The Insurgency Against Sympathy

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In 20 19, a pastor wrote an essay called the enticing sin of pathy. He compared sympathy to a satanic alternative to compassion. Sympathy shifts focus from the sufferer's good to the sufferer’s feelings and makes them a measure of whether a person is truly loved. More than 25 people spoke to christianity to day at length about their experiences navigating conflict at bethlehem baptist.

In a special Christmas episode, David French and Curtis Chang talk about the ultimate act of empathy (God becoming human) and the somewhat surprising debate going on in certain corners of the evangelical church; the idea that empathy can be a sin. How far should we go to understand another’s pain? Does empathy require moral agreement? Is our empathy sometimes selective, reserved for those we agree with and withheld from those we don’t?

David and Curtis also dig into some reader mail for a fascinating discussion of the issue of abortion and some surprising realities that may show why pro-life Christians should look beyond the mere legal rules established under Roe v. Wade.

Show Notes:

-Joe Rigney: The Enticing Sin of Empathy

-The French Press: The American Crisis of Selective Empathy

-The French Press: Satanic Pregnancies, Explained

-C.S. Lewis: The Screwtape Letters (Amazon)

-Kate Shellnutt: Bethlehem Baptist Leaders Clash Over ‘Coddling’ and ‘Cancel Culture’

-The French Press: The Pro-Life Movement Must Transcend Politics