Today I saw an article in WORLD Magazine entitled “Weird Science” (read it online here).  Being a science kind of guy the caught my eye, but the subtitle was even more mysterious – “The ‘God particle’ and the future of physics.”  Since I have just completed particle physics, I read the article with interest (don’t worry, I’m not going to get overly technical here).  The article discussed the so-called Higgs Boson (a boson is a type of particle that is so mind-bogglingly small and light that it is considered to have essentially no weight or size), which is currently purely scientific speculation – no evidence at all whatsoever has ever been observed hinting at the existence of such a particle.  However, a group of scientists believes that it will make the theory of evolution much tidier and so have set out on a $5-10 billion quest to uncover evidence of its existence.  This project is called the Large Hadron Collider.

The trouble is that the Higgs Boson – or “God particle” – if discovered would not really help the theory of evolution at all.  Current quantum mechanical models recognize 16 types of basic particles (6 quarks, 6 leptons and 4 bosons, for you technical folks) but this model causes problems when it comes to explaining the big bang.  The proposed solution is the “God particle” which is believed to be the single basic particle from which all others can be derived after tremendous release of energy (such as the “big bang”).   At first glance this seems to solve the problem – now we can explain how matter could be concentrated in a single point!  However, in reality this only causes other problems.  All they have done is they have taken God trimmed Him down to get rid of the uncomfortable parts (personal responsibility, accountability, authority, etc) and then cast Him as a particle.  Evolution is uncovered and revealed to all for what it truly is, a counterfeit religion.  The Bible tells us, “In the beginning God…” (Gen. 1:1), evolutionists tell us, “In the beginning Matter (a particle)…”  The Bible says death is a punishment for sin (Gen. 2:17), evolution says death is a means of creation.  The Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and full of purpose, evolution tells us our lives are meaningless.  And the list goes on.  The discovery of the Higgs Boson may boost the confidence of evolutionists in their own religion, but it certainly does not unequivocally prove it true nor does it in any way recommend it to peoples of other religions.  No, after all the congratulations are over, evolution will be right where it is now firmly entrenched, but religion nonetheless.

Please note that I do not completely oppose the Large Hadron Collider experiments.  I am skeptical of them due to their high price tag but I am just as curious as any Physicist to see if the Higgs Boson does exist.  However, I will view these results through a different worldview than my atheistic evolutionist friends.  I will see a wonderful, almighty Creator who created a marvelously ordered universe for us to explore and discover.  The Bible tells us in Acts 17:27 “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”  I believe the previous passage applies to the study of the natural world, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) – all things, even Bosons.

Note to Technical readers: The Higgs Boson is theorized to have a broader impact than simply explaining the big bang (though that is the stated goal – see http://lhc-machine-outreach.web.cern.ch/lhc-machine-outreach/ top of the page).  For example, it is assumed to permeate space-time, to give matter certain properties such as mass, provide insight into higher spacial dimensions and will provide a critical link in the search for a Grand Unification Theory – all of these are exciting scientific ideas if they can be demonstrated.  Furthermore, the massive system that can raise particles to 7 TeV of energy and produce 14 TeV collisions is an engineering feat that, as an engineering student, commands my respect.  I am very interested in the scientific aspect of these ideas, without introducing the religion of evolution.