The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits

By: Joe Rigney

Narrated by: 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

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 clarity and winsomeness of his arguments.

I thought this book so aptly points to a major crisis in our times that has brewed for centuries and now has us firmly it its teeth. His thoughts were clear and biblical. I can highly suggest this to others.

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.

Thoughtful analysis

The book defined the terms well and applied the terms to the relevant topics of today's culture.

distinctions about the dangers of empathy

I appreciate the candor to challenge the negative side of empathy. I have seen many tangible examples of the manipulation of empathy in the mental health field of which I work as a LCSW.