Some puzzles concerning God's omnipotence: Mavrodes
Have you heard some one ask the theological/philosophical question about the super heavy stone arguing against God being all powerful? It goes something like this: Can God create a stone too heavy for him to lift?
if you answer yes: then you can conclude that there is such a stone that God cannot lift. Therefore God is not omnipotent.
if you answer no: then you say that God can't create such a stone which means he's not onmipotent in the first place.
Mavrode's Solution: The 'power to sin' is not really a power at all. Even as God cannot sin because he is omnipotent, so he cannot make a stone because he is omnipotent. I believe in class it was illustrated like this: If this statment were true "i couldn't lose in a battle" this statment would be exalting my own power and attributing a lack of power of my enemies. Likewise, the "power to sin" or "power to create such a stone" is a weakness rather than a power.
Anthony Kenny: The 'power to sin' is a power, but it would be contradictory for God to have it (would contradict his holiness). Likewise, the 'power to create an unliftable stone' is a power, but it would be contradictory for God to have it (contradicts his immutability).
Richard Swinburne: 'Cannot sin' is said in reference to God's will, not in reference to God's power. God can sin (in reference to his power), but he would never choose to sin. Similarly, God can make a stone, but he would never choose to make the stone (and so deprive himself of omnipotence)
*philosophy of religion: swbts
5 comments:
I think this is more of a semantics question than anything.
but i look forward to your answer =)
i don't feel like it's valid to compare this situation to the "power to sin." it seems like a false analogy to me... i understand that they're trying to explain what God will or won't do, but i have a hard time buying a comparison between sin and rock-creation...
if the original or overall intent is to effect His will, isn't that all that matters? if His intent is to make a rock too heavy for Him to lift, He can do it; if His intent is to make nothing too heavy for Him to lift, He can do it. omnipotence is not measured by our perception of physical strength.
(i hope i got the answer right...)
take care of yourself in ft. worth, justin the seminarian.
the way i always approached this question was like this:
God desires to be praised. He creates things so that He will be glorified. Would God be glorified by 'disproving' His omnipotence?
It may be seen as avoiding the quesiton, so I will go ahead and say No, God couldn't create a rock that he couldn't move because it's against His nature and His glory!
Everything that has God's signature on it must glorify God.
I love paradoxes... The real answer is that he could create it, and yet if he chose to he could also move it. Chew on that, chewey!
And chew on this one, chewy:
This statement is false.
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