God and the Problem of Logic
Author | : Andrew Dennis Bassford |
Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | : 142 |
Release | : 2023-06-08 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781009272421 |
ISBN-13 | : 100927242X |
Rating | : 4/5 (42X Downloads) |
Download or read book God and the Problem of Logic written by Andrew Dennis Bassford and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-06-08 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Classical theists hold that God is omnipotent. But now suppose a critical atheologian were to ask: Can God create a stone so heavy that even he cannot lift it? This is the dilemma of the stone paradox. God either can or cannot create such a stone. Suppose that God can create it. Then there's something he cannot do – namely, lift the stone. Suppose that God cannot create the stone. Then, again, there's something he cannot do – namely, create it. Either way, God cannot be omnipotent. Among the variety of known theological paradoxes, the paradox of the stone is especially troubling because of its logical purity. It purports to show that one cannot believe in both God and the laws of logic. In the face of the stone paradox, how should the contemporary analytic theist respond? Ought they to revise their belief in theology or their belief in logic? Ought they to lose their religion or lose their mind?