God and the stone

[Arrian]

Meh, the "arguments" are silly, and boil down to:

"I want there to be a God so I don't have to figure stuff out myself."

-Arrian

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison


But Christians say that God is all-powerful, which implies omnipotence. If he can't do this act, he is not all-powerful. The hole is not in the definition, it is in the concept of God - it is flawed...

Why should I concern myself with traditional Christian god concepts?

And are you sure all Christians hold to traditional Christian god concepts - IIUC Jewish existentialists like Rosenzweig and Buber have been very influential with modern Christian theologians.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Arrian
Meh, the "arguments" are silly, and boil down to:

"I want there to be a God so I don't have to figure stuff out myself."

-Arrian

I have plenty of stuff to figure out myself. God doesnt excuse me from any of that.

[Japher]

So, omnipotency can't be defined as being able to do all things imaganable but it can be defined as being able to do all things that you want to do.

Omnipotent: almighty: having unlimited power


I never define it as doing all things imaginable. It has to do with unlimited power... Even thus, an omnipotent being would be able to fullfill a contradiction and over come such paradox's..

[Richelieu]

Q would kick God's ass.

[Robert]

Ok, focus on the first part, the part in which we try to define omnipotence.

Q: Can God create a stone which is that heavy that God can't lift it anymore?

A: Yes, God can do that

Q: So, God isn't omnipotent, since he can't lift that stone

A: He wouldn't be omnipotent if he would create such a stone, though as long as he won't create such a heavy stone (while he could do it) there would be no stone that he cannot lift.

Q: So, omnipotency can't be defined as being able to do all things imaganable but it can be defined as being able to do all things that you want to do.

A: That's true. Why would somebody who has the power to destruct himself be omnipotent if he does so? Is self-destruction not the the same as making yourself impotent? Would self-destruction not be the end of the subject? It's impossible that something that is not, is omnipotent, since that would mean that being omnipotent is the same as being impotent.

[Japher]

impotent?

[Robert]

Originally posted by Japher
impotent?

[Japher]

I have this uncanny ability to single out words

[Richelieu]

Originally posted by Japher
I have this uncanny ability to single out words

[molly bloom]

Could god give himself a kidney stone bigger than he could pass ?


What really caused the dinosaur mass extinction:

http://www.herringlab.com/photos/2/54-M67-Ua31-P2.jpg

[General Ludd]

Any argument that starts with the hypothesis "Can God create a stone which is that heavy that God can't lift it anymore?" is destined to be laughed at.


Regardless of whether to you are a faithful christian and an adamant atheist, it's a ridiculous premise of argument.

It's nothing more than petty (and very silly) semantics, anyways.

[FrostyBoy]

Maybe choice is the very definition of omnipotence.

[Bill3000]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence_paradox

[OneFootInTheGrave]

I think that a nice idea is that God would escape causality thus be outside our space and time, and such contradictions which are bound to our time and space are not applicable.