A Finite God and Omnipotence

[Divine Insight]

Can it be said that a finite God could be omnipotent?

I've heard many arguments that an omnipotent God is logically impossible because there could be no such thing as a God who could make an object so heavy that even he couldn't lift it.

But that assumes that God is infinite in what it can do.

What if a God is finite in what it can do? Could it still be said to be omnipotent?

I think it could be said to be omnipotent within this context.

Let's say that all possible things that can be done are indeed finite. That might be hard to imagine, but for the sake of argument let's assume this to be true.

If this is the case, and a God can do every possible thing in that finite set of possibilities, then wouldn't it be fair to say that this God is "omnipotent" in this context?

After all, if God can do everything that is possible to do then God could be said to be omnipotent in that situation. The fact that we can describe things that are impossible (like making an object too heavy to lift) wouldn't apply if that specific possibility simply doesn't exist within the finite set of possibilities.

In other words, the saying "With God all things are possible", could simply mean that, with God, everything that is contained within the set of possibilities are possible. If something is not in this finite set, then it's simply not within the realm of possibility.

In fact, if we look at this from a human point of view we can see why it would make sense to say that with God all things are possible.

Imagine that all possible things are finite in scope. However, within that finite set, humans on their own, can only do a small subset of those possibilities. Not only now, before forever. They will always be restricted to a small subset of what's possible no matter how technologically advanced they become.

But if God can do everything that's possible (albeit a finite number of things) then it still makes sense to say that "With God all things are possible". Because in this context it simply means that if anything is possible then God can do it. And if it's not possible to do then it's just not in the set of possibilities at all.

In other words, there is nothing within the set of possibilities that God can't do.

Therefore, in this context it makes sense to say that this God is "omnipotent" because God can do anything that's possible to do. And if something is impossible (like God making an object too heavy that even he can't lift it) then that's just not in the set of things that are possible in reality.

It seems to me that it would make sense to say that this God is "omnipotent" in this given context. This God can do everything that's possible to do. That's pretty omnipotent right there.

[Monta]

[Replying to post 38 by Monta]

That seems to me is self-contradictory.

If God is order itself and hence cannot be apart from order then why did you go on to say we can not fit God him into mathematics.

***ME: We re talking about God's Divine Order of which we are a shadow.

The former statement seem to falls into the "God cannot do the logically impossible" camp, where as the latter is the typical rhetoric from the "God can do the logically impossible" camp. Mathematic is the language of logic. Are you making the distinction between the logical nature of reality and our understanding of logic?

***I'd say that God's wisdom (Order) can not be understood with our natural mind, our natural sciences.
One is Divine the other natural. Both quite valid and they communicate by correspondences. Jesus spoke in parables which correspond to spiritual truths. Because He spoke heavenly/Divine truths, and we by reading these words with reverence are in correspondence with heaven by which heaven(ly) inflows.

Some of these correspondences we see in everyday life - we give red roses to the one we love, royalty is robed in purple, the value we give to gold, crystal etc.