Toxic Empathy by Allie Beth Stuckey

Toxic Empathy

by Allie Beth Stuckey

A sharp Christian voice makes a bold argument: when politics are driven by empathy rather than truth, innocent people pay the price.

We are told that empathy is the highest virtue—the key to being a good person. Is that true? Or has “empathy,” like so many other words of our day—“tolerance,” “justice,” “acceptance”—been hijacked by bad actors who exploit compassion for their own political ends? 

In Toxic Empathy, Allie Beth Stuckey argues that empathy has become a tool of manipulation by left-wing activists who bully people into believing that they must adopt progressive positions to be loving. She explores the five most heated issues through which toxic empathy is deployed: abortion, gender, sexuality, immigration, and social justice. Progressives use catchy mantras to present their perspective as empathetic, like “abortion is healthcare,” “love is love,” or “no human being is illegal,” but in each case, they ignore the other side of the moral equation. For example, abortion is presented as compassionate for the woman, but what about the human life the procedure kills?

This book isn’t about killing empathy; it’s about submitting our empathy to God’s definitions of love, goodness, and justice. Stuckey exposes the logical pitfalls and moral consequences of toxic empathy, equipping Christians with research-backed, Biblical truths to dismantle the progressive lies that have permeated our culture—and our church.

Reviewed by Jeff Sexton on

1 of 5 stars

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There Is A Case To Be Made For The Premise Of This Book. The Text Of This Book Does Not Make It.  

 

And ultimately, that's the bottom line. Not because Stone Cold Said So, but because Stuckey was so utterly inept in trying to make her points that she didn't bother to do even cursory research into the issues - at least, at bare minimum, immigration and police abuse of citizens.  

 

Her points about abortion seem reasonable, if almost verbatim from the pregnancy crisis centers anti-abortion advocates run. Be warned, through this section - the first chapter of the book - Stuckey dives deep on being as explicit as possible on what exactly happens during an abortion. Not for the squeamish, but it is also clear that she is going for shock value here. So take it as you will.

 

Similarly, in Chapter 2 when discussing transgenderism, she goes for the shock value quite often again, while also making some genuinely intriguing points - many of which have been pointed out by various others (sometimes on both conservative and "progressive" sides) over the years. Here, she cites some work that sounds promising - but which another 1* reviewer claims has been retracted due to failure to obtain institutional oversight review approval. Take that as you will.

 

In Chapter 3, discussing LGB issues more generally, Stuckey actually shows probably the most promise of the entire text of genuinely being more compassionate... except that even here, she often ignores Christ in favor of some US right wing 2000s era talking point or another.

 

And then, as mentioned earlier, the last couple of chapters are just such *utter* trash that to even begin to describe them... well, let's just say that it is *here*, in particular, that this book truly earns out my dreaded "gold mine" label. There is perhaps a modicum of genuinely good thought in these sections, but it is *so* buried under so much detritus that sifting through it may as well be moving mountains to find a fleck of gold dust. It is through this section in particular that I wish I had been able to see her bibliography, but this wasn't possible in the Audible form of the book I read.

 

And, lest the reader of my review think I wasn't going to point this out, there is indeed the constant and ever present proof texting - which is bad enough for a 1* deduction in and of itself.

 

Ultimately this is a right wing US political book calling itself a book about Christian thought... without ever actually (or, specifically, *accurately*) citing Christ's examples in literally anything at all she discusses.  

 

I picked up this book because it was being so utterly destroyed in my circles on Twitter - and now I have to admit that those friends and other luminaries were far more correct than I'd have liked about this book. I wanted to be able to defend this text - as I said in the title, I firmly believe that a case for the general premise *can* be made and even *should* be made. I simply wish Stuckey had given even a wet Dollar General paper towel's worth of effort in crafting such an argument, rather than... whatever this is... that we ultimately got.

 

Not recommended for anyone but the truly masochistic.

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Reading updates

  • 30 October, 2024: Started reading
  • 30 October, 2024: Finished reading
  • 2 November, 2024: Reviewed