The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits

De: Joe Rigney

Narrado por: Joe Rigney

The so-called virtue of empathy is the greatest rhetorical tool of manipulation in the 21st century.

Because love is a real virtue, empathy’s power is in posing as selfless care for victims.

A sad polar bear paces as David Attenborough informs you that the family suburban is melting the ice caps.

“Jesus was an asylum seeker!” the sign reads at an Open Borders Rally.

A forlorn Bruno wishes he too could change in the women’s locker room, a place he’s always known he belonged.

“My mom said if we don’t go she’ll be just devastated.”

When you reject the sin of empathy, you reject the manipulation of the media, the manipulation of family and friends, and most importantly, the manipulation of your own heart.

©2025 Canon Press (P)2025 Canon Press

So relevant for the church and society.

Loved everything except the idea of women as pastors. Agree wholeheartedly about feminism in general. Loved the references and quotes from C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton.

A Must Read

I enjoy the way that Joe takes the concepts of Friedman and distills them into digestable pieces. This has been a great book to hand out to those leaders who lack the discipline to read a long and in-depth analysis of empathy. It's well written, clear, and has no fat. If you're used to books like this being full of either redundancy or doublespeak this book will be quite refreshing.

Fantastic Clarity

Great clarity, definitions, and exposition by Pastor Rigney. An important note on something that has become an infectious undercurrent in modern society.

The most remarkable part of this book is its how obvious the idea is.

Rigney skillfully lays out the reality that we live in a world of sin and disordered passions or emotions. When we do not subjugate those passions and emotions to the truth, the result is sin. This is something that can easily be seen in passions such as anger and jealousy, but because of the cultural moment we end up having a blind spot to how empathy can do the same thing. Well worth the time of any Christian who wants to represent Christ and be better equipped to love one another as Christ commands.

Important Topic for Today!

The author is easy to understand, explains the concepts well, and backs up his claims with Scripture. I especially enjoyed his Screwtape parody in the Appendix! Very well done! Will definitely recommend to others. I also plan to purchase a hard copy of the book so I can really digest it.

critical assessment of our cultural mood

every Christian should read this book, and become familiar with the arguments and worldview expressed

Clarity

Backed up by the Word of God… this book gives clarity to the virtue we have known as empathy. The world has taken this virtue and twisted into sin. Dive in deeper and understand what you just haven’t been able to put your finger on but you know it is amiss.

Rigney’s Radical Rally to Rationality

Rigney calls the listener to exhibit godly compassion by being tethered to the truth of Gods word and rejecting secular means of interpreting the world around us. The culmination of 7 years worth of pastoral counseling through the woes of the woke world we live in, Rigney masterfully delineates between tethered sympathy and untethered empathy.

The applicability to today's issues is amazing

really enjoyed the book found it very helpful and insightful. I found it both applicable to my own life and insightful into many aspects of culture around me.

What the world needs to realize

Joe does it again. With his sharp wit and use of dry humor and maybe a touch of sarcasm thrown in here and there…. Joe explains how people get gaslighted, baited and tricked i to conforming to sin. A must read for those with worldly friends trying to walk the narrow path. Well done!