The Paradox of God's Omnipotence: 3 Major Dilemmas

This is perhaps one of the most difficult questions for Christians who have at least once tried to seriously think about what they believe in, or rather in Whom. This question is similar to the question: “How can Jesus Christ be God and man at the same time?” And it directly concerns the understanding of the omnipotence of God in general.

I already have several articles on a similar topic on my blog. Now I want to summarize everything that has been said so far and provide a universal understanding of almighty God.

This article is for Christians, since it was in discussions with Christians that I encountered rejection of my position regarding the understanding of the omnipotence of God, and therefore the doctrines of the Trinity and the God-Man Jesus Christ.

Let me start with the fact that God is omnipotent ! It is enough just to say Almighty and it will already be clear that we are talking about God and no one else. For only God alone can be omnipotent. And there can only be one omnipotent God. There cannot be several omnipotent people, for then each would not be omnipotent, since the omnipotence of one would be limited by the omnipotence of the other.

The Bible says more than once that God is omnipotent. God Himself says this about Himself:

Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him: I am God Almighty ; (Gen.17:1)

And God said to him: I am God Almighty ; be fruitful and multiply; (Gen.35:11)

What does Almighty mean?

Almighty means all-powerful, absolutely everything.

It seems to me that this word cannot be understood otherwise. If we say that omnipotent means he can do everything except something, then it will no longer be omnipotent, because he can no longer do everything. Everything means everything, absolutely everything.

The philosophical definition of God says: God is the personification of the Absolute. Otherwise, Personality-Absolute. In other words, God is the Absolute in everything. Including omnipotence. God is absolutely omnipotent and there can be no exceptions.

Omnipotence is the main attribute of God, the real God. Without omnipotence, God will no longer be God. Only God can be omnipotent, therefore, not omnipotent means not God.

On the other hand, based on the same philosophical definition, we can understand that God has absolute free will, He is the Absolute. What does absolute free will mean?

Free will is the ability of an individual to make choices regardless of any circumstances, at least in some cases.

Absolute free will is God’s ability to do whatever he wants, regardless of any circumstances at all, always and under any conditions.

If God is limited, even by some circumstance beyond His control, He will no longer have absolute free will, and therefore will not be the Absolute. And again it will not be God.

And now, of course, you will ask me: “Does absolute omnipotence mean the ability to do impossible or logically incompatible things?” After all, I said: absolutely everything. And I will answer you: “Yes, it is understood, obviously, that absolute omnipotence includes the ability to do impossible or logically contradictory things.” Because everything means everything! It was in this spirit that I answered the question: “Can God create a stone that He cannot lift?”

Jesus Christ as a man cannot lift a stone more than 100 kilograms. But Jesus Christ, as the Creator, created any stone and can lift any stone

And here lies the stumbling block: many smart and thoughtful Christians accused me of the illogicality and absurdity of this approach. Like, God is logical, and such possibilities cannot be attributed to God. Moreover, with such an approach one can seemingly attribute any illogical absurdity to God. And that such an understanding of God only plays into the hands of the atheists, because this is a logically contradictory understanding, and therefore erroneous. Many go even further and say that God cannot do many things and even agree that God is not omnipotent and that omnipotence cannot exist at all, since omnipotence in itself is logically contradictory (The Paradox of Omnipotence). They are forced to agree that God is still limited by the laws of logic. Otherwise, it is simply impossible to interpret their position.

But I immediately have a question for these Christians:

Is God the Creator of everything visible and invisible or not of everything?

If God is the Creator of everything visible and invisible, simply the Creator of everything, that means absolutely everything, then nothing except Himself can exist on its own and outside of Him and before Him and above Him. It seems to me that this is indisputable and consistent with the basic doctrines of Christianity and the Bible.

... for his God is the Creator of all things ... (Jer. 10:16)

Is God the Creator of the laws of nature? After all, the laws of nature are not God Himself, they are His creations, like everything else. Obviously the Creator! He is the Creator of everything visible and invisible! Can uncreated laws of nature exist? Which are outside of God and which are above God? Which even God Himself did not create? If God is the Creator of everything, then they cannot.

