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This is a well-known logical puzzle that has a (not well-known) logical solution. * Typically it is worded more fully: "If God is omnipotent, then can he create/make a stone so heavy that he can't lift it?" * The question is intended as an unsolvable conundrum. The asker's thoughts generally run like this: "If God is omnipotent then he can do anything. If he can do anything then he can create a rock too heavy for him to lift. But if it's too heavy for him to lift then lifting the rock is something that he cannot do. And if he can't create such a rock then that's something that he cannot do. Either way: it proves that God is not omnipotent." * The flaw in the conundrum is the real meaning of the word "omnipotent". The word simply does not mean "can do anything". Rather, it means "has authority and/or power over everything" (with a couple of additional connotations that are not logically relevant here). Logically: if a being creates a rock too heavy for itself to life, the inability to lift the rock proves that the being less than omnipotent. On the other hand: being unable to create such a rock does NOT prove that a being is less than omnipotent. * We can imagine a word that means "can do anything" - and that word would be something like "omnicapable". In any case: it is not "omnipotent". * SO: the logical solution to the supposed conundrum relies on realizing the actual meaning of the word "omnipotent", and on (therefore) realizing that being omnipotent does not mean being able to create such a rock.
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Jenny's Gone On VacationThanks for sharing! These type of questions are popular to ask. I'm always curious to see how people will respond. What is impossible to man or (may seem impossible) is possible to a Creator who has no limits. Consider Job 42:2 "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Or the angel's words in Luke 1:37 "For nothing will be impossible with God." And the Bible continues to show God's limitless power. The song of Heaven in Revelation 19:6 "Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." I would have used the word "rock" in the question, but "stones" are symbolic. They were commonly used for buildings and also as memorials of important events.
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