The trouble question

[ViviStd]

Dear All
My atheist friend ask me the question: Can God make up a stone that is so heavy that He cannot lift it up?
I know that if I answered: Yes He can or No He cannot. He would say that God is not omnipower.
How do I answer him? Please.

[Silvertusk]

Dear All
My atheist friend ask me the question: Can God make up a stone that is so heavy that He cannot lift it up?
I know that if I answered: Yes He can or No He cannot. He would say that God is not omnipower.
How do I answer him? Please.

Omnipotent does not mean that one can do something that is illogical or absurd. So no God cannot create a stone that he cannot lift up and yes he is Omnipotent.

[jlay]

The question is a logical absurdity designed as a loaded question. Usually the people asking are only asking because they stumbled across it somewhere and thought it was clever.

It is akin to asking, "Do you still beat your wife?"
If you answer yes, or no, you are admitting to something that doesn't logically follow. You figured that out for yourself. Good job!

This doesn't even consider the fact that the question is arbirtrary. It is from a shallow mind and certainly not his own objection.

My response would be something like this.
"You know that is a very commonly asked objection. What do you think, and why do you think that is a valid question?"
You might then point out the problems with the question, by asking, "Do you still beat your wife?" You could then say, "Skepticism for the sake of skepticism isn't genuine. People who have genuine objections deserve genuine answers, wouldn't you agree?"

[PaulSacramento]

God can't make a round square either.
Ask your atheist friend to define omnipotence.

[Icthus]

I've never really understood the point of this question, as it doesn't seem like it could have an answer that the atheist would like. If the answer is "no" then all that has been established is that God is logically consistent, which Christians have been saying all along. If the answer is "yes" then there is no point in objecting to any aspect of God's nature because he is able to do the logically impossible. If I recall, William Lane Craig brought this up in one of his debates and really made a fool of his opponent.

[ViviStd]

At first, thank you very much for all your kind reply.
Second, Sorry for my poor English, since I am Vietnamese. I live in a country with just about 9% of people are Catholic. We are ussally attacked by numerous of questions quoted from Atheist's web sites.

However, I have answerd him that: "Nothing is impossible to God, but I cannot answer you since I don't know (and it is not nescessary to know), and since I rememberd what my Jesus Christ once tauch us that: "Do not put God to the test" and "The very earthing that we are unable to know, how do we know the heavenly thing". I have been saying that by quoting the two verses from the Holy Bible, as following:
-Mt. 4:7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: `Do not put the Lord
your God to the test.’“ [Deut. 6:16].
-Jn. 3:12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not
believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly
things?

However my answer was not satisfied him much, let me try answering him with all your suggestion in the next time I see him.

Thank you very much, all of you.

[PaulSacramento]

At first, thank you very much for all your kind reply.
Second, Sorry for my poor English, since I am Vietnamese. I live in a country with just about 9% of people are Catholic. We are ussally attacked by numerous of questions quoted from Atheist's web sites.

However, I have answerd him that: "Nothing is impossible to God, but I cannot answer you since I don't know (and it is not nescessary to know), and since I rememberd what my Jesus Christ once tauch us that: "Do not put God to the test" and "The very earthing that we are unable to know, how do we know the heavenly thing". I have been saying that by quoting the two verses from the Holy Bible, as following:
-Mt. 4:7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: `Do not put the Lord
your God to the test.’“ [Deut. 6:16].
-Jn. 3:12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not
believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly
things?

However my answer was not satisfied him much, let me try answering him with all your suggestion in the next time I see him.

Thank you very much, all of you.

Most atheists will view those replies as a cop out.
It is important to understand that arguing/debating/discussing these things with an atheist is not the same as with a believer of another faith or denomination.
You can't justify your faith from the bible to an atheist since he/she doesn't view that bible as having any authority.
If you choose to discuss and debate these things you must your reason and understanding and while you cna use the bible to help you understand when the atheist attacks the bible, you can't really use the bible to help counter arguments in which the atheist doesn't recognize the bible has having any authority.

[theophilus]

Dear All
My atheist friend ask me the question: Can God make up a stone that is so heavy that He cannot lift it up?
I know that if I answered: Yes He can or No He cannot. He would say that God is not omnipower.
How do I answer him? Please.

When someone asks this or a similar question the best response is to just tell him you don't know the answer. You don't need to try to answer every question that an unbeliever asks you.

[ViviStd]

Hi, every one.
I had submitted 2 comments to answer, but now I don't see them. There is something abnormal to the forum?

[RickD]

Hi, every one.
I had submitted 2 comments to answer, but now I don't see them. There is something abnormal to the forum?

Hi ViviStd. It's possible that your posts got deleted before a moderator had a chance to approve them. The board was going through some troubles last week. I noticed a few posts were missing, and some of the posts had symbols where letters used to be. I think we're back to normal now.

[ViviStd]

Hi ViviStd. It's possible that your posts got deleted before a moderator had a chance to approve them. The board was going through some troubles last week. I noticed a few posts were missing, and some of the posts had symbols where letters used to be. I think we're back to normal now.

Oh, no RickD. I have posted them and the moderator must have approved them, since I have seen them on the board that day. Recently I have noticed that the board got trouble with the servers and the two of my comments have been wiped out.
These are not the matter for me. I wrote these just to inform you as a feedback to the server's problem so that you can manage the data better in the next time.
Very glad that the forum is back to normal now.

[Canuckster1127]

Thanks for letting us know. I checked the log and none of the moderators removed any of your posts that I can see.

[ViviStd]

OK, thanks for all.
Now, let us return to the discussing topic.

My Atheist friends often ask me those kind of the questions because they thought what is written in the atheist's forum is the true and clever. I have explained them many things but what I said did not satisfy them much. That is why I am here to learn more to find a better way to satisfy them.

I cannot let them there with their trouble questions since we must introduce the Kingdom of God to every one. To do that, we must answer every trouble questions those wonderd them in order to guide them to the light of God. I know every trouble question must have a satisfied answer, and I am looking for it through the Bible, science, society, history and you.

[jlay]

OK, thanks for all.
Now, let us return to the discussing topic.

My Atheist friends often ask me those kind of the questions because they thought what is written in the atheist's forum is the true and clever. I have explained them many things but what I said did not satisfy them much. That is why I am here to learn more to find a better way to satisfy them.

I cannot let them there with their trouble questions since we must introduce the Kingdom of God to every one. To do that, we must answer every trouble questions those wonderd them in order to guide them to the light of God. I know every trouble question must have a satisfied answer, and I am looking for it through the Bible, science, society, history and you.

Introducing the Gospel isn't answering every absurd question. You are obliagted to preach the Gospel and give the reason for the hope you have. Not kowtow to every skeptical objectino they present. If they are sincere, they will ask sincere questions.

[1stjohn0666]

God can't make a round square either.
Ask your atheist friend to define omnipotence.

I can make a square round LOL