No, it does not modify it in any respect. The Higgs boson (and the Higgs field it indicates) have nothing to do with the beginning of the universe, the creation of the universe, or a Creator. It is certainly not a replacement for God. If anything, it indicates the opposite. The Higgs field manifests the perfect symmetry and elegance of elementary particle theory, which some might interpret as manifesting the intelligence or glory of the Creator.

So why is the Higgs boson so important? It is the final piece in the puzzle of elementary particle physics. The Higgs boson indicates the presence of a Higgs field, and the Higgs field is responsible for "slowing down" energy in the universe arising out of the Big Bang. As the energy "slows down" in the Higgs field, it is "densified" into rest mass. This is what makes the "massive particles" (such as protons and neutrons) possible, providing for all the elements in the periodic table.

The term "God particle" seems to have been a marketing gimmick. There is nothing more to it.

Fr. Spitzer

Dear Lisa,

There are two ways of looking at "eternal" - something which has always existed, and something which came into existence but is eternal into the future (everlasting). I am assuming, by your question, that you mean "eternal" in the first sense, and that is a very intelligent question. As you may have surmised from my book (New Proofs for the Existence of God, Chapter 5), there really cannot be an infinite past time - it is both an analytical and mathematical contradiction, and it cannot be applied to any "real" temporal sequence. So an eternal being in the sense of "always existed" must be a being that transcends time completely - that is, it is not conditioned by any non-contemporaneous magnitude. It is a being that is beyond time. St. Augustine, as you may know, wrestled with this concept of God's trans-temporality.

Now we are ready to answer your question. A trans-temporal being must be an absolutely simple being. If you read Chapter 3 of my book, you will see why this is so, and you will also see why an absolutely simple being must be unrestricted power or act. Unrestricted power or act is power without any intrinsic or extrinsic limits. St. Thomas Aquinas called it power itself, act itself, or being itself. In Latin, it is ipsum suum esse subsistens.

Can this being (or power) itself -- "being" or "power" without intrinsic or extrinsic limit -- change? It cannot change in itself or in its nature because it is absolutely simple (there is a proof for this in Chapter 3 of my book). However, as you will also see in my book (in Chapters 4 and 7) such a being is capable of unrestricted mentation (intellection or thought) as well as unrestricted empathy (love). Even though this unrestricted being cannot change in itself or in its nature, it can change in its thoughts and relationships, just as you can change your thoughts and your relationships without changing your power or your nature. Just because you think of a balloon getting bigger doesn't mean that you have to get bigger to think about it (just a joke!).

Now every one of us is like a thought in God's mind - in fact, the whole universe is a thought in God's mind (unrestricted intellection) - and so, for that matter, is heaven. Can God, in his mind, interact with the universe in his mind, and with the people in the universe in his mind? Of course. Unrestricted intellection can interact with any of the contents of that intellection, just as you could interact with a character in your dreams. Notice that when you are interacting with a character in your dreams -- perhaps you're flying with them -- you are not changing in yourself, or for that matter, flying. So God can interact with the contents of his unrestricted act of intellection without changing his power or his nature or his self.

So we can see that God can change his thoughts of creation, and if his creation can act on its own, his thoughts of creation can change his thoughts in return. Now you are one of God's thoughts, and you also have the capacity to act on your own, and when you act in a loving way you truly affect God by affecting his thoughts in a positive way. Similarly, when you act in a non-loving way, you truly affect his thoughts in a negative way. You are not affecting his nature or his power, but you are truly affecting his thoughts. I hope this helps.

Fr. Spitzer