Can God Make a Rock So Big
He Cannot Lift It?
The problem with this question is that it is a meaningless question. It is like asking,” What does the color red smell like?” or “What does a square circle look like?” The question is irrelevant. You can’t mix the categories of color and smell. You may ask what a red rose smells like because the rose produces a scent that can be detected by your nose. It is not the property of redness that produces the scent. The definitions of a square and a circle are mutually exclusive therefore it is not possible to have a square circle. In the same way, the rock question mixes the categories of finite and infinite. God is infinite but a rock, no matter how big it is will always be finite. It will always be finite because it is a created thing. So the question asks God to create a rock that is both finite and infinite at the same time which is impossible and nonsensical. God is constrained by His perfect rationality to do only that which is logically possible. One of the clearest of the Christian thinkers of the 20th century, C. S. Lewis put it the best when he said, “[God’s] omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to him, but not nonsense.”
But isn’t God infinite, which means He has no limits? Yes, and in this case, He has no limits to His sensibility. To impose nonsense and irrational behavior on Him would be to impose limits on His perfectly rational nature. God is perfectly logical and rational. God is the source of all logic and rationality. It is not possible for God to act illogically or irrationally. It would be inconsistent with His perfect character. God constrains Himself to act only in a way that is consistent with His character. God is the ultimate logical and rational being. Therefore, if He acted illogically or irrationally He would cease to be God, which He cannot do. He would be a god that we have created in our own imaginations whose character we can change at our whim.
Copyright 2005. Gary C. Burger and New Media Ministries. This article may be reproduced and distributed freely as long as it is done so in its entirety. If quoted it must be properly cited as a reference.
