​This church leader thinks empathy can be a sin. We asked him to explain himself

Joe Rigney has authored a much-discussed new book entitled The Sin of Empathy. He defends his thesis to Sam Hailes

If I were to list the fifty biggest problems facing the Church today, I don’t think ‘too much empathy’ would make the cut.

But Idaho-based pastor Joe Rigney disagrees. His provocative new book is entitled The Sin of Empathy (Canon Press) and claims empathy is “the greatest rhetorical tool of manipulation in the 21^st century”.

Needless to say, the book has already generated plenty of online discussion. Can empathy really be sinful? I spoke to him to find out more.