For by Him all things were created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible: whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers - all things were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things stand. (Col.1:16,17)

Is God the Creator of the laws of logic? After all, the laws of logic are the same laws of nature as all the others. Obviously the Creator.

for You created everything, and everything exists and was created by Your will. (Rev.4:11)

How can the Creator be dependent on laws or subject to laws that He Himself created? Either God is independent of the laws of logic and is not subject to them. Or we must admit that there are laws of nature, uncreated matter that exist outside of God and above God, to which even God Himself is subject!

Don’t you think that such a position contradicts at least two fundamental doctrines of Christianity: the Omnipotence of God and the Creator of everything visible and invisible. If God is subject to the laws of logic, then He is neither omnipotent nor the Creator of everything.

Some people try to say that the laws of logic are simply part of God Himself. But then he will have to admit that in this case God must have constituent parts on which He is dependent. And this contradicts another doctrine of Christianity, about the simplicity of the nature of God. If God consists of constituent elements, He is no longer the beginning of all things, not the First Cause, therefore, there are elements that precede Him. And again we come to some uncreated matter, and even deny the First Causality of the Creator. In fact, it turns out that God is no longer the Creator, but Himself, in some way, a creation.

On the other hand, the laws of logic are circumstances. Based on the definition of absolute free will, God is always independent of any circumstances. If God were dependent on the laws of logic, He would be dependent on some circumstances and would no longer have absolute free will, i.e. would not be the Absolute.

Whatever one may say, the attempt to fit God into any laws is even more contradictory than simply presenting God as independent of any laws. From the same opera, all attempts to logically decompose the Trinity. How many attempts I have seen to explain the Trinity logically - they are all contradictory, and not surprising, because it is impossible to completely logically imagine the Trinity! The Trinity is God independent of the laws of logic! And through the Trinity, God demonstrates to us His true omnipotence and the fact that He is the Creator of everything and the laws of logic, including. And in the Trinity there can be one and three at the same time. And for us this is a logical contradiction, but who said that we should measure God by our laws of logic? God the Trinity is the real God precisely because through the Trinity he demonstrates his independence from the laws of nature, created by Him! And all attempts to fit the Trinity into the laws of logic are ridiculous, because these are attempts to fit the unlimited God into limited laws!

The situation is similar with the doctrine of the God-man Jesus Christ. How can the nature of omnipotent God and the nature of limited man be combined in Jesus Christ? It’s very simple: God is omnipotent and independent of the laws of logic; it is just as impossible to fit this into the laws of logic, just like the Trinity.

THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD

God rules the world and everything that happens in heaven and under heaven is done according to the judgment of the all-wise and omnipotent God, incomprehensible in His wisdom and omnipotence, incomprehensible in His governance.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

God (Father)

I, the Lord, do all this...

I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create disasters, I, the Lord, do it all. Sprinkle, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds shed righteousness, let the earth open and bring salvation, and let righteousness grow together. I, the Lord, do this. Woe to him who quarrels with his Creator, shard of earthly shards! Will the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing?” and will your work say of you, “He has no hands?” Woe to the one who says to his father: “Why did you bring me into the world?”, and to his mother: “Why did you give birth to me?” Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and its Creator: Do you ask Me about the future of My sons and want to show Me the work of My hands? I created the earth and created man on it, I - My hands stretched out the heavens, and I gave the law to all their hosts. I raised him up in righteousness and leveled all his ways. He will build My city and release My captives, not for ransom or for gifts, says the Lord of hosts (Is. 45:7-13).

Turn to Me and you will be saved

Is it not I, Lord? and there is no other God besides Me, there is no righteous and saving God besides Me. Turn to Me, and you will be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. By Me I swear: out of My mouth comes righteousness, an unchangeable word, that to Me every knee will bow, and by Me every tongue will swear (Isa. 45:21-23).

Saint Job the Long-Suffering

Omnipotence and greatness of God

Can you find God by research? Can you completely comprehend the Almighty? He is above the heavens - what can you do? deeper than the underworld, what can you find out? His measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. If He goes by and puts someone in chains and brings them to judgment, who can turn Him away? For He knows deceitful people, and sees iniquity, and will He leave it unheeded? But the empty man philosophizes, although man is born like a wild colt (Job 11:7-12).

