Can God Make Something More Powerful Than Himself?

There is a class of arguments used by atheists to disprove God’s existence by showing that He can’t be omnipotent (all-powerful). There are many variations: “Can God make something more powerful than Himself?” “Can God make a square circle?” “Can God make a rock that’s too heavy for Him to lift?”

Believers are often stumped. Whether they answer “yes” or “no,” they seem to be denying God’s power. If God can indeed make a rock too heavy for Him to lift, then He’s not all-powerful. But if He can’t create such a rock, then His creative power is limited.

Here’s how to solve this dilemma.

One meaning of “possible” refers to something that’s not contradictory. An example is flying humans. Although humans don’t really fly, there’s nothing inherently contradictory about the concept of being human and flying. It’s what St. Thomas calls an “intelligible” concept, which means a concept we can conceive.

The other meaning of “possible” refers to the power a person or thing has to bring something about. We humans don’t have the power to fly, so that action is not possible for us. But God can create humans with wings if He wants to.

However, a square circle is impossible for any power to create — not because it’s too hard to make, but because it can’t exist either in the real world nor even in our thoughts. Sure, we can stick the words “square” and “circle” together, but all we’re doing is playing word games. If you try to conceive of such a thing, you’ll inevitably be thinking of either a circle or a square — or one slowly transforming the other.

If you excuse the expression, a square circle resides in the realm of non-being. It’s not so much that God can’t make it as it is a thing that can’t be made, or, to put it more accurately, it is NOTHING.

God also can’t make a being more powerful than Himself because this involves an inherent contradiction. God IS being. And any more powerful being He creates would immediately be less powerful because they began to exist when created by Him, whereas God has existed by His own power for eternity.

The atheists’ arguments are word games and not based on reality. Don’t let them trip you up!