Omnipotence is a part of the concept of deity; God, if he exists, is omnipotent.
It is sometimes argued, however, that the concept of omnipotence is paradoxical,
logically incoherent, and so that it is logically impossible that there be any
being that is omnipotent. This position, if it can be sustained, precludes the
existence of God.
The argument that the concept of omnipotence is paradoxical is best introduced
by presenting the theist with a dilemma. Any one of a variety of questions—e.g.
"Can God create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?" or "Can God create a
law that binds himself?"—might be posed in order to introduce this dilemma.
For each of these questions, God, if he exists, will either be capable or
incapable of performing the feat described. The atheistic argument is that
either alternative forces the conclusion that God is not omnipotent. The
argument, constructed using the first of the questions above, therefore has the
following structure:
The Paradox of Omnipotence
(1) God either
can or cannot create a rock that is so heavy that he cannot lift it.
(2) If God can create a rock that is so heavy that he cannot lift it, then God
is not omnipotent.
(3) If God cannot create a rock that is so heavy that he cannot lift it, then
God is not omnipotent.
Therefore:
(4) God is not omnipotent.
(5) If God exists then he is omnipotent.
Therefore:
(6) God does not exist.
The controversial premises of this argument are the second and the third.
Proponents of the argument defend these premises in the following way. If God
can create a rock that is so heavy that he cannot lift it, then there is
something that he cannot do, namely lift the rock in question. If God cannot
create a rock that is so heavy that he cannot lift it, then there is something
that he cannot do, namely create such a rock. Either way, then, there is
something that God cannot do, and if there is something that he cannot do then
he cannot be omnipotent.
The most common theistic response to this problem rests on the thought that
omnipotence is limited by logical possibility. An omnipotent being, it is
suggested, is one that can bring about any logically possible state of affairs.
The existence of a rock so heavy that God cannot lift it, though, is arguably a
logically impossible state of affairs. God’s inability to create such a rock, it
is claimed, therefore does not count against his being omnipotent.
Book Recommendations
Michael Martin (ed)
The Impossibility of God
Prometheus Books (2003)
ISBN: 1591021200
Details at: Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk
Julian Baggini
Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
Oxford University Press (2003)
ISBN: 0192804243
Details at: Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk
Martin, Michael
Atheism: A Philosophical Justification
Temple University Press (1990)
ISBN: 0877229430
Details at: Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk
Robin Le Poidevin
Arguing for Atheism
Routledge (1996)
ISBN: 0415093384
Details at: Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk
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