Prophet (King) David
Confidence in the omnipotence of God
God, my King from all eternity, who arranges salvation in the midst of the earth! You have broken the sea with Your power, You have crushed the heads of the serpents in the water. You crushed the head of Leviathan, gave him as food to the people of the desert (Ethiopians). You have cut off the spring and the stream, You have dried up the mighty rivers. Your day and your night; You have prepared the luminaries and the sun; You have established all the boundaries of the earth, You have established summer and winter (Ps. 73:12-17).

Venerable John of Kronstadt

How can I not believe in His omnipotence!

The Lord brought both my soul and body from non-existence into existence - so omnipotent is He! How can I not believe in His omnipotence! What would I, who myself have been brought from non-existence into being, consider impossible for Him? What does God have in the world that is higher and more precious than me, a human being? Am I not, first of all, the greatest miracle of omnipotence? I, accepted by God Himself into unity with Him, I, humbled by the Angels, I, who united with Him by faith and purity of life, I myself perform miracles of God’s omnipotence, for example: I raise the dead, like Elijah and the apostles? If the spirits of Angels and the souls of men are brought by Him from non-existence into existence, then what kind of body will He not create, animate and inanimate? Moreover, if God Himself became flesh and human soul, without ceasing to be God, if He did something impossible for us, then what could be impossible for Him after this? What is more infinite than this miracle? This is how our God has in fact shown and continues to show His omnipotence.

If one royal word is the cause of great deeds in his kingdom: he will say, and the deed will begin and be accomplished; will not the word of the King of every creature, material and spiritual, visible and invisible, the Almighty and Wise King, accomplish everything that He pleases? He speaks, and will he not do it? He speaks, and will he not abide? Oh, Almighty Power, able to accomplish everything in one instant, do not abandon us for our sins, especially for our lack of faith and despair, to torment us with our own weaknesses, so that we may not be crushed like meager vessels. Grant us to believe with all our hearts in Your almighty power! Let us not doubt the fulfillment of every good request of ours.

God, as one, omnipresent, simple, can create and transform everything in one instant, as was the case with the miracles of Egypt. The simple one does everything simply, the omnipotent one can do everything.

The One who adorned the sky with stars, could not have adorned his mental Heaven - the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos - more than the sky? He who adorned the earth with many different flowers, doused it with fragrances, could not have decorated His earthly Mother with many different colors of virtues and fragrant with all spiritual aromas? Truly. And the Lady appeared to Heaven and the temple of the Divine, adorned with all the beauty and fragrant more than all the aromas of the earth. Oh, if divine goodness would beautify even the ugly me through the prayers of Her Most Pure Mother, if only the unclean me would be fragrant! Everything is possible with God. Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

