Greetings, questioner.
I am a Christian and my knowledge of gods from other religions is limited, so I will answer your question to the best of my ability assuming that you are talking about the Christian God.
The question in the title dates back hundreds of years ago. It is credited by scholars to have been created by Italian Dominican friar and priest Thomas Aquinas at some point in the thirteenth century ("Thomas Aquinas"). Aquinas argues that the matter of God’s omnipotence is one or the other, for God is either omnipotent or he is not. And, if God could create a stone he could not lift, then God is not omnipotent; for the state of omnipotence is a state in which a being has unlimited power, a state of almightiness, and in this situation, God is not almighty, as He has just created a stone mightier than He.
However, if God could not create a stone that He could not lift, according to Aquinas’s logic, then God is not all-powerful, as He cannot create the stone and therefore cannot do all things as omnipotence would suggest. Hence, the conclusion to draw from Aquinas’s paradox is that God can not be logically omnipotent.
However, Aquinas’s claim is countered by American philosopher George I. Mavrodes, who claims that if the Lord is omnipotent, then the subject of paradox is not God’s omnipotency, but the paradox itself ("GEORGE J. MAVRODES"). If one agrees that God is almighty, then it is impossible for God to create something that He can not lift ("Thomas Aquinas"). However, the task of trying to lift a stone that God cannot lift contradicts itself. Mavrodes argues that the inability to perform a self-contradictory task does not qualify as a limitation on the subject, and thus to dismiss God’s omnipotence on the grounds that He is unable to fulfill a self-contradictory task is unfounded and unjustified.
Furthermore, in the Holy Bible, God’s power is confirmed to be limitless. In the Bible, God and Jesus Christ created the Earth itself, razed civilizations, parted seas, raised the dead, and accomplished so much more. In my own opinion, the will of such an undeniably powerful God is unlimited; if His will is to be unable to lift the stone, He will not be able to lift the stone. if His will is to lift the stone, then God will lift the stone.
In conclusion, the question that you have asked is very thought provoking and certainly subject to debate. My own opinion is obviously biased, especially as a Christian, and it may not satisfy you. However, from the research that I have done, it seems evident that the question is ultimately invalid, as discrediting a being for being unable to perform a self-contradictory task seems to be unreasonable and illegitimate.
Works Cited:
"GEORGE J. MAVRODES." Calvin University, calvin.edu/directory/series/george-mavrodes. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.
"Thomas Aquinas Omnipotence: The Paradox of The Stone." Internet Public Library, US Government, www.ipl.org/essay/Thomas-Aquinas-Omnipotence-The-Paradox-Of-The-PCRZLSKVYV#:~:text=The%20paradox%20of%20the%20stone%20heavily%20relies%20on%20Thomas%20Aquinas's,not%20just%20to%20do%20anything. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.
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