What Does Omnipotence Mean?

[_KevinSim]

In this forum and some others, the idea of God's omnipotence seems to be used a lot to demonstrate that God doesn't actually exist. Some event happens, and somebody says, "Surely if there really was a good God, S/He would have prevented this event from happening." What exactly does omnipotence mean, though, the way people use it?

The dictionary defines omnipotent as "almighty or infinite in power, as God." But that doesn't help; it just transfers the lack of understanding from one word, omnipotent, to another term, almighty. I look almighty up in the dictionary and it says "having unlimited power; omnipotent, as God." So how can anyone figure out what either term actually means, when their definitions just point back at the other word?

Perhaps the key is to figure out what "infinite in power" means, and what "unlimited power" means. Does it mean, like some Christian scholars suggest, that God can do anything that can be imagined that doesn't involve a logical contradiction?

[_Uncle Dale]

I suppose that various early Christian writers indicated a number of different ways to approach the tenet.

The one that seems to have the least involvement in paradox would be omnipotence as ineffability.

That is to say, Divine capabilities are beyond human comprehension. Any manifestations of omnipotence outside of human logic would simply be unfathomable. All such manifestations within the scope of human comprehension would be incomplete -- less than infinite.

UD

[_KevinSim]

I suppose that various early Christian writers indicated a number
of different ways to approach the tenet.

The one that seems to have the least involvement in paradox
would be omnipotence as ineffability.

That is to say, Divine capabilities are beyond human comprehension.
Any manifestations of omnipotence outside of human logic would
simply be unfathomable. All such manifestations within the scope
of human comprehension would be incomplete -- less than infinite.

Uncle Dale, if, as you seem to imply, we cannot understand God's omnipotence, how in the world do we know that God of necessity has omnipotence?

[_mercyngrace]

If omnipotence is the opposite of impotence,

then maybe it just means God has a lot of offspring.... ;)

[_Cylon]

I suppose that various early Christian writers indicated a number
of different ways to approach the tenet.

The one that seems to have the least involvement in paradox
would be omnipotence as ineffability.

That is to say, Divine capabilities are beyond human comprehension.
Any manifestations of omnipotence outside of human logic would
simply be unfathomable. All such manifestations within the scope
of human comprehension would be incomplete -- less than infinite.

Uncle Dale, if, as you seem to imply, we cannot understand God's omnipotence, how in the world do we know that God of necessity has omnipotence?

Faith. That's the answer to every hard question, right?

[_moksha]

Mormon men aspire to their own omnipotence, while their wives would be happy if they could last just 20 minutes.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

It means never having to say you're sorry.

- VRDRC

[_EAllusion]

Philosophical Disquisitions has a pretty good discussion on the concept of omnipotence here:

http://philosophicaldisquisitions.blogs ... art-1.html

[_KevinSim]

Faith. That's the answer to every hard question, right?

Faith that God will preserve into the eternities some good things, I understand. Faith that God is omnipotent (whatever that means), I don't understand.

[_bcspace]

What Does Omnipotence Mean?