Can God build something so large that He can't lift it?
I know that God created the world, became flesh, and bore the weight of all man's sins upon His shoulders as he was nailed to the cross. I also know that He descended into the grave and conquered Satan in his own house, then ascended into heaven to take His place at the right side of the Father. In light of this, I'm going to have to say that there's nothing too big for God to lift.
Now, on a more serious note, this is a silly question usually asked by those who are trying to prove a contradiction in the doctrine of God's omnipotence. The argument is that if God is able to build something so large that He can't lift it, then He is not all powerful and, therefore, not omnipotent. On the other hand, if He is not able to build something that big, then His power is limited in its ability to create and again, He is not omnipotent. This argument fails because it limits God's omnipotence to the area of physical strength. In reality, however, God's omnipotence goes far beyond that of physical strength, and is directly related to His nature. Here is a worldly example. When I am driving my car, I have the power to run over anything, or anyone, I see. However, my compassionate nature prevents me from doing this. I do not have a nature that allows for me to damage or destroy someone for no reason. Therefore, my ability (or power to destroy) is in direct relation with my nature to not destroy. Doing so would not prove my strength any more than not doing so would prove my weakness. Likewise, God's ability to create all things is in direct relation to His Godly nature; He is all powerful. Therefore, His inability to create something so large that He can't lift it fails to prove a contradiction or flaw in the doctrine of omnipotence. This question is also flawed in that it fails to take into account that God is infinite. Therefore, in order for Him to build something so large that He couldn't lift it, that object would have to be larger than infinite. This is an impossibility, for there is no unit of measure greater than infinite. That God is infinite establishes the fact that nothing and no one can be equal to, or greater than, God. [mp]
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Michael D'Urbano
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