The Lord is the perfect Possessor and Master of all creation;
and we know that all creation listens to His commands, His will: Angels and people with a meaningful heart, heaven, earth and everything that is on them, even hell and everything that is in it. He commands the Angels - and they quickly move to do His will; commands us to be the guardians of reborn people - and they guard their entire lives and do not transgress His commandments in anything; commands the sky - and it either gives rain and dew, or snow and hail, or withholds them; He commands the winds and water - and they obey Him; commands the fire - and it obeys Him; commands the sun - and it eclipses or shines on the entire sunflower, warming and illuminating it; commands the earth - and it vegetates with all kinds of plants; prohibits growing - and stops; He commands the waters to pour uncontrollably onto the earth - and they pour like a global flood, he commands the winds - and they blow, rage and are destructive for our sins; commands the sea whale to devour the prophet Jonah - and he is ready to catch; commands the fish to fill the net of His disciples, and it runs and runs, obedient to the command of the Creator; commands the dead man to rise, to come to life - and death flees from man and life appears; commands the disease to leave the patient - and the disease runs away, and the patient gets up, vigorous and healthy; commands the demons - and they obey unquestioningly. Great is the name of the Lord, praiseworthy is the name of the Lord, glorified is the name of the Lord! He can transform His creatures as He pleases: for example, water into blood, water into wine, a staff into a living serpent, or again: a staff into a living plant; a person - into a pillar, like Lot’s wife; the snake into gold, and again the gold into the snake, as the Lord created through the prayer of His saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky. But especially the power, the power of the Lord is manifested in the fact that He transforms a sinner into a holy and chosen vessel, restores one who has fallen through a terrible fall, resurrects and renews a corrupted person, revives a person who is dead in soul and body, and brings one who has fallen into eternal death into eternal life. . This is a miracle of miracles; this reveals the infinite goodness, wisdom and omnipotence of the Lord of creation; or else that He Himself, being the beginningless, incontainable Lord of creation, deigned and was able to become our Man for the sake of salvation, and the Word, in Whom all was, became flesh, and dwelt in us (John 1:14), having lived with men and in everything being like a man, except for sin. The heavens and the ends of the earth were horrified at this, for God appeared as a man in the flesh (canon of English, chapter 8, song 9, irmos.), talked with us, did good to us, performed countless miracles, suffered (oh a miracle!), died ( oh, a terrible miracle!) and rose again, and raised us, who died in Adam, with Himself! I glorify Your all-good, holy, almighty, all-wise power, Lord! Reveal upon me, O Lord, Thy wondrous power and, in the image of destinies, save me, Thy unworthy servant, despising my voluntary and involuntary sins, known and unknown sins, ever instructing me on Thy path and strengthening me on this path with Thy grace, through me - and others, for whom You made me a lamp, a shepherd, a teacher and a priest. What is this worth to the omnipotence of God?
O divine power of faith! The Lord assures us that if we have even a little faith in the Lord as the omnipotent and all-good Creator of the visible and invisible world, then we can do extraordinary things through it, for example, move mountains from place to place. In fact, what is this worth to the omnipotence of God? If the earth, the weight of which is almost impossible to calculate due to the enormous amount of weight, is held in the empty space of the world, unsupported by anything, if countless worlds, most of which exceed the size of our earth, also rotate, like light balls, in the spaces of the sky by the force of attraction and repulsion , then will not some earthly mountain, some mass of earthly matter, move from its place at the word of a rational creature, devoted to its Creator and believing in His infinite power? It is natural for the spirit to command material nature: it is infinitely higher, nobler and more powerful than it, at least that is how it was created and should be so. It is only because of our sins that material nature has come out from under our subordination, does not listen to us, and sometimes even becomes hostile against us. Let us regain our primitive dominance, let us become, through living faith, one with the Lord, the Creator of the world, then we will see what it means to be a believer, a saint, a godlike person: he becomes, as it were, a god.

Saint John Chrysostom

"I am God Almighty"

Nine years later [of course, after the promises of offspring were given to Abraham] Abraham received Ishmael from a slave girl, and thought that the promises would be fulfilled on him. “Abram was,” the Scripture says about his forefather, “eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Abram Ishmael” (Gen. 16:16). Meanwhile, God tests the patience of the righteous for another thirteen years, and only then fulfills His promise. He knew well that, like gold purified after a long time in a crucible, the virtue of the righteous will appear (in temptation) purer and brighter. When, it is said, Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to him again (Gen. 17:1). Why did He delay so long? In order for us to recognize not only the patience and great virtue of the righteous, but also the boundless omnipotence of God. When nature was already exhausted and became incapable of procreation, because Abraham’s body had already withered and dried up from old age, then only by fully revealing all the virtues of the righteous man and revealing His power, God fulfills His promises. It is necessary, however, to listen to the very words spoken by God to Abraham: when he was ninety-nine years old, God “appeared” to him “and spoke to him.” When you hear that God has appeared, do not assume anything earthly here, and do not think that you can see the divine and incorporeal nature with your bodily eyes, but think about everything piously. God “appeared” to him, that is, he was granted revelation, and, seeing him worthy of His providence, shows him special condescension and enters into conversation with him: “I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless; And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will greatly, greatly multiply you. And Abram fell on his face” (Gen. 17:1,2,3).

