Consider No Evil
Two Faith Traditions and the Problem of Academic Freedom in Religious Higher Education
by Brandon G. Withrow and Menachem Wecker
Imprint: Cascade Books
Brandon G. Withrow is lecturer in religious studies at The University of Findlay, Ohio. His latest books include, Consider No Evil: Two Faith Traditions and the Problem of Academic Freedom in Religious Higher Education (2014), Becoming Divine: Jonathan Edwards's Incarnational Spirituality within the Christian Tradition (2011), and Katherine Parr: A Guided Tour of the Life and Thought of a Reformation Queen (2009). His contributions have appeared in The Huffington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Inside Higher Ed. He lives in Perrysburg, OH where he spends his days cycling, gardening, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
Menachem Wecker has reported on religion and education for the Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, Chronicle of Higher Education, Religion News Service, Jewish Daily Forward, National Catholic Reporter, Arab American News, and others. He was previously the education reporter at U.S. News & World Report.
"When students ask me about truth, I always send them to the religion department. In the future I will point them to Consider No Evil, a work that has contrived successfully to carry water on both shoulders. This is an important book, well written, thoughtfully providing an insider's view of historically private institutions. I recommend it for students of higher education in both secular and religious institutions."
--Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, University Professor and Emeritus President, The George Washington University
"Consider No Evil' is a gift to scholars, clergy, and students alike. It provides historical, social, and personal context to clarify the thorny issues surrounding academic freedom at religious institutions of higher learning. With great nuance and insight, Withrow and Wecker promote transparency and forthrightness as a means of avoiding tension between scholars and their institutions."
--Joshua Stanton, Assistant Rabbi, Temple B'nai Jeshurun, New Jersey
"In Consider No Evil, Withrow and Wecker act as spiritual guides in the complex, fraught, and persistently influential world of religious education. Using their own orthodox religious training as a springboard, the authors start a much-needed conversation on the tension inherent in the religious goal of transmission of tradition and the educational goal of the unobstructed search for truth. Consider No Evil should be required reading for all who study, teach, or preach within the hallowed halls of seminaries, yeshivas, and divinity schools."
--Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Senior Religion Editor, The Huffington Post