According to one of my student's papers that I am currently grading, the fact that something is logically impossible doesn't prevent that thing from actually being the case. So, the student writes, even though it is logically impossible for God to be all good, all knowing, and all powerful, God still exists and is omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent.
And this is only on page 1. Nowhere to go but up in the next 11 pages....
UPDATE: And boy did things go up the next 11 pages. According to the same student, Peter van Inwagen is an atheist. I wonder if PvI knows this....
UPDATE II: From a different paper for a different class, with a different reaction--this time a chuckle rather than a groan: "At the beginning of the semester I had no idea what I was getting myself into by taking this course."
UPDATE III: This one from an exam: "God exists and is omniscient and impotent."
LMAO to Update #3.
A compound word for that student:
Proof
-read.
Actually, wait. I just noticed that this was from an EXAM, not even a paper!!! Now I'm wondering if maybe that was intentional, because... just... come on! You can't really miswrite "omnipotent" as "impotent."
Kidd,
You might be suprised at what some students are capable of messing up!