Thomas Aquinas Essay: Is God Omnipotent?

Is God Omnipotent?

Divine Omnipotence is the idea that God is all powerful and can do anything. In Thomas Aquinas’s, “God is Omnipotent” and in George I. Mavrodes’s, “Some Puzzles Concerning Omnipotence”, there are questions raised in what it means for God to be omnipotent. Aquinas’s believes that God is in fact omnipotent but cannot do the “impossible absolutely” (Aquinas 245), while Mavrodes disagrees and believes that God being Omnipotent is contradictory. There can be no solution to the question of whether God is omnipotent or not because we do not know if there is a God or if there is, the extent of Gods power.
In Thomas Aquinas’s, “God is Omnipotent” he argues that God is omnipotent because his divine power transcends farther than what is possible in nature. But according to Aquinas, that does not mean he can do the “impossible absolutely.” (Aquinas 245) He begins his argument with showing the objections …show more content…
Mavrode’s, “Some Puzzles Concerning Omnipotence”, Mavrodes is trying to find a situation where God cannot be omnipotent. He begins argument with stating that people believe that God can do anything. To refute this, people ask what God cannot do, for example, God cannot draw a square circle. Aquinas suggests this argument is invalid because a square circle’s description is contradictory and does not exist. Mavrodes asks, “Can God create a stone too heavy for him to lift?” (Mavrodes 247) Mavrodes says that God can do anything, so he should be able to create a stone of such, but if he creates a stone too heavy for him to lift, then he is not omnipotent. If God cannot create a stone of such, then he is also not omnipotent. He believes his argument is better than the square circle argument because Mavrodes can make a boat too heavy for him to lift, but cannot draw a square circle, and therefore God should be able too also. God cannot be omnipotent because, “the phrase ‘a stone too heavy for God to lift’ becomes self-contradictory.’” (Mavrodes

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