Over the past 100 years, quantum physicists have revealed a sub-atomic world that is consistent with an idealist rather than a materialist view of reality.

   Broadly speaking, materialists support the notion of a clockwork, deterministic universe in which "matter" is primary, mind is its derivative, and free will is illusory.

   In contrast, idealists believe mind is primary, the source and sustenance of all that is.

   Despite the evidence of quantum physics, materialist thinking dominates the western world and is spreading its tentacles eastwards. For the most part it is anti-religious or else ignores religion as antiquated.

   Why is it important? Because the anti-religious, materialist philosophy based upon an out-dated science  that dominates western culture is on a self-destruct course that must be stopped.

    The Urantia Book has close affinities with idealist thinking and none with materialism. However, fifty years after first publication its teachings have made only marginal headway. Perhaps this will remain the case until materialism is laid to rest. So is it possible that Urantia Book followers will need to promote idealist science simultaneously with the teachings of the book? If so we will need to remember that the book's spiritual aspects are mostly revelatory whereas its science is not. (1109)

   Despite world-wide ignorance of the facts, at the frontiers of scientific research and advancing human knowledge, the death knell for the concepts of science-based materialism and a clockwork, deterministic universe was sounded almost 100 years ago. However, the carcass is still with us and kicking vigorously.

There's good

   It is factual that science has brought enormous benefits to mankind because of its role in stimulating the invention of the means and the evolution of those means that brought us our modern industrial system.

And there's bad

   The effects of science on modern society have not been all good. For example, science has played a prominent role in the production of the horrific machinery of modern warfare. But, if measured in terms of  human misery and distress, even those effects would be dwarfed in comparison to the destructive effects of science-based materialism on the minds and lives of modern men and women.

   Among its worst aspects is the expurgation of both faith, trust, and hope from the thought processes of modern youth, the absence of which  has generated a degree of desperation such that escape may be sought via mind-numbing drugs or suicide. The tragedy of all this is that this whole scene is founded on ignorance of those scientific discoveries that nullify materialism as a valid philosophy of life.

   It is also true that a large majority of scientists and philosophers are ignorant of both the advances made in quantum physics and the meaning of those advances when extrapolated to the macro-world.

Laziness? Don't care? Or nobody listens?

  The dominance of materialist philosophy shows that communication of the message from quantum physics has been ineffective. Perhaps it is true that to have a full understanding of the evidence, knowledge of advanced mathematics and physics is essential. But it is also certain that even without such knowledge, a reasonable, qualitative appreciation of its consequences can be acquired.

That is a purpose of this article. In its presentation, the assumption will be made that many readers have only a minimal knowledge of chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

What makes good science?

   Let's begin with gaining an appreciation of what constitutes science and the scientific method from a professional's viewpoint. Science is based upon observation, repeatability, and measurement. Saying so does not make it so. Say so must be backed up by experimental observations from many different angles and these must be repeatable by independent observers.

   When all the facts are gathered, theories may emerge. A theory that is impossible to test by experimental means has little or no value. For a theory to gain credence, it needs to be the basis of predictions that can be checked out by observation and experiment.