In an age where feelings are often elevated above facts, and emotional affirmation is considered a moral imperative, the concept of toxic empathy offers a necessary warning. Coined and explored by Christian thinkers like Joe Rigney, toxic empathy describes a form of emotional identification that loses its moral bearings.
It is not empathy itself that is harmful—biblical compassion calls believers to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Rather, it is a distorted empathy that demands uncritical solidarity with someone’s emotions, even when those emotions are rooted in rebellion against truth, reality, or God’s revealed will.
In this sense, toxic empathy is not merely a psychological misstep; it is a theological error. It takes a virtue—compassion—and divorces it from truth. When empathy is used to justify or affirm sinful desires, delusional self-perceptions, or identity constructs that defy God’s created order, it becomes a dangerous counterfeit of Christian love. It sympathizes with a person’s feelings while turning a blind eye to their soul’s peril.
This dynamic is especially evident in the ideologies commonly referred to as “wokeness” and “gender ideology.” These systems of thought are built upon subjective experience, personal identity, and emotional affirmation. The modern mantra, “Live your truth,” insists that individuals have the right to define themselves by how they feel. To question someone’s self-perception—whether regarding their gender, sexual orientation, or sense of oppression—is labeled as hateful, bigoted, or even violent. The cultural demand is not just tolerance, but full emotional alignment. In other words, society insists that we feel with someone in such a way that we must agree with them.
Toxic empathy in wokeness and gender ideology is the weaponization of compassion.
This is precisely what Joe Rigney calls toxic empathy. It is a form of emotional submission to another person’s inner world, often severed from objective reality. For example, when a biological male insists that he is a woman, toxic empathy demands that others not only refer to him with feminine pronouns, but also celebrate and validate this identity. To resist is to be accused of cruelty. Yet, from a Christian worldview, such affirmation is not love—it is a lie.
The Gospel teaches that our feelings are not infallible. In fact, Jeremiah 17:9 warns that “the heart is deceitful above all things.” Thus, true compassion cannot be reduced to mere affirmation. A doctor who affirms a patient’s delusion rather than offering a cure is not practicing kindness but malpractice. Similarly, Christians are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), not to enable self-deception. Toxic empathy not only leads to moral compromise; it enshrines emotion as the highest authority, usurping God’s Word.
Wokeness, too, thrives on toxic empathy. It elevates lived experience—especially narratives of victimhood—above reasoned debate or objective facts. The demand is to emotionally align with perceived victims without questioning their interpretation of events. To evaluate claims critically or to suggest personal responsibility is often treated as a betrayal of compassion. Yet, biblical justice is not partial (Leviticus 19:15). It demands truth and impartiality, not emotional conformity.
Ultimately, toxic empathy is a counterfeit of true Christian love. It trades eternal truth for temporal comfort, and in doing so, fails to love the person as God commands. Biblical compassion means entering into someone’s pain with discernment, not surrendering one’s moral compass to it. As cultural pressure mounts to affirm ideologies that conflict with God’s design, Christians must resist the seductive appeal of toxic empathy. We are called not to be emotionally manipulated by the spirit of the age, but to compassionately call sinners to repentance, anchoring our empathy in the unchanging truth of Scripture.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
rob@basedchristianity.org
RELATED CONTENT
Allie Beth Stuckey is one of the best commentators on matters like toxic empathy. I highly recommend her Youtube channel. She has authored a book on this topic. It is called Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion. It is available on Amazon.
Joe Rigney has written a fine book on toxic empathy, as well. It is titled The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits. It is available on Amazon.
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I recommend these Youtube channels for good content on Christian matters: Founders Ministries, Ligonier Ministries, Grace to You, G3 Ministries, and Truth for Life. RC Sproul, Voddie Baucham, Alistair Begg, Kevin DeYoung, Albert Mohler, Tom Ascol and John MacArthur are well-known, trustworthy pastors and teachers with content across multiple forums.
Francis Schaeffer, Tom Ascol, Allie Beth Stuckey and Nancy Pearcey have some valuable materials related to cultural matters, as well.