Episode 048 - Empathy Is Not a Sin (With Becky Castle Miller)
Recently a number of Christian leaders and teachers have been making waves saying that empathy is a sin--or at least something that good Christians need to be very careful with. Why would they say this? What do they get out of it? And why should you be concerned if you hear this line of thinking?
Show Notes
Following King Jesus by Scot McKnight and Becky Castle MillerCheck out Seminary Now, where Becky works.One source on Calvin's letter justifying the murder of Servetus: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xvi.xxii.html
Download a full transcript here or scroll to the bottom of the page for a full transcript of this episode.You can also watch and share the video version on Youtube.
More about My Conversation Partner
Becky Castle Miller writes and speaks on emotional, mental, and spiritual health in the church. She recently graduated from Northern Seminary with a master's in New Testament Context, studying with Dr. Scot McKnight. Her discipleship workbook with Dr. McKnight is called Following King Jesus. She is working on a new book about Jesus's emotions. She, her husband, their five kids, and cat returned to the US after living in the Netherlands for eight years, where she worked at an international church. She is presently the Program Manager for Seminary Now.
Becky writes on Medium: https://medium.com/wholeheartedTwitter: @bcastlemillerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckycastlemillerblog/
Today's Sponsor
The Wisdom of Your Heart - This book debunks several myths about emotions that are often taught in church, presents a healthier theology of emotions, and our best current understanding of what emotions mean when we have them, and how we can learn to hear wisdom in them.
More from Marc
Get The Anchor Prayer: A Prayer and Process for Remaining Grounded in a Chaotic World - This little book is free for you by opting in to my email list.Untangled Heart Course Online. Discovering your Authentic Core Values: A Step-by-step GuideSubscribe to my Email List. You'll get a free copy of a little book called The Anchor Prayer: A Prayer & Process for Remaining Grounded in a Chaotic World.
Transcription
Marc Schelske 0:00
Hey friends, I'm Marc Alen Schelske and this is The Apprenticeship Way, a podcast about spiritual growth following the way of Jesus. This is episode 48. Empathy is not a sin--and anyone who tells you so is trying to control you.
TODAY’S SPONSOR
Today's podcast is made possible by The Wisdom of Your Heart. We're talking about empathy today and that means we're going to touch on the world of our emotions. This is a subject close to my heart. I spent a lot of my life deeply disconnected from my emotions and it costs me gravely. You can hear the story of my recovery in my book, The Wisdom of Your Heart: Discovering the God-given Power and Purpose of Your Emotions. In this book, I also debunk several myths about emotions that are often taught in church, I present a theology of emotions, and I talk about our best current understanding of what emotions mean when we have them and how we can learn to hear wisdom in them. So, if today's conversation is helpful, or if you're unpacking difficult emotions from your past, or bad emotional teaching from the church, I invite you to check out The Wisdom of Your Heart. It's available in all the book places. Learn more at www.TheWisdomOfYourHeart.com.
INTRODUCTION
In the past couple of years, the strangest controversy has emerged and it's only getting worse. It turns out that a number of pastors and theologians have been teaching that empathy is a sin. Empathy, you know, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, that? Yeah, empathy is a sin. Now, the idea that empathy is a sin strikes me as patently absurd and dismissible. This whole podcast could boil down to me saying, "No, guys. No, it's not."