Don’t Ask if God Exists — Ask if He Can Exist: The Answer Might Surprise You (Hint: It’s No)

We’ve all been taught to ask the big questions: Does God exist? But what if we’re asking the wrong question entirely? Instead of debating whether God exists, let’s consider whether God can exist in the first place. Picture an intelligent, complex being that exists outside of space and time. Now strip away everything that makes intelligence possible — no brain, no sensory input, no physical matter. Can this being still possess infinite knowledge, create worlds, and judge morality? The short answer: No.

Let’s dive in.

1. What Is Intelligence Without Complexity?

First, let’s take a hard look at the idea of intelligence. Intelligence isn’t magic. It’s a function of highly organized systems — neurons firing in the brain, networks of synapses processing information, sensory organs taking in data from the outside world. Intelligence is a byproduct of complexity. Without internal complexity, there’s no intelligence.

Think about it: every form of intelligence we know requires infrastructure. Even the simplest animal brain is made up of physical cells — neurons, synapses, and neural pathways — that transmit information. Without a brain or some equivalent organ, there’s no way to process information, store memory, or generate thought.

Now, ask yourself: How could a being that exists outside of space and time, with no physical form and no complexity, possibly possess intelligence? Where would that intelligence reside? What would support its existence? Without matter to store or process information, intelligence simply can’t emerge.

2. No Brain, No Sensors, No Input

Next, let’s consider how an intelligent being could gather knowledge. Intelligence isn’t a closed system — it relies on sensory input. Your brain is constantly processing signals from your eyes, ears, skin, and other senses. Without this input, you wouldn’t know anything at all.

If a being exists outside of space and time, then it exists in absolute isolation. No light to see, no sound to hear, no matter to touch. It would be like trying to think in an eternal void — without anything to think about. There’s no universe around this being to give it context, no flow of time to process change, no physical matter to observe or interact with.

How, then, could this being possibly gather knowledge or form any intelligent conclusions about anything? How could it even understand concepts like space, time, or existence itself, when it has no contact with any of these realities?

3. Storing Information Without Matter? Impossible.

Let’s talk about memory. Intelligence requires not only the ability to process information but also to store it. Every thought, every bit of knowledge, every decision you’ve ever made is stored somewhere — whether in your brain’s neurons or a computer’s hard drive, information needs physical storage.

So how exactly is an all-knowing, infinite being storing its vast knowledge if it doesn’t have matter to act as a repository? Knowledge doesn’t just float in some immaterial ether; it has to exist in something. Whether it’s synapses firing in your brain or data on a server, memory needs a physical substrate.

If God exists outside of space and time, there is no physical substrate — no neurons, no energy, no material medium to store infinite knowledge. Therefore, even if this being existed, it wouldn’t be capable of remembering anything, let alone knowing everything.

4. Where Does Intelligence Come From?

Let’s break it down to the most basic principle: Where does intelligence come from?

It develops over time. Human intelligence evolved from simpler organisms that learned to adapt to their environments. Over millions of years, neural complexity increased, allowing for higher forms of reasoning, problem-solving, and abstract thought.

Intelligence doesn’t appear fully formed. It grows and evolves from the material world. So how can a being that has never been part of space or time suddenly possess infinite intelligence? It can’t. Intelligence requires a foundation in reality — a reality where information can be learned, stored, and applied through trial and error, adaptation, and interaction with the environment.

There’s no way around it. To be intelligent, a being must have a physical presence, must interact with the world, and must learn and grow.

5. No Time? No Thought.

Now, let’s tackle the idea of time. Thought itself takes time. Processing information requires a sequence of events: you perceive something, you analyze it, you store it. You can’t have a thought without the concept of before and after — and that’s time.

So, if God exists outside of time, how could this being think? There’s no sequence of events without time. All thought, memory, and learning rely on time passing.

Imagine being frozen in an eternal, timeless moment — forever stuck, with no past to remember and no future to anticipate. There would be no capacity for thought, no ability to reason, no processing of information. Time is essential for intelligence. Without time, there’s no thought.

6. A pandora’s box of paradoxes

At this point, the contradiction becomes clear. The very concept of an intelligent being existing outside of space and time is logically impossible. Intelligence is inherently bound to complexity, physical matter, sensory input, and time itself. Without these foundations, intelligence cannot exist, let alone infinite intelligence.

