vigilant_mind said:

Quote:

Can God make a rock so Big he can't pick it up?

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In my opinion this shouldn't even be a debate. Asking "can God make a rock so big he can't pick it up?" is asking a contradictory statement, which, of course, violates the law of noncontradiction.

The question invokes an intrinsic possibility; a concept that is impossible in all times, in all dimensions, and to all agents. The stone question is analogous to asking "can God make a married bachelor?" Well, the concept doesn't even exist, because it can't exist! Omnipotence is the power to do all things except for that which implies contradiction.

Ideas that imply contradiction do not exist past the language barrier. A contradictory concept cannot exist in the world. To ask if "God can make a rock so big that He can't life it" is not even a question-- it is a trick. The question is merely words strewn together that carry no value due to their absolute contradiction.

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The answer is here. Would be a much greater paradox if it didnt contradict itself though. And it deems no solid evidence against god by non-god believers.

tihkalpihkal said:

actually that paradox is also discussed and answered in buddhism. The paradox is know as a koan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan Just because the mouth can utter the phrase doesnt mean the phrase is reality.

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Quote:

English-speaking non-Zen practitioners sometimes use kōan to refer to an unanswerable question or a meaningless statement. However, in Zen practice, a kōan is not meaningless, and teachers often do expect students to present an appropriate response when asked about a kōan. Even so, a kōan is not a riddle or a puzzle.[1] Appropriate responses to a kōan may vary according to circumstances; different teachers may demand different responses to a given kōan, and a fixed answer cannot be correct in every circumstance. One of the most common recorded comments by a teacher on a disciple's answer is, "Even though that is true, if you do not know it yourself it does you no good." The master is looking, not for an answer in a specific form, but for evidence that the disciple has grasped the practical use of the kōan in daily life, or in other words, has actually given up some previous attachment.

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