Dr. Joe Rigney, a pastor and theologian, joins to explore the nuances of empathy in Christian teachings. He discusses how emotional blackmail can manipulate faith perspectives, especially regarding immigration issues. Rigney critiques modern charitable actions that may compromise true biblical compassion, warning against the chaos tied to misguided empathy. The conversation also navigates moral complexities in faith communities and highlights the dangers of selective empathy, demonstrating how it contributes to societal polarization.
58:43
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Empathy Risks Losing Moral Ground
Empathy, intended as an upgrade to compassion, can detach from truth and reality.
Untethered empathy leads society away from solid moral grounding and distorts compassion.
insights INSIGHT
Empathy Can Overwhelm Judgment
Empathy shares emotions but can overwhelm judgment and cloud decisions.
Without boundaries, empathy forms a reactive emotional mass that disrupts rational community interaction.
insights INSIGHT
Empathy Incentivizes Victimhood
Untethered empathy incentivizes victimhood, letting the most reactive groups steer society.
Christian compassion is manipulated when it tries to outdo God's mercy by siding with feelings over truth.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this book, Joe Rigney argues that while empathy is often seen as a virtuous trait, it can also be a tool for manipulation and a source of harm. Rigney distinguishes between empathy and sympathy, suggesting that empathy involves joining people in their darkness and distress without making judgments, whereas sympathy involves showing compassion while maintaining a sense of boundaries and truth. He discusses how unregulated empathy can lead to emotional blackmail, selectivity, and cruelty, and how it has been exploited in various contexts, including under the progressive gaze and within feminist and church settings. The book emphasizes the importance of genuine compassion that is grounded in truth and justice.
Against Empathy
The Case for Rational Compassion
Paul Bloom
In 'Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion,' Paul Bloom challenges the conventional wisdom that empathy is a moral guide. He argues that empathy, defined as feeling what others feel, is a capricious and irrational emotion that can lead to poor decision-making and even cruelty. Bloom contends that empathy distorts our judgment in various aspects of life, from philanthropy and justice to medical care and education. He advocates for a more distanced compassion based on rational, deliberative reasoning and a utilitarian approach to moral decisions. The book is grounded in scientific findings and explores the limitations and biases of empathy, suggesting that clearer, fairer, and more moral decisions can be made without relying on it.
A Failure of Nerve
Friedman
Modern Christians are regularly told that they must be empathetic and accommodating if they want to properly represent their faith, but is this really what God called us to? Pastor Joe Rigney joins me to discuss his new book, "The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits," and how emotional blackmail is being used to control Christians while driving them away from true biblical compassion.
The Auron MacIntyre Show 
