thehowe_v7.1

Brock and I were talking about religion today, which despite my being basically agnostic (or perhaps because of it) I always find to be a fascinating topic. As we were talking about it, an old question that I used to hear a lot in high school popped into my mind: "Could God create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?"

The answer, of course, is no. Here's why.

Let me rephrase the question as such: "Could God create a perfectly round square?" Now, the answer is obvious; of course he could not. The very concept of a perfectly round square is utter nonsense. You can string together the words and make them sound somewhat reasonable, but the concepts of "round" and "square" cannot be combined in any sensible fashion.

Just as a round square makes absolutely no sense, a stone so heavy that God cannot lift it also makes absolutely no sense. By definition, God is all powerful. Thus, the very concept of a stone he cannot lift makes no sense. And, just as he cannot make a perfectly round square, he cannot make such a stone.

This, of course, is the purely logical answer, based on concrete definition and irrefutable fact. If you ask a devout follower of any religion (and yes, atheism is a religion), then YMMV. Or then again, maybe not. I've never asked. Anyone want to chime in?