God

Can God Create a Rock So Heavy He Can Not Move it?

While it is true God can do anything that is consistent with His nature, it is absurd to suggest that He can do EVERYTHING……

He can not Lie, (Heb. 6:18)

He can not be tempted (James 1:13)

He can not cease to exist (Ps. 102:25-27)

At best, this question challenges God’s Omnipotence….at worst it undermines His existence.

The Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines "omnipotence" as "an agency of force of unlimited power."

So-called skeptics have played all kinds of games over this issue. One common challenge against the existence of God is an argument like the following:

"Christians say that God is omnipotent. So answer me this: can God create a rock so heavy that even He can't lift it? If He can, then He is not omnipotent because He can't lift it. If He can't, then He isn't omnipotent because He is unable to create such a rock. Either way we have a paradox, therefore an omnipotent being (God) cannot exist!"

Look like a good argument?

It isn't.

The resolution to this false dilemma rests with the true nature of omnipotence.

Most people, if asked, would probably describe omnipotence something like the following: "it's the ability to do anything."

That is the kind of definition that is assumed in the argument given above. However, it is not the precisely correct definition of omnipotence.

What is the precise definition? "The ability to do anything that is possible."

In other words, God can't do anything that is impossible. Before anyone jumps down my throat for teaching a limited, less-than-Almighty God, allow me to offer a few examples:

1. God cannot lie. (see above)

2. God cannot do evil

3. God cannot be mistaken

4. God cannot score twenty runs by hitting a Grand Slam.

5. God cannot create a make a perfect sphere with sharp corners.

6.. God cannot make a square with sides of different lengths.

"Make a square with sides of different lengths." Squares do have sides, but it is inherent in the definition of a square that they always have sides of equal length. An object with sides of different length is not a square. The statement is meaningless gibberish when closely analyzed, even though the general grammar structure is fine.

So what of the Rock so heavy that God cannot move it? Hopefully now you can see the answer for yourself. Finite mass is a property of all physical objects. Rocks are physical objects. Therefore, any rock will have a mass, but it will be a finite mass. There is simply no such thing as an item with the property of infinite mass. God can indeed pick up any object that