Can God Create a Rock He Cannot Lift?

Can God Create a Rock He Cannot Lift?

This is not an argument against God’s existence, but an intellectual puzzle atheists use to question His omnipotence and infinite power. They ask: “Can God create a rock He cannot lift?”, “Can God create another God?”, or “Can God do XYZ?”, where XYZ stands for something logically impossible. The aim is to confuse the listener:

• If the answer is yes, God would not be omnipotent, because He could not lift the rock.
• If the answer is no, God would not be omnipotent, because He could not create it.
  Whatever the answer, we are thus supposedly forced to conclude that God is not omnipotent.
  Yet a little reflection exposes the deception: the question contains a logical problem based on a mistaken definition of power and omnipotence.

Is Einstein Incompetent?

To clarify the misleading idea behind this question, consider an imaginary conversation between Einstein and a journalist:

Journalist: “Is it true that your IQ is above average?”
Einstein: “My IQ is 160, well above that of the seventy per cent of people whose IQ falls between 70 and 130.”
Journalist: “You sound confident, but two simple questions will show that you are not as intelligent as you seem.”
Einstein: “If I am confident, you are certainly bold! Go ahead; I am waiting for your questions.”
Journalist: “Can you prove that 1 + 1 = 3?”
Einstein: “No. Your question makes no sense. In base ten, 1 + 1 = 2 is a fundamental rule on which all science rests.”
Journalist: “You said no, so you cannot be that intelligent. Second question: can you prove that a triangle’s angles add up to something other than 180 degrees?”
Einstein: “No.”
Journalist: “There! Proof that you do not deserve to be called gifted.”

What should we think of this journalist? Is he mad or foolish? At the very least, this “genius” should be barred from interviewing anyone for two years while he repeats his primary-school mathematics.
Einstein’s failure to answer does not imply incompetence, because the question itself is illogical. How can 1 + 1 equal 3? We should not even say, “Einstein cannot prove that 1 + 1 = 3”, because ability is not at issue here: the proposition is impossible.

Allah’s Power Does Not Apply to Logical Impossibilities

Etymologically, an omnipotent being possesses all power, rather than the power to do absolutely anything conceivable. He can do all things, but “all things” excludes logical impossibilities: “Being omnipotent does not mean being able to perform logically impossible actions.” Such questions are therefore misplaced. God’s power does not apply to logical impossibilities. Since God can by definition do all things, a stone He cannot lift is logically impossible. Asking whether He can create such a stone is meaningless. Creating a rock Allah could not lift falls outside the scope of His power, because He can move everything He creates.
Professor Saad Rustum gives a more detailed answer:

“Allah’s power is undoubtedly absolute and unlimited. It applies, however, to what is rationally possible, not what is rationally impossible. Absolute and unlimited though it is, it concerns things whose existence is possible. Excluding impossible things does not limit it. To clarify, consider some examples. We ask these bishops and clergymen: can Allah create another god like Himself? If they say yes, we ask: how can a created being be a god? How can it be like God when it has a beginning in time, whereas Allah is eternal?

The expression ‘create a god’ is sophistry and contains a contradiction: something cannot simultaneously be created and be God. The answer is therefore that Allah’s power does not apply to this, since something being both God and His opposite is absurd and impossible. Allah’s power does not apply to impossibilities. Another example: can Allah truly place someone outside His authority? An affirmative answer limits His authority and influence. A negative answer, which is correct, agrees with our position that Allah’s power is absolute and does not apply to impossibilities: no creature can rationally escape its Creator’s authority and control. A third example: an atheist once asked me, ‘Can your Lord create a rock so immense that He Himself cannot lift it?’ Mockingly, he added: ‘If you say yes, you admit your Lord can be unable to lift a rock, proving He is not God. If you say no, you admit He is incapable of anything; therefore He is not God.’ Yet divine power’s not applying to the creation of this supposed rock does not imply inability. On the contrary, it demonstrates the perfection of His power.”