This week on This Ain't It, we're talking about the newest culture-war claim: that empathy is dangerous, unbiblical, or even a sin. Starting with 2 Thessalonians and the recent headlines about "empathy as a Christian battleground," we look at how compassion got politicized — and why some Christians are working so hard to separate love from empathy.

We also dig into how scripture actually treats compassion, what Jesus models in his own ministry, and why conversations about empathy always seem to circle back to immigration, poverty, and power. From boundary-setting to bad theology, we unpack what's really going on underneath the anti-empathy movement — and what's at stake when Christians start treating care like a liability.

SHOW NOTES

Axios - "Empathy is the New Christian battleground"

AP - "Can empathy lead to sin? Some conservative Christians argue it can."

Matthew's blog post: "What Is Our Obligation to Others?"

Straight White American Jesus - It's in the Code ep 146: "Empathy is...What, Exactly?"

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Film: "13"