“Can God create a rock so big that he, himself, cannot lift it?”

This is a question posed by countless number of people to discuss the existence or possibility of God. If God is omnipotent then He can do “anything” and therefore should be able to create such a rock, but then by doing this He then limits his own ability and therefore can not do anything. Or so the supposed logic goes.

But is this question really a valid question and does it prove anything about the omnipotence of God? I think not. I’m not entirely sure, but I have two possible reasons. 1) The question and implications are essentially nonsense or 2) the question presumes that God is bound by the “Laws of Logic” and He is not, therefore he can make such a rock and not be limited.

Option 1) The question presumes God’s omnipotence and then asks if God can do something that then limits his own power. If He can create such a rock, then He can’t lift it therefore making Him no longer omnipotent. If He can not create such a rock, well then obviously He is not omnipotent. But this question and its presumptions …are actually self-contradictory and meaningless. Just because a thought or idea can be formed doesn’t mean it’s a reasonable idea. This question is absurd because it is simply impossible – not because there isn’t enough power to do such a thing, but rather because the question and presumptions contradict each other and conclude being just a mere string of words that have no active meaning to them. Let me explain…

If you could do anything, could you create a round square? No! Why? Because by the time I reach the word “round” the Natural Law comes in that demands that there be no straight sides, but then I say “square” which demands that there be straight sides and we finish with a negative and a positive. Think back to elementary math class and you’ll realize that a negative and a positive cancel each other out leaving you with nothing. Same goes with the question about the rock.

Option 2) The question tries to show that omnipotence is illogical and therefore impossible; that it does very well. Yes, it does a nice job trying to show that it is illogical. It presumes that omnipotence is bound within the Laws of Thought (aka – laws of logic). If I can do anything, then that means I can fly if I wanted to, and yet this goes against the Law of Gravity. But I can break that law, because I can do anything! Therefore, if I can break the Law of Gravity, then I can also break the Laws of Logic. If I can break the Laws of Logic, then indeed I can make a rock so big that I cannot lift it and yet still not have my power limited. This second option is very complex because our thought process (and life) is bound by the idea of staying within the boundaries set by Natural Laws. But again, if I can do anything, then I can break any Natural Laws I want. Same goes with God and His omnipotence.

Personally, I think the first option is most easily understandable, but then again the second option seems very possible because we’re dealing with unlimited power (including the power to break natural law). In the end, I think both options answer the age old question that has baffled minds all over for years.

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