Sunday 19 November 2017

The joy of Omnipotence

Charlie and Jill called round last night to greet Margaret on her birthday (+1 day).  We discussed the Omnipotence paradox.

Here is my stab at it.

Can an omnipotent being create an object too heavy to lift?

This is a question about defining limits.  I am reminded of the famous 'monkey trap',  Peanuts are placed in a thin necked jar.  The monkey sees the peanuts and likes them.  The monkey puts its arm into jar.  It takes a handful and discovers now it can not remove its fist from the jar.  The monkey thinks about letting go of the peanuts, but can not bear to do so.  It is now stuck.

My answer is that I cannot think of a solution, because I have limits.  I am aware that I cannot answer this question.  An omnipotent being has unlimited capacity and therefore is able to conceive of the answer to this paradox.

All I know is that I cannot - God can.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence_paradox


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