August 21, 2025 • 6 mins
Empathy is supposed to be untouchable—a universal virtue. But what happens when empathy gets rebranded as weakness… or even sin? In this episode, we dig into how empathy is praised, twisted, and weaponized—from theology to politics to pop culture. Is empathy healing, enabling, or just another tool for control?
Stay sharp. Stay skeptical. #SpotTheGaslight
Read and reflect at Gaslight360.com/clarity
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Think First, where we don't follow the script
.
We question it Because in aworld full of poetic truths and
professional gaslighting,someone's got to say the quiet
part out loud.
Big question Can empathy everbe wrong, not just misplaced,
(00:24):
not just overdone, but actuallyharmful, even sinful?
That's not a question mostpeople ask.
Empathy is usually the onething no one argues against.
It's like air puppies, wi-fi.
Who's going to stand up and sayyou know what this world needs?
Less empathy, apparently, somepeople have.
(00:46):
Take Allie Beth Stuckey,conservative commentator, wrote
a whole book Toxic Empathy.
Her point Empathy becomesdangerous when it validates sin,
lies or destructive policies.
Or Joe Rigney, pastor, wrotethe Sin of Empathy.
Yes, that's the actual title.
(01:07):
According to him, empathy isn'talways Christian love.
It can be counterfeitcompassion.
So now we're living in a worldwhere empathy itself is on trial
and, depending on who you ask,it's either the holiest of
virtues or a gateway drug tomoral collapse.
Something here doesn't add up.
(01:28):
Is empathy always a virtue, oris it context-dependent?
What's the difference betweencompassion that heals and
empathy that enables?
And who gets to decide whenfeeling someone's pain crosses
into endorsing their choices?
Let's zoom out.
(01:49):
In psychology, empathy is rarelycondemned, it's celebrated.
The only caution flag isover-identification.
That's when you take onsomeone's suffering so much you
drown in it yourself.
Therapists call it burnout,compassion, fatigue,
codependency.
Notice the difference.
Secular psychology doesn't sayempathy is sinful, it just says
(02:13):
pace yourself, which is a littleless dramatic than repent.
You sinner, for you cared toomuch about your neighbor's
feelings.
But politics Whole differentgame.
Empathy is either weaponized ordismissed as weakness.
Immigration you must feel forfamilies at the border, or
you're heartless.
(02:34):
On the flip side, you must feelfor the victims of crime when
borders are open, or you'recomplicit.
Crime policy Same script.
Empathize with victims You'rerighteous.
Empathize with offenders You'rewoke.
And gender debates oh boy.
Empathy for trans identityYou're enlightened.
(02:54):
Empathy for women's spacesYou're a bigot.
It's not empathy itself thatchanges, it's who you're told to
empathize with.
Here's the gaslight.
You're not allowed to decidewho deserves empathy.
That decision has already beenmade for you.
If you empathize with the wrongside, suddenly your virtue
(03:16):
turns into vice.
Empathy, then, isn't just aboutfeelings, it's about control.
And here's where poetic truthsneaks in.
Empathy gets framed not as amessy human response but as a
staged performance.
Think celebrity hashtagcampaigns.
Think corporations suddenlycaring about human rights just
(03:38):
in time for Pride Month or BlackHistory Month sales.
Pepsi once tried to solvesocial unrest with a Kendall
Jenner soda commercial.
Remember that.
Nothing says I feel your pain,like handing a can of Diet Woke
to a riot cop.
Is that real empathy?
Or is it empathy as branding?
Empathy as costume jewelryflashy in the right light but
(03:59):
worthless when tested?
In the army, we were trained tounderstand what an enemy
soldier might be thinking, butnot to feel it.
That's intelligence Strategy.
If you start empathizing toomuch with someone trying to kill
you, you're not a soldieranymore, you're a liability.
That's a sharp reminder.
Empathy without boundaries isn'tnoble, it's dangerous.
(04:21):
So where does that leave us?
Maybe empathy is like fire itwarms, it cooks, it lights the
dark, but left unchecked, itburns the house down.
The deeper question is notwhether empathy is good or bad.
It's whether you're the onedeciding when and how to use it,
or whether someone else hasalready gaslit you into
(04:43):
believing their empathyperformative, selective,
weaponized is the only kind thatcounts.
Where in your own life have youconfused empathy with agreement
?
Where have you been pressuredinto feeling the right thing
instead of thinking first?
And maybe most importantly,what would it look like to
empathize honestly, withoutoutsourcing your moral compass.
(05:13):
Empathy isn't a sin, but it canbe twisted into one, not by God,
not by psychology, but by thestories we're told and the
frames we're handed about whatit means to be a good person.
I'm Jim Detchen and you don'tneed all the answers, but you
should question the ones you'rehanded, Because sometimes the
real sin isn't empathy, it'sletting someone else tell you
when to feel it.
Until next time, stay skeptical, stay curious and always think
(05:37):
first, want more.
