Religious Incoherence

Can God be all-powerful, all-knowing, and wholly good? We cannot answer that question by turning up the worship music. The claims need to hold together, and honest objections deserve an honest hearing.

Christian philosophers have offered serious replies. We can examine those replies without treating the person asking as a problem to be fixed. Confidence should make room for questions, not post a guard at the door.

Power, logic, and the stone question

The "omnipotence paradox" stands as a prominent illustration of a common argument, posing the question: Can God create a stone so heavy that He cannot lift it? If He cannot create such a stone, it suggests a limitation to His omnipotence. Conversely, if He can create it but is unable to lift it, that too implies a lack of omnipotence. One common reply says omnipotence means being able to do every logically possible task. A contradiction does not become a task simply because we put God in the sentence. Whether that definition answers the objection is part of the debate.

To clarify, consider the nature of logical contradictions. Can God create a square circle? Can He make 2+2 equal 5? These scenarios do not represent real challenges or demonstrations of power; they are contradictions that lack any basis in reality, akin to questioning the existence of a married bachelor. The inquiries themselves are nonsensical. C.S. Lewis aptly stated, "Nonsense remains nonsense, even when we talk it about God." Thus, the notion of God creating a stone too heavy for Him to lift does not genuinely challenge His power; rather, it reflects a misuse of language. Genuine omnipotence encompasses the ability to achieve all that is logically possible, not to defy the principles of logic.

The chess example illustrates one response to the paradox, without resolving every account of omnipotence. Matthew 19:26 concerns the possibility of salvation in its surrounding passage; using it to define logical possibility is a further theological interpretation.

If God knows, do we still choose?

If God knows our next choice without any possibility of error, are we free to choose otherwise? Knowing and causing are different, but saying so does not finish the argument. We should resist declaring victory while the hard question is still standing.

One Christian response understands God as timeless, knowing without compelling our choices. Isaiah 46:10 speaks of declaring the end from the beginning; the philosophical claim about timeless knowledge is a further interpretation. A film analogy can distinguish knowledge from causation, but fictional characters do not establish human freedom.

A teacher’s prediction may illustrate knowing without forcing, but it is fallible. The philosophical problem concerns infallible divine foreknowledge, so the analogy does not settle whether future choices remain open.

Romans 8:29–30 speaks of foreknowledge and predestination. Christian traditions understand their relationship with freedom differently. This reflection favors a reading that preserves meaningful choice, while leaving those disagreements open to careful examination.

Goodness in a world that hurts

Suffering brings this discussion off the chalkboard and into the hospital room. How do we speak of an all-powerful, wholly good God in a hurting world? Christian replies and critics’ objections both deserve care. The person in pain deserves more care than our need to win.

Free-will responses connect some wrongdoing with meaningful choice. They do not by themselves explain every illness, disaster, or instance of suffering. Job 1–2 introduces profound suffering without offering a simple formula for every person’s pain.

Moreover, from a Christian viewpoint, God's goodness is ultimately revealed through His engagement with evil rather than its mere absence. God enters into human suffering through Jesus Christ, who endured pain and death to conquer evil and provide salvation. As stated in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Thus, God's goodness is not found in the prevention of all evil but in His ability to work through it to achieve a greater good.

Carrying this into life

These replies explain ways Christians understand divine power, knowledge, and goodness. They remain open to challenge. We can hold our convictions firmly while keeping our hands open to the person who remains unconvinced.

Isaiah 55:8–9 speaks of God’s ways exceeding ours. Christians may receive it as an invitation to humility, while recognizing that an appeal to mystery does not itself settle a logical objection.