The rock paradox?

The "Rock Paradox" is not an argument against God.
Or, it is certainly not the argument some people think it is.

Let me rephrase:
Can an immovable object be moved by an irresistible force?

Same essential question, without God appended into it.

So, what does it tell us?
The /real/ problem is that questions like this sneak in an unstated premise > infinities.

Can one infinity outdo another infinity?
The correct answer is: Yes, no, maybe, and sometimes.

Any and /every/ time infinities of actual things are considered they create absurdities.
That is the nature of the type of question. It has nothing to do with God.
(For more information on this go to YouTube and search 'Hilbert's Hotel'. Hilbert was a mathematician who worked with infinities.)

When we say God is omnipotent ("all powerful") we mean that God can do any and everything that is logically possible and within His nature.

God cannot make a circle that has any kind of angle in its surface.
God cannot make a married bachelor.
No, God cannot create something that is logically absurd.
Those are just logical absurdities .... just like the "Rock Paradox".

Judging by how God apparently is allowed to put limitations on himself he can never ever break later, like not being allowed to forgive without sacrifice and not being allowed to interfere with human free will even though he clearly was allowed before, God indeed can create a rock that he's limiting himself from lifting, and then he won't ever be able to lift that rock.

I predict that over the course of eternity, he will inevitably limit himself so much he won't be able to do anything outside the imagination of gullible and superstitious people.

Your understanding of this is correct. The point of the paradox is to demonstrate how anything omnipotent (all powerful) cannot logically exist.

The only real theological solution to this is to say that God is either not bound by laws of logic and existence (i.e. God can be a living paradox), or to say that God is not bound to be changeless (i.e. God can make the rock, then, then make himself strong enough to lift it).

However, both of these solutions open up other problems. For example, if God is not changeless, then there is no reason to believe he is morally consistent.

The problem, ultimately, it that the whole paradox relies on pure abstraction. Since God, omnipotence, etc. are not real things, but imaginary. God as a concept is really just nonsense. A maximally perfect being is like a maximally delicious pizza....a pizza so pizza-y that no possible pizza could be pizza-ier.

It's just dumb.

<- Catholic

FALSE PARADOX - it is called an oxymoron.

Don't feel so bad, this is a common paradox thrown up by non-believers as a stumbling block. They think they've found an "Ahhh HA..gotch ya." moment.

Here's what they don't realize.

They have created a non-sensical statement. Simply combining words, doesn't make them true.
I can say "Square Circle" or a "Married Bachelor" -- but what have I ACTUALLY said? -- nonsense, because those words have no actual meaning.

"A rock so huge that even God can't pick it up." is a logical contradiction - an impossibility.

The one thing that God can NOT do is logically contradict himself. His perfection, all-knowing and all-powerfullness prohibits him from utterly contradicting himself and doing the impossible.

So he can't create an object so heavy or huge that he can't pick it up - because such a thing is logically and utterly IMPOSSIBLE - does not exist.
Just because the asker has put those words together, doesn't mean they are true.
I could put together the words "invisible pink unicorn" - but if it is invisible, then it isn't pink and if it is truly pink, then it isn't invisible.

The problem in your friends statement comes from the improper use or definition of the word "all powerful" or "anything" - They have taken these terms to an absurd end. So really they need to be educated about what those terms truly mean. It is similar to how people misconstrue 'freewill' to mean that we should be able to do whatever we want, free of consequences. -- That is a misunderstanding of the term.
________________________


SO.. how does one respond?

Well besides showing that they are creating a logical contradiction - an impossibility...

You can simply explain:

"God can do ALL things which are POSSIBLE.. even remotely possible and which are not completely and utterly IMPOSSIBLE.
A rock too big for God to pick up... is simply impossible. Therefore, God can not do it, NOT because he is limited, but because that isn't a "THING" at all... it is a mish-mash of words that doesn't make logical sense."

