Argument.
The argument can be formulated as follows:
P1. If God exists, He is omnipotent
P2. Either God can make a stone so heavy He cannot lift it, or He cannot make a stone so heavy He cannot lift it
P3. If God can make a stone so heavy He cannot lift it, then there is something He cannot do (lift it); and if God cannot make such a stone, then there is something He cannot do (create it).
C1. Therefore, God cannot be omnipotent
C2. Therefore, God cannot exist
Response.
Scripture supports the claim that God has all power, and nothing is too hard for the Lord.
The paradox of the stone only succeeds if omnipotence means the ability to do absolutely anything—including what is logically impossible. If omnipotence instead means the ability to do whatever is logically possible, the paradox loses its force.
Blake Ostler proposes the following as a definition of omnipotence:
A is omnipotent at t if A is able unilaterally to bring any logically possible state of affairs SA after t which (i) does not entail that “A does not bring about SA at t,” and (ii) is compossible with all events which preceded t in time in the actual world.1
Under this definition, God could create a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it, and He would still be omnipotent, because it would be illogical for Him both to create such a stone and also be able to lift it.
So can God, an omnipotent being, create a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it? Yes—but there is no contradiction, because the limitation lies in logic, not in God.
Notes.
- Blake T. Ostler, 2001. Exploring Mormon Thought: The Attributes of God (vol. 1). 1st Edition. Greg Kofford Books Inc. ↩︎