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David French and the Pink Spiders of Empathy, September 20, 2021.

Introduction.

David French recently wrote about what he sees as a significant developing problem with

the issues of empathy and sympathy in the church.

As yours truly got mentioned in his piece, I thought that this would be a good time

for a refresher on this most significant topic.

Despite initial appearances, this is not an esoteric debate about a bunch of nothing.

It does not have to do with whether we place more emphasis on the third or fourth dictionary

definition of a word like empathy.

No, the correspondence view of truth itself is actually at stake, and that means everything

is at stake.

It really is a big deal.

Two things right at the front end.

Let us start with this initial problem with French's approach.

Quote, Christians of all people should understand the ultimate empathy of the incarnation itself,

as the book of Hebrews declares, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize

with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are,

yet he did not sin.

The American Crisis of Selective Empathy.

This actually has more to do with selective translation than with selective empathy.

The difficulty is that the Greek word that French renders here as empathize is actually

...