Some things are REAL - as in they really exist. Other things are imaginary - while others aren't really 'things' at all..because they can't ever exist, and never will.
- Circle Squares
- 1+1=3
- Married Bachelors
- Local foreigners
- An actual "black light"
- Full of emptiness
- Something which is actually, truly nothing
- "P" is not equal to "P"
- a liquid gas
- alone together
- deafening silence
- accidentally on purpose
- a =b, but b not = a
END OF STORY

________________

SIDENOTE:
Here's another thing that God can't do.....
CHANGE

He is eternal, outside of space and time - he is all powerful, all knowing, perfect, and everywhere at once.
He is PURE existence
All of His creation is a mixture of potential and actual. We are all actually 1 thing right now, and potentially other things in the future.
An acorn is actually a seed, but potentially an Oak
An Oak is actually a tree, but potentially wood
Wood is actually lumber, but potentially furniture
Furniture is actually a couch, but potentially fuel

God, however, isn't potentially anything - He IS. The bible says "I am who am" - he simply IS.
So God can not change - cause there is nothing to potentially come that he isn't already.

Kinda interesting!

Not to defend religion, but it's a silly paradox. To lift an infinitely sized rock is meaningless, as there would be no space bigger than this rock to lift it into. If a god is capable of creating an infinite universe and an infinitely large rock, then it seems that it would be a rock so big he can't lift it within the confines of a universe in which that rock exists. This doesn't imply a limited god but a limited test of strength.

Easy answer. You cannot have both an irresistible force AND an unmovable object. So, if a god exists, he, she or it cannot possibly be all powerful.

Since the god of religious claims is all powerful, and there cannot be such an all powerful creature, this fact is just another reason to come to the inevitable, logical and true conclusion that there is no god.

How cute....you assume God has to lift anything


this little minds with their limited thinking are just so adorable


Yes when we try to compare God with silly little human limitations things break down....not because God is limited, but because we are

These sorts of questions are the philosophical equivalent of masturbation.

Not a paradox. Just foolishness.

Your question & its details have become what we now call folklore , it started to take hold in the asylum's of the 1920's 30's & 40's
Here we are in 2016 & it is still alive in our psych wards.

Would you want a God that defies logic? I wouldn't. I accept the God that is not self-contradictory.

My Answer = No.

When you consider the vastness of the scale upon which God exists,
the words of your 'friend' become irrelevant.

Ask `yourself` the question "Could God ever create such a rock" .... and the answer will be "no".

that's what Atheists use for proof of evolution

God isn't stupid enough to be caught in such a paradox for your amusement. The President has a lot of power. He can order a nuclear strike which will destroy all life on earth. But just because he has the power to do something, doesn't make it a good idea.

God consists of Three Equal Persons, Who are each God. Therefore God the Omnipotent Father can create the object to be lifted, while Jesus in His human weakness can be unable to lift it.

It's not a paradox any more than a quantum super position is a paradox to fuzzy logicians. The fact that you don't have words or ideas to resolve a conflict doesn't mean it can't be resolved readily by a higher intelligence.

Now derp along and play with your palls little buddy.

There is nothing that God cannot do. Period. End of story. Childish games are a waste of time.

He holds the whole world in his hand

"He's Got The Whole World In His Hands"

He's got the whole world in his hands he's got the whole wild world in his hands
He's got the whole wild world in his hands he's got the whole world in his hands

He's got the little bitty baby in his hands he's got the little bitty baby in his hands
He's got the little bitty baby in his hands he's got the whole world in his hands
He's got the whole world in his hands...

He's got you and me brother in his hands he's got you and me sister in his hands
He's got you and me brother in his hands he's got the whole world in his hands
He's got the whole world in his hands...

He's got everybody here in his hands he's got everybody here in his hands
He's got everybody here in his hands he's got the whole world in his hands
He's got the whole world in his hands...
He's got you and me brother...
He's got the whole world in his hands...

well, he created the earth. no mortal could lift but he also put it in place in heaven, and is carried around by gravity.
when people deny the creator of being all powerful and not omnipotent, they make a huge mistake. God does have all power to create a sun and an earth. i think he even controls time in a sphere controlled for earth to be only on earth, as well as in the milky way and possibly the universe. heck, the bible says that we have more power in us than the devil does.
the idea to sin is a persons ability to be more powerful is a false notion, it takes more power to repent of sin, and to control ones own tongue, than it does go around destroying innocent people.

You're not wrong... the concept of something being all powerfull, and also all knowing is very contridictory if you were to think about it unbiasly... but because most believers block their minds form, they dont see these loop holes

It is not paradox, it is a fallacious argument.

The same as asking "Are there any square circles?"

Antimony.

Either Rock Bottom or the people elbow what a paradox