Can Jesus warm up a burrito so hot that even He cannot eat it?

Yes, I think so.

This relates to the idea of “omnipotence” (unlimited power) as one of the attributes of God, something present in many belief systems, including Christianity. The typical response to this is to say that omnipotence is subject to the limits of what power can intrinsically do. It cannot, for example, involve a logical contradiction. God cannot, for example, make one plus one equal three.  As C.S. Lewis puts it, nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

Some thinkers reply similarly to questions like this, such as whether God can create a stone too heavy for Him to move.  I think there is a subtle difference, however. An analogy that comes to mind for me is computer programming.

The computer is a creation of man.  Within the confines of a programming language and the limits of the hardware, man has complete control over what a computer does.   Continue reading “Can Jesus warm up a burrito so hot that even He cannot eat it?”