Great is the piety of the righteous man, and extraordinary is the favor of the all-merciful God towards him! He says: “I am God Almighty” or “I am my covenant with you.” It’s as if he said this: “I,” who up to now have arranged your fate in many different ways, “I,” who called you from your home and brought you here; “I”, who fought for you and exalted you above all your accusers. And he didn’t just say, “I am God”; but - “I am God Almighty” or “I am my covenant with you.” Notice the great goodness, see how with this addition He expresses His favor towards the righteous. The God of the entire universe, the Creator of all things, the Creator of heaven and earth, says: “I am God Almighty.” Great honor to the righteous! This is what the prophets usually say. Just as now He Himself, the common Lord of all, allows a servant to call Himself His God, and later, as we will see, He says: I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, so the prophets often said: God, God, without limiting themselves only His dominion, but showing his immeasurable love. But when people do this, there is nothing surprising, but when God himself does this in relation to people, it is extraordinary and wonderful. However, let us not be surprised, beloved, but let us listen to the prophet who says: “Better is one righteous man than a thousand sinners” (Sir. 17:3), also to Blessed Paul, who says: “They wandered about in mantles and goatskins, suffering shortcomings, sorrow, bitterness; those of whom the whole world was not worthy” (Heb. 11:37,38).

Thus the prophet expresses that one who does the will of God is better than the countless multitude of wicked ones, and Blessed Paul, the teacher of the universe, remembering all the righteous who spend their lives in sorrows and in all kinds of distress, says: “Those of whom the whole world was not worthy " He contrasted these persecuted and mourning people with the whole world in order to show the greatness of virtue. That is why the Creator of all says to the forefather: “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” I will not despise the exploits of your such great virtue, but “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and will greatly, greatly multiply you.” Not just (he says) I will multiply, but I will multiply “very much,” showing extraordinary multiplication. What He previously expressed with the words: “Like the sand of the earth” and “stars,” the same thing now means with the word: “very.” And the grateful and pious servant, seeing such great condescension towards himself from God and such His care for his servant, amazed and thinking about his own weak nature, about the goodness of God and infinite power, “Abram fell,” says the Scripture, “on his face.” ", thus expressing his gratitude. Not only did he not become proud and elevated in thought from the favor shown to him, but he humbled himself even more: “He fell,” it is said, “on his face.” Such is a grateful soul: the more it takes advantage of its approach to God, the more it reveals reverence for him: “Abram fell on his face.” And when the righteous man, after that boldness (given to him), looking at himself and at the weakness of human nature, did not even dare to raise his head, but, bowing down, thereby expressed his deep reverence - look again, what ineffable mercy the all-good God shows. “God continued to speak to him and said: This is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations, and you will no longer be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations; and I will make you very, very fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you” (vv. 3-6).

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

God rules the world

There is no blind chance!
God rules the world, and everything that happens in heaven and under heaven is done according to the judgment of the all-wise and omnipotent God, incomprehensible in His wisdom and omnipotence, incomprehensible in His governance. God rules the world: let His rational creatures submit to Him, and let His servants contemplate with reverence, and let them glorify in surprise and bewilderment His majestic government, which surpasses their understanding! God rules the world. Blind sinners do not see this management. They have invented a case alien to reason: they are not aware of the lack of correctness in their gaze, the dullness of their gaze, the darkened gaze, the perverted gaze; they attribute to the government of God a lack of correctness and meaning; they blaspheme God’s government, and they recognize a wise action and call it a foolish action. “The Lord our God: His destiny is throughout all the earth” (Ps. 105:7) - preaches the royal prophet. “The judgments of the Lord are true, they are justified together” (Ps. 18:10). There is nothing unfair about them! there is nothing unreasonable about them! They are justified by their consequences, by their spiritual fruits; they are justified by the perfection of their all-perfect Source. Living faith in the omnipotence of God
The beginning of the desire for the glory of God and the striving for it are based on living faith in the omnipotence of God and in His ineffable mercy towards fallen man. Fallen man, through repentance and fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, can be reconciled with God, acquire from God, let us express it this way for clarity, a good opinion of himself, as it is said in Scripture on behalf of God to a man whose deeds turned out to be pleasing to God: Good, good and faithful servant, O If you were faithful for a little time, I will set you over many: enter into the joy of your Lord. In accordance with its initial reason, the activity of a person who wants to gain the glory of God lies in careful and constant pleasing to God, or in following the Lord with his cross on his shoulder, in pleasing his neighbors, allowed and established by the Gospel commandments. Such pleasing does not at all satisfy and even infuriates the sons of the world, who seek and demand unlimited gratification of their passions and their self-deception, for which they reward with earthly glory a people-pleaser who is hostile to God and the true good of their neighbors. “Whoever serves Me, said the Lord, let him follow Me, and where I am, so will My servant be: and whoever serves Me, My Father will honor him.”

