Buddhism, Science and Atheism
By Douglas M. Burns, M.D
WFB books series No.1
Introduction
Buddhism is ancient and science quite modern. Both are complex and thus an extensive comparison of the two must be likewise. The first section of this writing is primarily concerned with the discoveries and theories of modern science. Song of the more important of these are discussed in detail, and special consideration is given to the effect of these discoveries and theories upon Christian theology. The limitations and deficiencies of scientific inquiry are also discussed. The second section is the smallest and concerns the Buddhist view of atheism. The third and final section is the largest; it compares the Buddhist world view, Buddhist psychology and Buddhist epistemology with those of contemporary Western science. In this last section the structure and age of the universe, the structure of matter, the evolution of life, the nature of consciousness and other problems are mentioned.
It has been assumed that the reader already has an elementary knowledge of the principles of chemistry, biology and biological evolution. Persons who are not familiar with such terms as “molecule”, “inorganic”, “chromosome”, “gene”, “phosphate” and “hydrocarbon” will have difficulty understanding the short section entitled “The Nature and Origin of Life”.