What God Cannot Do?!

 

But: God cannot lie, cannot commit sin, cannot make a square circle... 

Preamble 

Today, a common bold and enticing expression on the lips of many Protestant preachers and their enthusiasts is “What God cannot do does not exist!”

What motive drives it's use?  It is meant to inspire faith. But is it true? Does this reflect the True Faith handed down by the Fathers and Doctors of the Church? Or is it a modern error, born of sentimentality and imprecision?

This is an attempt to answer, as Catholics always have: with Scripture, reason, and Sacred Tradition.

What Do Protestants Mean?

Usually, this means 

• “God can heal anything.”
• “God can do whatever you ask.”
• “God has no limits.”

Indeed it does seems to affirm God’s greatness, doesn't it? Though it seems so, this phrase often becomes a slogan divorced from truth. It is used to manipulate emotions and oversimplify theology.

"What God cannot do does not exist” becomes, in practice:

• “If you believe enough, God will do anything you want.”

It is easy to see how this opens the door to presumption, false expectations, and loss of faith when prayers aren’t answered as desired. 

What Does the Catholic Church Actually Teach?

Catholics believe in God’s almighty power, as we profess in the Creed:

“Credo in Deum omnipoténtem, Creatórem cæli et terræ…”

“I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth…”

But we also believe:

• God cannot lie: “God is not a man that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). Because He is Truth itself (cf. Titus 1:2).
• God cannot contradict Himself: “He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
• God cannot make a square circle, because such a thing is not a thing at all, but a contradiction.
• God cannot sin: Sin is contrary to His perfect holiness.
• God cannot deceive or be deceived: Deception implies imperfection or malice.
• God cannot do injustice: He is infinitely just and cannot violate justice.
• God cannot tempt anyone to sin: “God is not a tempter to evil, and He tempts no one” (James 1:13).
• God cannot cease to be God: He is eternal and unchangeable.
• God cannot deny Himself: “If we believe not, He continueth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
• God cannot approve evil: His will is always perfectly good and holy.

This is not a limitation in God—it is a perfection!

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches:

“God is said to be omnipotent because He can do all things that are possible absolutely, which is the proper object of omnipotence.”

(Summa Theologica, I, Q. 25, A. 3)

What Is Omnipotence?

Omnipotence means that God can do all things that are logically possible and in harmony with His nature.

 It does not mean that:

• God can do absurd things (e.g., “create a stone too heavy for Him to lift”).
• God can do evil (e.g., “cease to be God” or “create another God”).

These are not “things” at all—but nonsense.

 St. Augustine says:

“He is called omnipotent, not because He can die or sin, but because He does what He wills and does not suffer what He does not will.” (De Civitate Dei, V, 10)

What Does It Mean for Something to "Exist"?

In considering the statement "What God cannot do does not exist," the phrase "exist" can be understood in different ways. 

From a philosophical perspective, "existence" typically refers to a thing’s ability to be actualized or to be part of the real order of being.

God is the first cause of all that exists, so, everything that exists in the universe owes its existence to God. The creation of being from non-being is an expression of God's omnipotence.

However, the idea that God cannot do what does not exist (in the sense of logically impossible things) is not a limitation of divine power. Rather, it points to the logical coherence of divine power in harmony with the nature of reality. God, in His omnipotence, does not create contradictions, as these are not real things but negations of being itself. This aligns with Aquinas' thought that:

"God does not bring about that which is contradictory, for this would not be an effect of His power, but of His impotence" (Summa Theologica, I, Q. 25, Art. 3).

Thus, logical contradictions do not exist because they are not part of the realm of being—therefore, God's power cannot create them, not because of any deficiency in power, but because they are not real. 

The Protestant Error: Ignoring the Limits of Language and Logic

The Protestant error here is not in affirming God's omnipotence, but in failing to distinguish:

• Real things (which God can create or affect), and
• Nonsensical or contradictory things, which do not fall under divine power because they are not true "things" at all.

Traditional Catholic theology always made these distinctions. Protestant theology, lacking a magisterium and scholastic tradition, often confuses pious emotional expressions with doctrinal precision.

Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., one of the greatest Thomists of the 20th century, warned against sentimental theology that “abandons metaphysical reasoning” in favor of “emotive affirmations” (cf. Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought, 1939).

He wrote:

“A sentimental theology that exalts emotional fervor over metaphysical precision cannot sustain the truths of divine perfection.” (Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought)

Without the Magisterium and the Scholastic method, Protestants often fall into:

• Fideism (blind faith without reason)
• Presumption (expecting God to act regardless of His will)
• Anthropomorphism (making God act like man)

Catholic Answer to the Protestant Slogan

 Protestant:

•  “What God cannot do does not exist.”

Catholic:

“God can do all things that are logically possible, good, and in accord with His divine nature. He cannot lie, sin, die, or contradict Himself—not because He is weak, but because He is perfect.”

Summing Up 

Careless slogans mislead souls, especially the suffering, the poor, and the desperate. False expectations lead to scandal and doubt. Catholics must offer truth with love.

 Our Lord said: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

Protestant Slogan that "God can do anything at all".

• Overemphasizes miracles Recognizes
• Leads to presumption
• Inspires emotion based faith

 Catholic Teaching that "God can do all that is possible, good, and fitting to His nature"

• Teaches that God's providence works through nature and grace
• Teaches humility and submission to God’s will
• Assures reason and faith in harmony. 

Let us glorify God's power rightly - not by slogans, but by the true knowledge of His greatness:

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of His greatness there is no end.” (Psalm 144:3)