Can God Make a Stone So Heavy He Can't Lift It? (William Lane Craig)

[dannyhpk]

iction.. would you rather believe in something contradictory? Or the say that the original statement that has been contradicted is wrong and logically impossible.

[Oenomauss]

So he can make a stone he can't lift up but hes omnipotent so he can at the same time, great argument

Dinosaur bones end any god discussion really

[Lisztman88]

Convincing answer to this question. Thanks.

[squareboys1]

The bible was not written hundreds of years later, every book of the new testament was written in the same century that christ lived, the gospels can all be dated within fifty years of the death of christ, its fact, Constantine didn't compile the bible for the fact he was part of the aryian movement and would have included gnostic gospels, and the entire new testament can be pieced together from early church father quotes that were written before Constantine was born

[Maxdwolf]

@squareboys1 Your position runs contrary to that of most biblical scholars. Do you have evidence for your assertions?

[Swizzik]

@squareboys1 why are you lying

[SlicemanCometh]

Questions like this that focus on absurd details about 'God' take away from the much more important and simple questions like:

-Who wrote the bible? (many many men, mostly by word of mouth, hundreds of years after the events took place)

-Who compiled the bible? (the Emperor Constantine at the The Council of Nicaea)

-What does the bible actually say? (read Song of Solomon and many other disgusting and obscene books)

-Do Christians still deny Evolution? (reff: All modern science in existence)

[xXdavidEAcostaXx]

So God cannot do the logically absurd but He can do the logically impossible? Am I correct?

[ravenwda007]

Can God create a rock that he himself cannot lift?

Yes.

Can God lift that rock?

Yes because he isn't bound by rules.

[Mentat1231]

@ravenwda007

This is what the person was asking about, but you have defined the rock as being unliftable by God, and that is just a combination of words with no logical value. It's like saying "can God create a married bachelor". He can't, because that is a self-contradictory combination of words, not an actual task. It is precisely as meaningful as "telling a true falsehood".

[Xtro2005]

@Mentat1231 Yet he can murder the first born of Egypt and still be considered "good". Go figure.

[SandmanJAAE]

why is it logically absurd?

[babkrani]

@SandmanJAAE Because once you say that there is a rock that cannot be lifted, you cannot say that it can be lifted. Its like saying that there is a triangle with 4 sides...

[BT3701]

Good answer

[Joe04061991]

im slightly confused: if I could make a stone too heavy to lift then why is it logically absurd for god to do so?

I get that God cannot do the logically absurd, I just dont get why this is an example of such...

[MrRichard991]

And yet, I still see atheists use this argument. Why oh why?

[lexidart]

Love it!

[littlebit19801]

Another one is, could God create another God who is more powerful than he is? Could God create something that's so complex that he cannot understand it?

[empreme]

The sad thing is that this kid thought he would actually trap Dr. Craig with this (using a Craig phrase here GET READY!) "spurious objection".

[DrKildem]

Atheist: God does not exist.... so live the way you want to.

Christian: Jesus died for your sins.... so live the way you want to.

There is NO external difference between both of you. You are 2 sides of the same coin.

[orangegold1]

What a dumb argument... "Can God make a Stone So Heavy He Can't Lift it?"

They could have just said "Can God Hate You?"

Haha! God admits that there are things He can't do.

He can't sin.

He can't hate you.

Why did they have to come up with this dumb argument?

God also can't make a triangle with 15 sides.. Neither could anyone, no matter how much power they had... I don't understand the point they had behind that question haha...

[sfyr]

PERFECT...

[CarmineFragione]

The Answer to any "IF THIS THEN THAT' test, is the Placebo of Desire. God is limited by His own Desire, the Apprehension of what pleases God. " Placebo" means in Latin " I shall please to do" God has no limits placed upon Him by force of any external means. God has a Free Will of Intelligence to turn in any direction and all at the same time , projecting a Will to weaken Himself before a stone, or weaken the stone before Him. His Free Will is His Limits, "Placebo"

[ResistDeception]

HAHAHAHAHA!! Did this dude really think he was gonna trap Dr. Craig with this childish schoolyard taunt? That was hilarious

[MoSoMagic]

@AtonalOranges Yes, you are missing the point. If it were the case that the answer is "no", he cannot make such a rock, then the atheist would say he is not all powerful, for he would lack to ability to create a rock heavy enough. It's a self-contradictory question, it's suppose to be a trap. As Craig mentioned, it's just a meaningless question.

