I am a young adult who is just beginning to really dig deep into Christianity and what it truly is, and I was presented a statement from one of my past teachers that has haunted me ever since.
We were having a civil conversation about religion and other such topics until I revealed that I believed in God and Christianity. This was immediately (and somewhat sharply) met with a stymieing paradox that goes like this: If God is to be an all-powerful and omnipotent being, then clearly He must be able to do absolutely anything, such as create a rock that cannot be lifted by anyone in all of existence and so forth. But, if God can create an “un-liftable” rock, then that would technically rule out God Himself being able to lift that rock. Therefore, there is something God cannot do, and as a result He is not truly omnipotent.
Now of course I could not answer that question (as I am, as most young teens are, uneducated on answering mystifying questions such as those) and was left to a feeling of defeat and eventually that sinking feeling of having everything you believed in being disproved in one, simple statement.
Can you answer this question to calm those little poking words?
This question has been posed by many people attempting to stymie believers, and there are some really good answers. The bottom line is that God cannot do what is inherently impossible because it’s illogical and irrational, such as make a square circle, or lie and deceive us because He is perfect and He is truth. The problem is not power. The problem is a category error.
I love how Dr. Sean McDowell answered this question: youtu.be/iH4j_jikWXs
You may also enjoy how GotQuestions.org answered this question: www.gotquestions.org/God-rock-heavy-lift.html
Hope you find this helpful.
Sue Bohlin
Posted Sept. 2022
© 2022 Probe Ministries
Sue Bohlin
Sue Bohlin is an associate speaker/writer and webmistress for Probe Ministries. She attended the University of Illinois, and has been a Bible teacher and conference speaker for over 40 years. She is a speaker for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) and Stonecroft Ministries (Christian Women's Connections), and serves on the board of Living Hope Ministries, a Christ-centered outreach to those dealing with unwanted homosexuality. Sue is on the Bible.org Women's Leadership Team and is a regular contributor to Bible.org's Engage Blog. In addition to being a professional calligrapher, she is the wife of Probe's Dr. Ray Bohlin and the mother of a son in San Francisco and another son who joined his baby sister in heaven in 2024.. Her personal website is suebohlin.com.
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As we reap what we sow no intervention (rock lifting) from God. Vengence is the Lord’s therefore rock of dead weight must be rendered. Do not let satan confuse God’s power and authority.
Hi. I just found your site. Maybe you’ll have an answer?
When believers in Christ die, what part (Soul? Spirit?) goes immediately to Heaven? Where does the other part (Soul? Spirit?) go upon earthly death?
Do I understand correctly that upon death the body stays here (whether buried in the earth, buried at sea, or cremated). And that dead body will arise (“new” of course) for the dead in Christ shall rise.
Thanks very much.
I’m glad there’s a safe place to ask Biblical questions. It’s reassuring to know a Biblical response (with supportive Scripture and/or sound logic) is provided.
God bless you all as you labor for Him. 🙏😊
Hi Amy,
When believers die, the immaterial part of us goes to heaven. Theologians disagree about whether the soul IS the spirit, or if the soul is different from the spirit, but we can agree that it is the non-physical part of us that goes to be with Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:8 makes the distinction “absent from the body, present with the Lord.”
Yes, you understand correctly that the body stays on earth, and Jesus will resurrect that body at some point in the future. The method of death and decay doesn’t pose any problem for Jesus to resurrect our body.
Hope you find this helpful.
Sue Bohlin