The paradox of omnipotence presents the theist with the question “Can God create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?” This question, it is suggested, cannot be answered in a way that is consistent with God’s omnipotence. If it is affirmed that God can create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it then it must be conceded that God lacks the power to lift that rock. If it is denied that God can create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it then it must be conceded that God lacks the power to create that rock. Either way, then, it must be conceded that there is some power that God lacks, that God is not all-powerful.

One theistic response to this argument is offered by GB Keene. Keene argues that the negative answer to the question “Can God create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?” is consistent with divine omnipotence. That is, Keene suggests that a being that is unable to create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it might nevertheless be omnipotent.

Keene does this by noting that the negative answer to the question can be phrased in a number of ways: “God cannot create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it”, “There is no rock such that God can create it but cannot lift it”, and “Any rock that God can create, God can lift”, for example. Each of these statements is logically equivalent; they all say exactly the same thing.

The negative answer to the question “Can God create a rock so heavy heavy that he cannot lift it?” appears inconsistent with divine omnipotence only because of its grammatical form. It is only because this answer begins “God cannot…” that it appears to deny a power to God. The alternative ways of phrasing the negative answer to the question show that this is a mere linguistic appearance. Though “God cannot create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it” appears to deny that God possesses a certain ability, namely the ability to create a certain rock, “Any rock that God can create, God can lift” clearly attributes to God a wide-ranging ability, namely the ability to lift any rock that he can create. It affirms, rather than denies, God’s power.