[tjobv]

@AtonalOranges

It´s the same as asking if God could create a square circle, or a married bachelor.

Just Atheist nonsens...

[Lirgirazi]

@tjobv

This Example questions of yours are nonesens.

(A bachelor whos married) Is like a tjobv with inteligence. not possible.

and another thing : I could Build something i could not lift.

[GGDFan777]

@Lirgirazi You are commiting the fallacy of equivocation here. Yes you could build something that 'YOU' cannot lift, but that's not whats relevant cause the 'YOU' isn't referring to the same thing as is in God's case. So even though you can build something that you cannot lift, you can not build something that an omnipotent being could not lift.

[tjobv]

@AtonalOranges

Well no, it´s like this:

If God could create a rock so heavy that he could NOT lift, he would thus not be all powerfull, because he can´t lift the rock.

But if God could NOT create a rock that he could not lift, he again would not be all powerfull, because he could not the create the rock.

So whatever the answer to the questions, God would fail, and thus not be all powerfull...

It´s just an Atheist trick question.... but WLC answer´s it perfectly!

[samuellis]

This one was way to funny.... =)

[scar504]

People think they're terribly clever for asking this question when in reality it's merely sophomoric. They may as well be asking "is god so great that he can do things that he can't do?"

[synal]

@scar504 lol interesting point. I totally agree. It's like asking something meaningless: Can God do kjabdfuiab2dn? Haha your God cannot do kjabdfuiab2dn! He's not omnipotent!

[sammyrocksu]

William Lane Craig still believes in the absurd big bang theory,and yet believes in a creator.

[tjobv]

@sammyrocksu

Huh, what?

The only thing the Big Bang shows us, is that the Universe came into existence, and thus it was not eternal. And because it cannot come out of nothing, we can now logically conclude that the Universe has a source, which in turn has to be much ´´bigger´´ then the Universe itself, for something ´´smaller´´ then herself cannot create her.

The Big Bang is a perfect argument/evidence for God!

[sammyrocksu]

@tjobv IM not doubting a creator,YAHWEH through YAHSHUA/jesus created the universe,and evry thing in it.

what im saying is there is nothing in the biblical account that suggests that there was a big bang,YAHWEH,through his word simply spoke it into exsistance......."let light be" in the hebrew.

Weather or not there wer fireworks or a big bang at the point of creation is irrelevent,the genesis account tells us all we need to no,that YAHWEH is sovereign,and created the universe through his son

[tjobv]

@sammyrocksu

It is not at all irrelavent like you say, as to HOW God created the world, and/or what that event would look like.

Trough Science, we can get closer and closer to God, and get to know how he made us; the Big Bang, fine-tuning, the complexity of Cells, the DNA information code, the complexity of the Human brain etc. etc. are all examples of Science, that is bringing us closer and closer to God.

Dumbass Atheists dont see that yet, for they dont want to see it....

[sammyrocksu]

@tjobv In truth,the only thing that can get you closer to YAHWEH is YAHSHUA/jesus,having a personal relationship with him.Yes science has revealed some amazing things about life on this plannet,and how the universe works and so on,confirming that there is a creator behind all this.And creation,and what that event would look like,one can only speculate,we are given a breif discription of it in genesis.Rember the bigbang THEORY,is an evolutionist concept,the Bible makes no mention of a bigbang

[JosephHolmes108]

lol for years i have wanted to know the correct answer to this silly question... Thanks Dr. Craig God has truley blessed you with inteligience

[mjc1024]

5 people disliked this because they hate that WLC's logic is airtight and destroys their pitiful arguments.

[ChristusVlCTOR]

@mjc1024 We as Christians must not allow our being right, to become, our be proud. God bless.

[DigitalDecadence]

@ChristusVlCTOR Well said! :)

[heisthealmighty]

Brilliant!

[cheesestr4wz]

All I know that really MATTERS... is REPENT, and follow JESUS.

