Ideas Have Consequences The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits | Dr. Joe Rigney
Episode Summary:
Everyone loves empathy these days. But beware! Empathy seems to be a virtue perfect for hijacking and using for evil under the banner of good.
In this provocative episode, we sit down with theologian Joe Rigney to expose the dangerous confusion between biblical compassion and what he calls “the sin of empathy.” When compassion is untethered from truth, it can manipulate hearts, distort justice, and harm the very people it claims to help.
From gender identity and immigration to poverty, criminal justice, modern therapy culture, and almost every other social issue, we explore how empathy is often used to silence truth, reward dysfunction, and pressure Christians into moral compromise. This conversation challenges today’s “compassion narratives” and calls believers back to a deeper, stronger, and more truthful love that’s anchored in Scripture.
This is a call to true Christian compassion: the kind that tells the truth, seeks genuine healing, and refuses emotional manipulation.
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🎙️Featured Speaker:
Dr. Rigney serves as Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College. He is the author of seven books: Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis’s Chronicles (Eyes & Pen, 2013); The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts (Crossway, 2015); Lewis on the Christian Life: Becoming Truly Human in the Presence of God (Crossway, 2018); Strangely Bright: Can You Love God and Enjoy This World? (Crossway, 2020); More Than a Battle: Experiencing Victory, Freedom, and Healing from Lust (B\&H, 2021), Courage: How the Gospel Creates Christian Fortitude (Crossway, 2023), and Leadership and Emotional Sabotage (Canon Press, 2024). Previously, Dr. Rigney served as a professor and president of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul, and a teacher at Desiring God.
📌 Recommended Links
👉 Joe’s Book: Leadership and the Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits – Canon Press
👉 Scott’s Book: Why Social Justice is Not Biblical Justice - Disciple Nations Alliance
👉 Recommended by C.S. Lewis: The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment
👉 University: Home | New Saint Andrews College | Classical Christian College in Idaho
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