Theme and variation

With The Music of Creation, Fortress Press (www.fortresspress.com) offers another outstanding volume in its “Theology and the Sciences” series. Some are written more for specialists, but not this newest book. Arthur Peacocke and Ann Pederson collaborated on the brief paperback that includes a CD.

Peacocke is a biologist who is also ordained in the Church of England. Pederson teaches religion at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., and is a musician. With each writing different sections, they create a “composition” that explains how music reflects the core of human experience in theological terms. The CD contains examples—from classical sacred works to jazz, blues and “holy minimalism.”