[DigitalDecadence]

That was hilarious, I love how he always turns things around so you can see it from both sides of the argument, even acknowledging the asker's presupposition, the question still poses no problem to that view of omniscient. :)

[wais910]

Mannn where do you find these things drcraigvideos!?

God bless you!!!

[drcraigvideos]

@wais910 Just around the Internet. And since I often checkout Craig's podcast I find as much material I can.

[askegg]

So either way god wins. Once again, the god hypothesis cannot be disproven.

[unprofessionalvids]

omnipotence is not defined as the ability to do that which is logically absurd?!

Aren't miracles logically absurd?!

[GGDFan777]

@unprofessionalvids " Aren't miracles logically absurd?!" No, there are no 'logical contradictions' that come true if a miracle were to take place. Miracles are just events that lie beyond the causal capactity of nature itself. Only for a naturalist may miracles be impossible because there is nothing 'beyond' nature that could cause a miracle, the question then becomes whether naturalism is true, and I think there are good reasons to think that it is false.

[DigitalDecadence]

@unprofessionalvids I actually don't think miracles are logically absurd, as a miracle (to me at least) would be something that is naturally highly improbable - not impossible. I've actually heard Dr Craig refer to evolution as miracle, due to it's incredible improbability of occurring naturally. Not sure if that helps you or not. :)

[JesusOrMuhammad]

sounds like a brilliant answer, lemme hear this again

[YahwehtheLORD]

Hahaha, I'm talking to this gay guy on youtube who has a PH D in music. My point is that he's debating a 16 year old and I'm getting annoyed at him. What should I do guys? Also, he use to be a so-called Christian but rejected it later on in life.

[IloveYOUviruses]

Dr Craig rocks!

[wais910]

0:31 - 0:39

It is like saying: "Can God make a circle with 3 sides?" or "Can God make a married bachelor?"

It's a self-contradictory combination of words.

[GGDFan777]

@wais910 Exactly, just think of what a 'stone so heavy that God could not lift it' would be like. God by definition is a being that could lift any stone he created, no matter how heavy'. So 'a stone so heavy that God could not lift it" would be equivalent to "a stone so heavy that a being that can lift any stone (no matter how heavy), could not lift it". Which would be a selfcontradictory combination of words just like 'a circle with 3 sides' indeed.

[0thereaper0]

for me a easier way to answer this question is to say that God CAN create a rock that He can't lift, but He doesn't WANT to do that. Many people forget that God has will. In the same way, God could destroy Himself and cease to exist, but He doesn't want to do that. That is the best answers I have found so far.

[Legomyegoorj]

@0thereaper0 I'm not sure I can agree with that. The Bible says God can't deny Himself. Would destroying oneself be a form of denying oneself?

[SupremeHero777]

Haha btw which debate is this taken from?

[SupremeHero777]

Back in the early days of college (still there btw haha I'm 25 now) I was hit with this one by a friend in health class. I knew nothing back then about a sound defense of the faith and so this rejoinder to "yeah, God can do anything!" left me stunned but after thinking it through I felt cheated in a way 'cause that's not a sincere way of looking for Truth.

[Donnievil]

The question is phrased so as to be a conundrum with no real answer. The best approach to the question is to break it into 2 questions: (1) Is God the perfect rock maker? (2) Is God the perfect rock mover?

The answer is that (1) God is the perfect rock maker and so can make any rock, and (2) God is also the perfect rock mover and so can move any rock.

The fact that God can move any rock rock that he could make is not contradictory when phrased in a logically valid manner.

[07Aristotle]

This is Averroes.

[drybomber5]

Man, I couldn't have said it better myself.

[BlameTheFirst]

There are plenty of legit arguments against the existence of God. “Can God make a rock so heavy he cannot lift?” is not one of those. It’s a word game equivalent to “why is a raven like a writing desk?”

[drybomber5]

@BlameTheFirst In the course of history, there has never been 1 successful argument against the existence of God. One of the arguments for example atheists use against God's existence is the argument for evil, but aside from the fact that evil can't even really exist without God, the Christian can respond to this in many ways. Maybe it's evolution, which to me is just a red herring and is no way incompatible with the God of the bible at all.

