God To Be Omnipotent?

Quizproquo | 23:32 Wed 21st Sep 2016 | Religion & Spirituality

96 Answers

I was looking at paradoxes today and one came up about god. I assume it applies to the Abrahamic god but I'm sure it applies to many others.
In the bible god is omnipotent. He has total power and control over everything and his power knows no bounds, so here is the paradox:

Can god make a stone so huge and great that even he is unable to lift it?

If he can make such a stone, he cannot lift it and is therefore limited in his power, so is not omnipotent.
If he can lift the stone, then he cannot make one too heavy for himself to lift and is therefore not omnipotent

This is a seemingly reasonable analogy/metaphor so if you believe god to be all powerful, how do you square this?

Volnurable Adult

Epicurus

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andy-hughes

Khandro - //I think if you want God to be omnipotent, he will be so for you, perhaps it's all in the mind. //

As far as any belief system goes, there is no 'perhaps' about it.

jim360

No, not really, ZM -- the paradox as stated has been around for maybe as many as 1500 years.

Zacs-Master

I'm not, thank God (irony klaxon!) au fait with the bible. Is there an instance where God is unable to move a big stone?

naomi24

Jim, it is not all about language. The evidence is there - and it doesn't take a seasoned detective to spot it.

jim360

Can you do me a favour and actually provide the evidence? I had already linked to one passage that I think you were referring to because you have in the past, but I assume that you had more than just that verse to go on.

But anyway, it *is* about language, because there is a difference between the two claims: 1) the God of the Bible is not omnipotent; 2) an omnipotent God cannot exist owing to this paradox. The two are separate issues.

Old_Geezer

It's simple. God arranges it, because it can, such that it can not lift the rock on the Monday but by Tuesday it can easily again. Paradox solved.

Zacs-Master

Anybody?
Didn't he roll aside a big stone in Gethsemane?

agchristie

The bible is full of more boulder claims....

naomi24

Jim, //Can you do me a favour and actually provide the evidence?//

Certainly. I’ll just give a couple of examples. According to the bible, Adam and Eve hid from God – and God couldn’t find them ….. then there’s Noah’s Ark, when God regretted creating man. It is not about language. It's quite clear.

TWR

As God it the creator of the Earth, moving a rock will not be a problem.

Quizproquo

Question Author

It's not a wind up post, it's a genuine question.
So the Abrahamic god is not omnipotent and I can hide from him/her.
Sounds like a plan to me.
I don't believe a god exists and I certainly don't believe he/she created the Earth, but your answers are interesting, thank you.

Zacs-Master

Oh, I see it's an old debate.
http://www.gotquestions.org/God-rock-heavy-lift.html

Zacs-Master

Seems like one of the most idiotic discussions ever created. But then idiotic and religion are common bedfellows.