Christians Against Empathy Aren’t Who They Think They Are

There’s a scene from a movie I can’t get out of my head.

It’s from a 2021 film called “Don’t Look Up,” not my idea of a cinematic classic. It’s a dark comedy about the end of the world, an allegory intended to skewer those who are in denial about climate change, but in this film people are in denial about a comet that’s about to hit Earth.

The movie is equal parts funny and preachy, but the ending is poignant. The main characters of the film are gathered around a dinner table, eating one last meal as they face the end. They’re trying to have a casual conversation as the table starts to rattle.

In that moment — as we watch images of the beauty of Earth flashing in front of us — the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio interrupts the small talk with these words:

“The thing of it is, we really did have everything, didn’t we?”

I don’t want to compare the second Trump term to a comet hitting Earth (or maybe I do), but it is absolutely true that we often can’t grasp what we had until we no longer have it. Tragedy and loss adjust our frame, and the disputes and arguments that once seemed so urgent can pale in comparison to new and terrible realities.

Now let’s talk about empathy.

A year ago this month, I wrote a newsletter warning about a new trend on the MAGA Christian right. Christian theologians and influencers had begun warning about the “sin of empathy” or “toxic empathy.”

In books, essays, podcasts and speeches, prominent Christian influencers, ministers and theologians sounded the alarm that secular progressives were leading Christians astray by appealing to their emotions at the expense of their reason.

The steel man version of their case goes like this:

Progressives have turned Christians’ soft hearts against hard truths. Progressives have persuaded all too many Christians that the suffering of, say, undocumented immigrants or women facing unwanted pregnancies should override their concerns about the economic and social costs of large-scale immigration, or their compassion for victims of crimes committed by immigrants, or their concerns about the plight of the unborn child.

Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.

David French is an Opinion columnist, writing about law, culture, religion and armed conflict. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a former constitutional litigator. His most recent book is “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.” You can follow him on Threads (@davidfrenchjag).

© The New York Times