[StephenMcCleskey]

@BlameTheFirst I don't know if there are too many of those arguments. But I agree this question is typically presented as a category error.

[Marcell2aG]

lmao

Craig is the man. He said it in the way that I wanted to but couldn't find the words.

[1GodOnlyOne]

Dr Craig is right -- most Theistic traditions have always stated that omnipotence does not entail the ability to perform logically impossible tasks.

There are Theistic traditions that have historically said that he can, and either way, this silly question poses no threat to the rightful acceptance of Theism, nor does it take away from the thinking man's obvious duty to reject atheist dogma as the nonsensical garbage that it is.

Great video!

[Birdieupon]

I love how desperate some atheists are when they demand logical absurdities of God.

Not only do I respond with this example, but I also say "okay, if you think God should be able to do the logically impossible, then atheism is false... because God can exist while not existing"!

Added to which, this objection also destroys any appeal to the logical problem of evil.

[user6773]

@Birdieupon Haha, good one. I gotta keep that in mind next time I'm up against an atheist.

[mansanraps]

@Birdieupon I am agnostic, but I upvoted you since I believe that you're right about atheists being really silly sometimes when they debate the very attributes of a thing they don't even believe in order to disprove it!

However, the problem of evil (that is, unfavorable things) remains for the believers of God since they in fact believe God not be illogical. Also, an atheist making a bad argument doesn't prove the existens of God, the same of course goes for a believer making such a statement

[Naj11]

@mansanraps

Can you help me understand why the presence of evil and God's logical nature present a problem for the Christian?

[carcabe]

All rocks are limited and defined. There is no such thing as an infinite rock. Rocks are limited, God is not. God will always be bigger than any rock.

[IloveYOUviruses]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOL

He's gifted! And the picture lol!!!!

[sashavboyd]

Hmm, I actually said something similar recently — that something ‘logically’ impossible is just meaningless. I guess it's a bit deceptive using the term ‘impossible’ just because there's that parallel with physically impossible. Incoherent or contradictory might be better terms to use.

[virtualguitarist]

Yea i heard that one before, its just a play on words. W.L.C. like usual, shoots it down with a simple hip shot!

[eleutheromaniac]

This is a great answer, but mine would be simply that God *transcends* physicality. In a sense, God *is* the rock.

[InventorGorilla]

Thank you for helping me answer this common question. I could never quite word it this well, now I can.. Thanks, and Blessings Dr. Craig

[31Uriel]

This is going to be very useful as link to atheists who don't really understand omnipotence.

[Blogrich55]

Fallacy of contradictory premises.

[ncbookz]

god is a spirit, material or matter does not even phase him

[NLPNVC]

This has to be one of the lamest questions I have ever heard anyone ask....

[karozans]

@NLPNVC

Believe it or not but I hear this all the time.

Many Christians believe that God can do anything. So the atheist tries to come up with something that God cannot do.

The only thing they are able to come up with is logically incoherent tasks, and then ask if he can do them.

[brantk81]

Dr. Craig cleared this up in the PBS program "Closer to Truth".

[fivethirty]

CRAIG is SO AWESOME!!! love this guy!

[lilrat489]

0:53, I'm going to have to use that . lol.

[aveyowyns]

This should be in the 'wit of dr craig,' playlist.

[drcraigvideos]

@aveyowyns Right! I was thinking about doing that.

[camthejock]

@drcraigvideos can u help me understand how its logically impossible man?

thanks im having a bit of trouble

[cheesestr4wz]

Nothing,. absolutely NOTHING is impossible with God Almighty !

Repent, and follow Jesus alone !

[stephjh2006]

@cheesestr4wz You don't understand the video... wooshh!! that was what W.L.Craig said flying over your head. As he said if we are saying the illogical is possible for God then God can both make a rock too big for him to lift and then go ahead and lift it, "ah that is logically impossible since he can't lift it" at which point craig points to premise 1 God can do the illogical. But can god make a square circle? Is it any longer a square?

[Inmatinus]

Very very good.

[TheSkepticChristian]

I am not evangelical, but I do admire William Lane Craig

[TheSkepticChristian]

Nice!