If you remove space, time, and matter from the equation, all you’re left with is a paradox. A being without internal complexity, without sensors, without memory, without interaction, without thought, and without time is not just an unlikely concept — it’s a logical impossibility.

Here’s where things get really interesting. Let’s talk about self-reference. In mathematics and logic, any statement that refers to itself tends to create paradoxes. Think about it: a sentence like “this statement is false” creates an endless loop. If the statement is true, then it’s false, but if it’s false, then it’s true. This is known as the liar paradox.

Now apply this to the idea of God. The concept of “all” — as in almighty, all-knowing, all-loving, or eternal — is self-referential. “All” contains everything, including itself. But whenever you have self-reference, you inevitably get paradoxes.

If God is truly all-knowing, then He knows His own knowledge, which would have to be infinite, but He also knows His limits — wait, can an all-knowing being have limits? If He’s all-loving, that means He loves everything, including His own love. And if He’s eternal, then He must exist in all of time — but can something eternal also exist outside of time?

These self-referential statements create the same kind of logical paradox we see in the liar paradox. God, by definition, would collapse under the weight of His own self-reference. “All” is simply too much — it’s like trying to fold infinity into a single concept. The more you think about it, the more you realize that “all” is a logical impossibility. A perfect God, by His own definition, can’t exist.

7. The Paradox of Free Will: Can God Make You Do Something Freely?

Let’s take it one step further. If God is all-powerful and can do anything, can He make you freely choose something? You see the problem: forcing someone to freely choose something is a contradiction in terms. If it’s forced, it’s not free. So, can God create a situation where free will exists, but He also controls the outcome? Of course not — it’s logically impossible.

And this paradox gets even worse when you consider God’s supposed omniscience. If God knows what you’re going to do, then your actions are predetermined. So how can you have free will if God already knows the outcome? You can’t. And if free will is an illusion, then so is the idea of moral responsibility. If God already knows and controls everything, what’s the point of punishing or rewarding people for their choices?

8. The Infinite Regression Problem

But we’re not done yet! Let’s talk about infinite regression. Apologists love to argue that everything must have a first cause, and they claim that God is that cause. But here’s the kicker: if God exists, He must also have a cause. Otherwise, we’re left with a God who simply popped into existence, which is the exact thing apologists argue can’t happen.

To avoid this, they say, “Well, God is eternal — He has no beginning.” But that just shifts the problem back a step. If God is eternal, what caused Him to exist forever in the first place? If everything needs a cause, then God needs one too. The idea of God as the uncaused cause creates an infinite loop of “what came before,” which is just another version of the self-reference paradox. God becomes an impossible concept.

9. Can God Create a Problem He Can’t Solve?

Finally, let’s consider the classic paradox: Can God create a rock so heavy that even He can’t lift it? On the surface, it seems silly, but it perfectly illustrates the contradiction in the idea of almighty power. If God can create a rock so heavy He can’t lift it, then He’s not all-powerful. If He can’t create such a rock, then He’s also not all-powerful. Either way, the idea of infinite power hits a brick wall.

Can God create a problem He can’t solve? If He’s all-knowing and all-powerful, the answer should be no — because there can’t be a problem He can’t solve. But if God can’t create such a problem, He’s limited by His own nature, and that’s not all-powerful. This paradox extends to any challenge you throw at the concept of God’s power. The very idea of omnipotence is a contradiction.

Conclusion: Don’t Ask If God Exists — Ask If He Can Exist

So, the question isn’t whether God exists. The question is: Can God exist? Could an intelligent, all-knowing being exist outside of the very conditions that make intelligence possible? The answer, as we’ve seen, is no.

Without the essential ingredients — complexity, matter, time, and sensory input — there can be no intelligence. There can be no thought. There can be no memory, no knowledge, no wisdom. And without these things, the concept of a god becomes not just improbable, but fundamentally impossible.

The concept of God, as an almighty, all-knowing, all-loving, and eternal being, is riddled with paradoxes and logical contradictions. Each of these paradoxes shows that God isn’t just unlikely — He’s impossible.

From the paradox of self-reference to the contradiction of knowing the future and still being able to change it, the idea of God falls apart under scrutiny. Perfection, infinity, and omnipotence are not just difficult concepts — they are logically impossible.

In other words, don’t ask if God exists. Ask if He can exist. And the answer, surprisingly, is no.