Is Empathy a Sin?

A helpful article from Jonathan Worthington

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

A few years ago, a handful of Christians with popular online platforms began criticizing the practice of empathy, even arguing that empathy is an “enticing sin.”

In response, Jonathan Worthington has written “Navigating Empathy,” a careful analysis of the concept of empathy that is both thorough and thoroughly useful. I’ve copied some key quotations from the article below. If you’re struggling through the question of whether or not it is appropriate for Christians to practice attitudes of empathy, take the time to read this entire article. (HT: Michael A.G. Haykin)

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“Jesus saw people hurting and was moved deep in his gut, his σπλάγχνα; he had pity, even compassion…. He experienced what medical and psychological scholars commonly call ‘sympathy,’ an emotional discomfort or even pain ‘caused by the realisation that something bad has happened to another person.’

“Jesus also took what psychological and medical (and other) scholars today call an empathic stance. Jesus (still) understands our human nature, weakness, suffering, temptation, etc. from our vantage point (in his incarnation), even feeling something of the emotions we feel in all types of situations….

“There are debates in scholarship over nuances, angles, and implications of empathy. But it is far from a free-for-all…. Here are a few aspects that are more fixed than people realize:

• it is healthy to be bothered at the fact that someone is hurting—sympathy;

• it is healthy to seek to understand others from their perspective—cognitive empathy;

• it is un-healthy to lose a sense of truth, to lose the possibility of a bigger perspective that goes beyond or even contradicts a hurt person’s perspective on their own pain—extreme relativism;

• empathy (properly understood) does not involve extreme relativism;

• it is healthy to seek to share something of the emotions of others—affective empathy;

• it is un-healthy to lose your own identity and perspective in someone else’s experience of suffering—enmeshment;

• empathy (properly understood) does not involve enmeshment.

“Does Christ deeply understand our human weaknesses and pain from our perspective while maintaining a firm hold on objective truth? Undeniably. Does Christ feel something of our emotions, especially suffering, while maintaining a clear distinction between himself and us? Absolutely. Christ does not give in to either extreme relativism or enmeshment. No, Christ empathizes with us profoundly. Real sins can be smuggled onboard a virtuous ship flying an honorable banner. And extreme relativism and enmeshment are surely being smuggled onboard the Christ-like ship of empathy.

“Let us not validate the mutineers, as if what they are saying and doing is legitimate. Neither let us criticize the banner itself. Rather, let’s clarify the true nature and mission of the ship and remove the sinful, damaging elements from it. The ship is good and its mission is right—when rightly understood. Let us say, ‘Your enmeshment, extreme relativism, antipathy toward outgroups, etc. is not empathy. And your use of non-empathy is the problem. You can’t steal this ship and banner.’ If we do not take such a careful and clarifying stand together, I fear we will never be able to successfully navigate the Christ-like ship through murky and rocky waters of public opinion to properly serve hurting people and communities in Christ’s name.”