Saturday Bonus Podcast - Czar Talks With Theology Professor & Author Dr Joe Rigney On The Sin Of Empathy

In this thought-provoking Saturday Bonus episode of The Michael Berry Show, host Michael Berry engages theologian and author Dr. Joe Rigney on the controversial concept of 'The Sin of Empathy.' Rigney argues that while compassion is a biblical virtue, when detached from truth, justice, and moral boundaries, empathy becomes a dangerous, destructive force—what he calls 'untethered empathy.' Drawing on C.S. Lewis’s warning that love becomes a demon when it replaces God, Rigney illustrates how excessive empathy can lead to moral myopia, enabling harmful policies and behaviors—from lenient criminal justice and unchecked immigration to the radicalization of gender ideology and the dehumanization of the unborn. He traces the cultural shift to a broader failure of nerve in leadership, where passivity, finger-pointing, and emotional manipulation replace moral courage. The episode warns that empathy without truth leads not to healing, but to cruelty, especially toward the innocent. Rigney calls for emotions to be anchored in Christ and governed by reason and truth, urging individuals and institutions to reclaim moral clarity in parenting, leadership, and public life.