I'm not even sure He'd have to be omnipotent to do so.
What say you?
What say you?
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Can God Microwave a Burrito He Can't Eat?
- Thread starter SalixIncendium
- Start date
Pah! Anyone can do that.
Sure, why not.
No. Gods waves are the waviest and the absolute best. They aren't mere microwaves.
Many years ago, when the internet was a very cool place, I posted the same question on Yahoo Answers. One user replied, ‘You sound like a Jehovah’s Witness.’ Whatever that meant.
Anyway, if the burrito contains spiders, God would not be able to eat it regardless of how hot the burrito is. This is because God is an American, and Americans don’t eat spiders.
Now for a more serious answer. An asura could microwave a burrito that’s so hot that no other asura or deva could eat it. This also includes himself. On the other hand, Durgā would be able to eat it, causing the asura to feel humiliated. She may not be omnipotent in the sense of totally omnipotent and thereby self-contradictory, but she is omnipotent in the sense that no other being is equal or greater than her in power.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I would hope God would be a better cook than that.
That post looks like a theologically hot burrito.Now for a more serious answer. An asura could microwave a burrito that’s so hot that no other asura or deva could eat it. This also includes himself. On the other hand, Durgā would be able to eat it, causing the asura to feel humiliated. She may not be omnipotent in the sense of totally omnipotent and thereby self-contradictory, but she is omnipotent in the sense that no other being is equal or greater than her in power.
dybmh
דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
because it's a limitation of power, and a god of biblical proportions would not be limited in any way.
PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
I think whether he can or can't microwave a burrito he can't eat, is a limitation on powers. So the best way of demonstrating to others that it can't be done, is demonstrating how the paradox doesn't work, in my personal opinion. That's not to say that one has to do it in this thread, I'm more just talking in general.
dybmh
דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Right! I've mentioned it elsewhere at least twice. The absolutely omnipotent can always and forever do 'it' or not. There is no XOR, exclusive or, that can be applied to the absolutely omnipotent.
There's a formal logical argument I typed up for this... let's see if I can find it...
Can the absolutely omnipotent create a rock that cannot be lifted? No. Even though this sounds like a limitation, it's not. It's a statement of unlimited power. It means, the omnipotent can lift it OR not.
∃(created-rock) and Not Lifted (created-rock) = False
∃(created-rock) and Not Lifted (created-rock) = Not True
Not (∃(created-rock) and Not Lifted (created-rock)) = True
... Applying DeMorgan's Law and the negation of an existential quantifier ...
∀(created-rock) OR Lifted (created-rock) = True
Therefore, if the rock is created, lifting it or not is irrelevant to the truth value of the proposition. Because of this, answering "no" to the original question literally means, ANY rock can be lifted or not which is true and consistent with the defintion of omnipotence.
People assume incorrectly that answering 'no' to the question is logically denying omnipotence, but, they're wrong. Those are the rules of logic, not mine.
Whether or not a person chooses to adhere to logic is completely up to them. Ultimately I don't think it's not about logic; it's about reducing "god" into human sized proportions. As was stated earlier in the thread... the purpose of the challenge-question is to assert "even I can do that" either to deny god exists, or to claim 'i am a god'. Same-difference.
Last edited:
PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
Cool. I might need some more time to think about that.
Something which is coming to mind for me, is that if one defines omnipotence as being within the limits of logic, then God can't necessarily do the paradox. To do the paradox in its simplest form, creates a logical contradiction, and makes an omnipotent God no longer omnipotent.
dybmh
דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
If I understand what you're saying, and maybe I'm not, adding "or not" to every propostion resolves the logical contradiction you've identified.
Can you think of an example of any challenge-question in a similar form where this isn't true?
Last edited:
PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
Echogem222
Active Member
The question is actually invalid, because if God is truly beyond our ability to comprehend even partially, then defining him as a he, a God, etc. basically anything that implies a whole of someone/something is a logical contradiction.
So what you're saying here is that a whole burrito would be too much for God to eat?
What if God was a she and it was a half of a burrito?
Echogem222
Active Member
No, I'm saying that you're trying to define something that you can't fully comprehend with terms that are invalid. You're defining something with a concept that exists within reality, even though that something is outside of reality, and isn't bound by the laws of reality.
PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
Are you saying God exists outside logic?
Echogem222
Active Member
I'm saying that using the word God implies a whole, which is illogical. What exists as greater than we can comprehend is no longer logic, but something greater than logic since logic is something that we can understand.
I agree with you in that microwave burritos are not bound by the laws of reality. I don't think anything that exists in reality can get that hot without catching fire.
Maybe it would be better to use a rock in the analogy then? But in that case, why would anyone microwave a rock?