Question:  Dear Greg,

            I overheard the most illogical statement the other day in a movie theater while waiting for the show to start.  The person said that one thing God can’t do is create a rock too heavy for him to lift.

            How do you respond to such an illogical statement?

            Ron

Answer:  Dear Ron,

            This statement is a false dilemma.  It argues from a flawed foundation.  The Bible does not claim that God can “do anything”.  By virtue of being God he will not lie, he will not forsake us, etc.  God cannot die—he is immortal.  So, God cannot do something.  He cannot die (or lie, for that matter).

            So, can God make a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?  The answer is “no”—even though the question is illogical and silly.  If God ever made a “rock” so heavy that he could not lift it he would have created something over which he has no power.  Thus, he would no longer be God, because one of the attributes of God is omnipotence (having all power).  God cannot stop being God.  He is eternal.  Therefore he cannot make a rock he cannot lift—even though the question is a false dilemma.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht