Can God make a rock so large He can't lift it?

United States
July 12, 2008 4:05pm CST
Interesting question I'd like to hear some theories
3 people like this
9 responses
13 Jul 08
Why would he want to?
2 people like this
@gabrifvg (167)
• Italy
13 Jul 08
this is just a flaw in our logical thinking. a paradox... god, admitting he exists, created the whole universe, there is no way he could create a rock too large to be moved. not that he would move it with his hands of course... it would be the laws of gravitation that do the work. and those laws move everything
2 people like this
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
12 Jul 08
I've seen this before myself and always thought, "That's nonsense." But this time I decided to see what others on the net have said, and, basically, the theologians say the same thing. It's nonsense. The Bible tells us that "with God all things are possible." And it tells us that God cannot lie and does not change. If God can do all things, then some might think He could do this, since this falls within the "all things", but in doing the thing - making the rock - then He would be contradicting Himself - or lying - which He cannot do. God also cannot fail. As one theologian pointed out, you're asking God - an infinite being - to make a finite thing (the rock) into another infinite thing. As many sites say, if you look this question up on the internet, that would be like asking God to "make a circle into a square." At another site, I discovered these words, "When we say that God is all-powerful and capable of doing all things we mean that he can do all things that are actually possible." Or, as C.S. Lewis said “You may attribute miracles to Him but, not nonsense.”
• United States
12 Jul 08
Ooops. God could make a circle into a square. What I meant to type above was, you're asking God to "create a square circle." :-) Sorry I mis-typed.
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
12 Jul 08
I've heard this before and I'm curious to see what people say as well. I don't see how there's really an answer but I suppose we'll see how wise humans really are =P
1 person likes this
@sharky05 (47)
13 Jul 08
Some theists respond by saying that yes God is still all powerful, but he has created a universe with logical limitations, and to do this would destroy the logic of the universe he has created. So in short the only thing that's stopping him is his love for the universe as it is.
@bluespace (132)
• Canada
13 Jul 08
If there is a god and is omnipotent it could lift anything it could create if it needed to .
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
13 Jul 08
Hi SteelRainTrain, If you believe in an all powerful God, I guess you have already answered that question. Blessings.
19 Jul 08
Although the pertext of the question is flawed I will answer the question this way. Yes God could create a rock he could not move, ONLY if he created the rock and said I will not move this rock. Because God will not lie, he would never move that rock for any reason, thus creating a rock he could not move.
• Canada
15 Sep 11
When the bible discusses the nature of God, one of his natural traits is omnipootence. Meaning that he is "all powerfull". Based on this we know that God is capable of all things. So of course he is able to make a rock so large that he could not lift it. However, the SIGNIFICANT question is "WOULD God make a rock so large that he could not life it?" Another trait the bible says is a part of God's nature is that he is unchanging. If God were to use his omnipotence to create a rock so large that lifting it is beyond the extent of "all power", then the rock's existence would cause God to become not-all-powerfull. If God cannot change, due to his nature, then God would not create such a rock even though he is capable of it.