Mar 10, 2011

29 Why I say God isn't omnipotent





Believer says: The God of the Bible is omnipotent.

But skeptic says: That’s a mere knowledge claim. What the Bible actually says is that the biblical God is almighty, and it connotes either "all-powerful” or "most powerful.” 

Some Bible editions have the word "omnipotent” in the book of Revelation. But because the Greek word there is "almighty,” other editions have that word. 

For example, the KJV uses the word "omnipotent.” So does the Amplified Bible although it includes a parenthetical note:

Revelation 19:6 [N]ow the Lord our God the Omnipotent (the All-Ruler) reigns!

While the book of Jeremiah states as follows

Jeremiah 32:17 "There is nothing too hard for you [God].”

The question is how the prophet, a mere mortal, can know it.

Although it says that nothing is too hard for God, God rested on day seven of creation

Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.

Thus the all-powerful rested even though Isaiah 40:28 says "The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.” But Genesis reports that the creator rested after six days of creation. 

Recap: There are biblical statements such as God rested, God repented, and God forgot. Defenders say they are meant to be understood from a human standpoint. That is, the Bible explains things in terms we can understand. It’s an apologist's prerogative to say that. But it sounds like rationalization. Of course, there’s always the question how the apologist knows that he speaks for the facts. Considering everything, it's questionable whether the Bible describes an omnipotent being.

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