On the moral law and the inevitability of retribution

What should I tell you in response to your letter of June 10? Pray, so that you will not fall into misfortune, the Lord said to His disciples before the onset of misfortune (Matthew 26:41 ). There is a time of sowing, and there is also a time of harvest. The moral law is immutable, according to which people must inevitably reap what they sowed arbitrarily. But the omnipotence of God and the unlimited mercy of God can change or soften the legal, logical sequence of a solid moral law. May God's blessing rest upon you and your child, and may God's mercy protect you from all evil.

You just need to understand that almighty God is independent of the laws of nature and can do anything!

And he can, if he wants, create a square circle, he can lift and not lift a stone at the same time, he can be God and man at the same time, he can be one and many at the same time. And vice versa, the god who cannot do this, who is completely subordinate to the laws of nature, the laws of logic, is no longer a real God and not God at all, because he is not omnipotent!

If you cannot imagine a God who does not obey the laws of logic, then how do you imagine a God who works wonders? After all, the miracles that God performed were also violations of the laws of nature or circumvention of them, call them what you want. The creation of everything from nothing is contrary to the laws of conservation. The creation of the entire universe in 6 days in general, I see, gives no rest to those who want to insert God into the laws of nature that are familiar to them. And the way Jesus Christ fed 5000 people with a few loaves and fishes does not again contradict the laws of conservation of matter? When did you turn water into wine? I myself don’t know what laws of nature Christ circumvented. How does the resurrection from the dead relate to the laws of nature known to us?

But here they can quite reasonably tell me: in this way any illogical nonsense can be attributed to God and, moreover, following my approach, we can now say that the more contradictory, the more delusional the description of this or that “god”, the more real, the more omnipotent he is. It is also worth adding that following my approach, God, it turns out, can sin, because the almighty God can do everything, absolutely everything.

This is not entirely true, or rather not at all true. I will begin from God's ability to sin.

Can God sin?

Based on omnipotence, it can. BUT! Why would anyone think that given the ability to sin, a holy God must do so? Yes, God can (has the ability) to sin, but He never did and will not do it because He is holy!

But that’s not all, because based on my approach, we can now say: “but what prevents omnipotent God from changing the very laws of good and evil, changing the very laws of understanding and meaning of things and, for example, creating a world where terrible violence against innocent children will good?" Yes, Almighty God can do this too.

But here we come to the most important thing in understanding the omnipotence of God. After all, omnipotence not only means that God is independent of any laws, but also that God can once and for all establish such objective laws of the universe, which He will obey according to His will; moreover, He can make them absolute even for Himself Oneself, because omnipotence means this too. Those. God once established such laws that He not only obeys, but which He established once and for all even for Himself. Which He Himself does not allow Himself to violate or change, for their very change would be their violation. Who will say that God cannot do this? He is omnipotent, and that means he can do this.

Such laws, for example, include moral laws. God not only established them for people, but He Himself does what He wants, no - God established them for everyone in general, including Himself! He is Holy ! Therefore, God will never create a world in which horrific violence against innocent children is considered good.

Such laws also include some of the laws of logic, because one could try, without violating the laws of morality, to change the very laws of understanding and the meaning of things and again create a similar perverted world. But even here God limited Himself.

