On Omnipotence: Chuck Norris, God, and the Unmovable Rock

Just a few years ago, Chuck Norris jokes were a ubiquitous meme. Though the fad is fading, Chuck Norris still enjoys a satirical, yet heroic, status in American culture like the titans of Greek mythology. The titans were both men and gods. His name has been written in the still-drying cement of contemporary American culture by the proliferation of Chuck Norris jokes. Chuck Norris jokes frequently bestow upon Chuck Norris some divine quality, such as: omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), omnipresence (all-present), etc... By my analysis, those that grant him omnipotence (all power) are further broken down into two categories: 1) the logically possible [but highly improbable] and 2) the logically impossible. [1]

1) The logically possible [but highly improbable]:

• "Chuck Norris has a grizzly bear rug in his room. The bear isn't dead--it's just afraid to move."
• "Some magicians can walk on water. Chuck Norris can swim through land."
• "Chuck Norris can cut through a knife with butter."

2) The logically impossible:

• "Chuck Norris counted to infinity...twice."
• "Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door."
• "Chuck Norris created a round square."

God and the Logically Impossible:

These jokes raise important questions about the nature of omnipotence and, therefore, about the nature of the God of the Christian Scriptures who truly is omnipotent. Can God do the logically impossible? Is doing the logically impossible part of the definition of divine omnipotence?

Christian philosophers have long argued that God absolutely can do anything that is logically possible, even if it is physically impossible. For instance, God can cut a knife with butter, swim through land, or make a grizzly bear submit to life as a rug. In reality, Jesus was able to also raise the dead to life, walk on water, turn water into wine, heal the sick, appear in a locked room, and kill a fig tree with his voice. Omnipotence means that there is no logically possible thing that God can not do.

Omnipotence, however, does not mean that God can do the logically impossible. God cannot, for instance, create a round square or create another God. Christians understandably are uncomfortable saying that there are things God can't do, but that shouldn't be the case. The Bible explicitly says there are things that God can't do. "It is impossible for God to lie," and "God cannot be tempted with evil." [2] From the Scriptures, we may also clearly deduce that God cannot be unloving, cannot be unjust, and cannot cease to exist. [3]

God's inability to do the logically impossible should not be problematic for Christians, because the logical order of the universe itself is the result of the creation by an orderly Lord. God's own nature is what defines the logically possible; therefore, God's own nature is the only thing that constrains God.

image from theresurgence.com.

Can God create a rock so heavy that not even he can lift it?

This question, often called the "omnipotence paradox" perfectly illustrates the issue at hand. If God can create the rock, he is not omnipotent, because he is unable to lift the rock. If he can't create the rock, he is not omnipotent, because he is unable to create it. In either case, God is not omnipotent. Those few critics of belief in God who actually still use this long-discredited paradox are asking an absurd question, which is logically so incomprehensible that it can't even be answered. They might as well have asked if God can gilibrate a loamy fragmoot. This question falsely assumes that omnipotence includes the ability to do the logically impossible, which orthodox Christian theology has never claimed. In short, the Christian must reply that that question can't be answered, because it is logically incoherent, as it would result in a universe that contains a logical contradiction--an irresistible force (God) and an unmovable object (the rock). If the world were to contain logical contradictions, nothing would make any sense at all.

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[1] By "logically possible," I mean that it does not present a logical contradiction. For instance, "swimming through land" or "walking on water" are not contradictory propositions, despite the fact that they violate the laws of physics and are, therefore, improbable without a miracle. Physical impossibility does not mean logical impossibility.
[2] Hebrews 6:18; James 1:13
[3] All of these things are logically impossible for God, because God is, by definition, loving, kind, just, truthful, and necessarily existent.