The full six-step framework weuse is at Gaslight360.com.
You can also dive into thedeeper story, the bio, the
podcast and the mission atJimDetchincom.
And if you like this one, tagit, save it, share it.
(05:58):
Thank you,
This is Think First, where we don't follow the script
.
We question it Because in aworld full of poetic truths and
professional gaslighting,someone's got to say the quiet
part out loud.
Big question Can empathy everbe wrong, not just misplaced,
(00:24):
not just overdone, but actuallyharmful, even sinful?
That's not a question mostpeople ask.
Empathy is usually the onething no one argues against.
It's like air puppies, wi-fi.
Who's going to stand up and sayyou know what this world needs?
Less empathy, apparently, somepeople have.
(00:46):
Take Allie Beth Stuckey,conservative commentator, wrote
a whole book Toxic Empathy.
Her point Empathy becomesdangerous when it validates sin,
lies or destructive policies.
Or Joe Rigney, pastor, wrotethe Sin of Empathy.
Yes, that's the actual title.
(01:07):
According to him, empathy isn'talways Christian love.
It can be counterfeitcompassion.
So now we're living in a worldwhere empathy itself is on trial
and, depending on who you ask,it's either the holiest of
virtues or a gateway drug tomoral collapse.
Something here doesn't add up.
(01:28):
Is empathy always a virtue, oris it context-dependent?
What's the difference betweencompassion that heals and
empathy that enables?
And who gets to decide whenfeeling someone's pain crosses
into endorsing their choices?
Let's zoom out.
(01:49):
In psychology, empathy is rarelycondemned, it's celebrated.
The only caution flag isover-identification.
That's when you take onsomeone's suffering so much you
drown in it yourself.
Therapists call it burnout,compassion, fatigue,
codependency.
Notice the difference.
Secular psychology doesn't sayempathy is sinful, it just says
(02:13):
pace yourself, which is a littleless dramatic than repent.
You sinner, for you cared toomuch about your neighbor's
feelings.
But politics Whole differentgame.
Empathy is either weaponized ordismissed as weakness.
Immigration you must feel forfamilies at the border, or
you're heartless.
(02:34):
On the flip side, you must feelfor the victims of crime when
borders are open, or you'recomplicit.
Crime policy Same script.
Empathize with victims You'rerighteous.
Empathize with offenders You'rewoke.
And gender debates oh boy.
Empathy for trans identityYou're enlightened.
(02:54):
Empathy for women's spacesYou're a bigot.
It's not empathy itself thatchanges, it's who you're told to
empathize with.
Here's the gaslight.
You're not allowed to decidewho deserves empathy.
That decision has already beenmade for you.
If you empathize with the wrongside, suddenly your virtue
(03:16):
turns into vice.
Empathy, then, isn't just aboutfeelings, it's about control.
And here's where poetic truthsneaks in.
Empathy gets framed not as amessy human response but as a
staged performance.
Think celebrity hashtagcampaigns.
Think corporations suddenlycaring about human rights just
(03:38):
in time for Pride Month or BlackHistory Month sales.
Pepsi once tried to solvesocial unrest with a Kendall
Jenner soda commercial.
Remember that.
Nothing says I feel your pain,like handing a can of Diet Woke
to a riot cop.
Is that real empathy?
Or is it empathy as branding?
Empathy as costume jewelryflashy in the right light but
(03:59):
worthless when tested?
In the army, we were trained tounderstand what an enemy
soldier might be thinking, butnot to feel it.
That's intelligence Strategy.
If you start empathizing toomuch with someone trying to kill
you, you're not a soldieranymore, you're a liability.
That's a sharp reminder.
Empathy without boundaries isn'tnoble, it's dangerous.
(04:21):
So where does that leave us?
Maybe empathy is like fire itwarms, it cooks, it lights the
dark, but left unchecked, itburns the house down.
The deeper question is notwhether empathy is good or bad.
It's whether you're the onedeciding when and how to use it,
or whether someone else hasalready gaslit you into
(04:43):
believing their empathyperformative, selective,
weaponized is the only kind thatcounts.
Where in your own life have youconfused empathy with agreement
?
Where have you been pressuredinto feeling the right thing
instead of thinking first?
And maybe most importantly,what would it look like to
empathize honestly, withoutoutsourcing your moral compass.
(05:13):
Empathy isn't a sin, but it canbe twisted into one, not by God,
not by psychology, but by thestories we're told and the
frames we're handed about whatit means to be a good person.
I'm Jim Detchen and you don'tneed all the answers, but you
should question the ones you'rehanded, Because sometimes the
real sin isn't empathy, it'sletting someone else tell you
when to feel it.
Until next time, stay skeptical, stay curious and always think
(05:37):
first, want more.
The full six-step framework weuse is at Gaslight360.com.
You can also dive into thedeeper story, the bio, the
podcast and the mission atJimDetchincom.
And if you like this one, tagit, save it, share it.
(05:58):
Thank you,
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