Where am I getting all this from? Firstly: from a moral feeling, thanks to which we feel that the laws of morality are objective and absolute, and we feel this so much that this also implies that God Himself is subject to them. Secondly: from the Bible, where God repeatedly establishes covenants with people and swears that he will fulfill them no matter what, and He swears first of all before Himself. Thirdly: I believe in a good God, who does not deceive his creations and who establishes the same moral laws for everyone, including himself, which means I can trust my moral sense, the Bible and my reason, otherwise everything loses its meaning !

Now let's return to the laws of logic, the laws of understanding and the meaning of things in general. It is obvious that at least part of these laws were established by God absolutely for everyone and for Himself, similar to the laws of morality. Therefore, we cannot attribute any nonsense to God! And we cannot claim that the more delusional and perverted the description of some “god” is, the more omnipotent he is. This is not true at all.

The fact is that such concepts as the Trinity (3 and 1 at the same time), the God-man (God and man) at the same time, the square circle (square and circle) at the same time, actually make sense separately. Separately there can be 3 and 1. Separately there can be God and there can be man. Separately there can be a square and separately there can be a circle, these are not completely illogical things. Simply, based on the logic of the material world, they are contradictory, i.e. cannot be at the same time. But separately they may well be. And here God demonstrates His omnipotence for us, showing that the laws of logic obey Him, that He is their Creator.

But the delirium of a madman remains the delirium of a madman. Or a meaningless set of symbols remains a meaningless set of symbols or words, for example: “yloa yf zhdy fovyfald yshagyshchv gzh yvga yfzhsha ozhydva ozhfyschga lyaozhdolyf aopvlop ydlaoa ye fa yzhlo yzh yfzha o” And sin remains a sin even if God did it.

What have we come to? And we came to almost where we started. God, it turns out, obeys at least some laws of the universe. And what, you say, why was all this tricky if you came to where you started: it turns out that God obeys the laws. Yes, but not quite!

This subordination does not deprive God of omnipotence and does not imply the existence of uncreated matters and laws of nature, does not deprive God of absolute free will and the simplicity of the nature of God.

Examples[edit]

Literature[edit]

• Strugatsky brothers, “Monday begins on Saturday” - Sabaoth Baalovich Odin. Subversion. “He seemed omnipotent. And somewhere in the middle of the sixteenth century he truly became
  omnipotent.
  Having carried out a numerical solution of the integro-differential equation of Supreme Perfection, derived by some titan before the Ice Age, he gained the ability to create any
  miracle. He could do anything. And he couldn't do anything. Because the boundary condition of the Perfection equation turned out to be the requirement that a miracle should not harm anyone. No intelligent being. Neither on Earth, nor in any other part of the Universe. But no one, not even Savaof Baalovich himself, could imagine such a miracle. And S.B. Odin left magic forever.” Vyacheslav Rybakov “The Man Opposite” - the protagonist’s interlocutor directly compares him with S. B. Odin. The protagonist explains in detail “why you can’t interfere,” but in the end he is forced to intervene.

Cinema[edit]

• "Bruce Almighty" - the main character becomes an acting God.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe - Thanos and his Infinity Gauntlet.

Animated series[edit]

• "Danny Phantom" - in the "Reality Journey" story arc, an obvious copy of the Infinity Gauntlet pops up.
• “Ben 10” - the Omnitrix contains the DNA of a celestial (or, in Ben’s language, “Alien-X”), which is essentially an ordinary god.
• “Generator Rex” - meta-nanites are so powerful that they can control not only nanites, but also some aspects of the universe, such as space and time.

Comics[edit]

• "Watchmen" - Doctor Manhattan.

Anime and manga[edit]

• “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” - one of the groups of psychics believes Haruhi to be an omnipotent god. The girl indeed demonstrates the ability to change reality within very wide limits, but whether she is an omnipotent god is a matter of debate even within her own cult. Haruhi’s clashes with quite advanced aliens also capable of changing reality ended in tears.
• Bleach - this is exactly what Aizen was striving for, merging with the “hogyoku” - the local wish-granter. Alas, it didn’t work out. That, however, did not stop him from becoming immortal and getting a level-up out of the blue. However, if we remember that the Hogyoku also fulfills the owner’s true desire, Aizen’s loss was the very fulfillment of his desire - to meet a worthy opponent and lose to him.