God's Heavy Rock

"Can God create a rock so heavy that He can't lift it?"

   I'm not sure where this question originated from, but I think it's one that most people have heard at some point in their lives. In a way, it's like a logic puzzle hinging on the question of God's omnipotence - His all-powerful nature. The interesting thing is, whatever the answer is, one is forced to conclude that God simply cannot be omnipotent:

- If God can create a rock too heavy for Him to lift because His omnipotent nature entails that He should be able to, then by creating that very rock, God displays that His power has limits.
- If God can't create such a rock because an omnipotent God simply cannot be unable to lift any rock, then the very inability serves to show that God's power has limits and, thus, He is, in fact, not omnipotent.

So, then, that's it, right? In this logic game, one has to conclude that God is not omnipotent. Right?

   Well, the way I see it, the original question itself has a big problem: It doesn't establish a consistent picture of who "God" is.
   In the first part of the question, the "God" in question is clearly the ideal God of monotheistic religions, such as Christianity, who is omnipotent, living outside any physical limitations because the very laws of physics are under His command. However, by the end of the question, with the inclusion of words "heavy" and "lift", our "God" is now reduced to a "god" of typical polytheism, in which the gods are more like super powered humans... powerful, but still nonetheless bound to definite limits, in this case, namely gravity.

   With that said, perhaps a better question to ask is:

"Can an omnipotent God subject himself to limitations?"

   The obvious answer is "yes". All monotheistic religions already have an example of this in their sacred texts. Whether it be God walking in the Garden of Eden, talking to Moses from a fiery bush, or dying on a cross, the all-powerful God unsurprisingly seems to have no problem subjecting Himself to limitations. Now, is God within limitations no longer omnipotent? Of course not. This is like a master painter who chooses to limit himself to using only warm colors instead of the full spectrum. And in this light, we can also answer the original question: Yes, God can indeed create a rock too heavy for Him to lift. But He can also just as easily turn around and lift that rock without breaking a sweat.