Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion

by Allie Beth Stuckey

A sharp Christian voice makes a bold 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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Politics, Christianity, Audiobook, Faith, Religion

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2024

About the author

Allie Beth Stuckey is host of the Blaze Media podcast "Relatable," where she tackles theological, cultural and political issues from a conservative, Reformed perspective. Stuckey speaks to college students, Republican organizations, Christian ministries, and businesses across the country about the importance of biblical and conservative values. She also offers frequent commentary on Fox News. She and her husband welcomed their first daughter into the world in July 2019. This is her first book.

Reviews

[Han · Rating 1 out of 5]

✨Polarizing✨

I have so much to say, and yet words escape me.

I feel like I have to write up a whole treatise of my own political views to even convince people that it’s bad. Let’s just keep it simple. I’m a moderate. But, I’m also probably more conservative than Stuckey on abortion. With that said:

Here’s the deal. This book wants you to believe that something called “toxic empathy” exists. What is this “toxic empathy”? Well, it’s having a heart moved to compassion for “progressive” positions. It’s really simple. Stuckey wants you to believe that if someone has empathy for the wrong thing, it must be the empathy that is the problem. But, empathy is *not* the problem.

This book is about conforming to a political agenda. Let’s be real. This isn’t a Christian book, it’s a political book. Want to villainize the other side AND distrust empathy? Then read this book.

[Michael Cuevas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stuckey doesn't view empathy as morally good or evil. It's when empathy lands you in a spot that goes against her political views (derived from an oversimplified, dogmatic reading of scripture), that it then becomes "toxic." She spends the majority of the book driving home the tired "feelings don't matter" trope, then provides anecdotal arguments fueled by her own feelings.

The inconsistencies in her ideologies are present on nearly every page: supporting the death penalty, calling abortion murder, then not supporting the death penalty anymore (thank God); questioning the origin of planned parenthood and how that plays out today, then refusing to question how the origin of policing plays out today by denying any possibilty of systemic issues... the list goes on.

For better or worse, Allie is very well spoken. She knows how to fire up her audience and can concisely share her talking points. It's just a shame that they carry such harmful, dehumanizing rhetoric.

I will gladly take "toxic empathy" over Allie B Stuckey's brand of right-wing pseudo-christianity. In her desire to be persecuted for her beliefs (abusing Matthew 5:10 & John 15:18 to justify this complex), she redefines "the least of these" and bankrupts Christ's central message. In doing so, Stuckey walks right past the downtrodden as she makes her way to the polls to vote YES on putting the 10 commandments in classrooms.

a quote to show how Stuckey handles her arguments:

"Yes, there are wellmeaning people who believe supporting 'transgenderism' is loving and virtuous. But they are, whether they know it or not, merely idiots." Truly compelling stuff.

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this on a trip to Kentucky. I honestly didn’t know what to expect since I don’t listen to her podcast.I was pleasantly surprised by how well written and well thought out this was. I have been thinking about courage a lot lately and Allie is a good example of that.
This book is a quick booster to courage and love, the real kind.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a Christian, this is just yikes...

[Samantha | samanthakreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that is timely and important with all that is going on in the world today. In this book, Allie discusses five lies told in our culture, exposing how progressives exploit Christian compassion and how the word empathy has become toxic. She presents the strongest arguments with heartfelt examples that evoke empathy and how we can approach them by sticking to God’s word with Christian grace and truth-filled love.

This book is packed with well-written information and research, providing context found in Scripture. Allie is articulate, bold, and well-spoken while speaking truth with so much grace. Each chapter ends with ways to equip the reader on how to navigate and discuss these topics and to stand firm in faith and God’s Word. This is an important and excellent book that I highly recommend everyone read✨

I was sent an ARC of this book, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
“God’s definition of what is good and loving will always contradict the world’s definition, which will inevitably put us at odds with mainstream culture.”

“Every Christian testimony has one key commonality: Someone in their life was brave enough to tell them the uncomfortable truth.”

“Christians are commanded to love, and empathy can help us love well. But empathy without biblical truth isn’t love at all.”

“There is forgiveness in Jesus. There is mercy, there is love. There is nothing too big, too much for God to forgive. No one is too far gone, too broken, or too sinful for him to rescue.”

[Kayla Watterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this on audio because I do enjoy hearing different points of views and perspectives during this political time. I appreciate faith and the values that people put in their morals.

This book is written from a Christian and biblical POV, which I knew going into it. I myself grew up in a conservative, Christian community and still hold tight to values I find in my faith. But this book is so biased it was hard to get through.

The author was trying to make a point of how progressive points of view have created “toxic empathy.” I don’t necessarily disagree, but this book is also full of “toxic empathy.”

Both sides use emotional manipulation to pull people one way or the other, but it’s so wrong to call out one when you are clearly doing the same.

A quote from the conclusion of this book was “We cannot let empathy make us stupid.” I think the author lacks compassion, understanding, flexibility and the ability to be open minded. The references in this book were also extremely biased and didn’t have evidence from any outside source that wasn’t on the same political side.

It breaks my heart that I know people who also view political topics this way, and refuse to even listen to other perspectives. I hope they don’t pick up this book as I think it would continue to send them down a darker hole and pour more fear into them…

[Lacy Zusammen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. The author begins by saying how many people have spoken to her or emailed her saying they changed their thinking due to how she presents arguments (I believe she said "thousands") so I was expecting excellent points that has me questioning things. What I ended up hearing instead was a book written to counter, as she states, anecdotal stories that pull on the heart string to try to convince people to feel empathy, yet was countered with anecdotal stories and some attempts at facts. There were some "facts" and statistics that I thought "goodness, is she right?" and ONE actually had reputable sources to back up her claims. I'm not saying I disagreed with everything she said and think that would be the case for most people. She tries to make claims that the progressive views are the most extreme and argues against them. Very few people go to the farthest extreme in beliefs, so she would have done better arguing against middle of the road policies.
In her argument against abortion and she states that in no other way does our nation legalize murder and I made the comment to a friend that I wonder what the author thinks of allowing war, the death penalty, or guns for protection as all are legalized murder and was happy to hear her try to justify the death penalty at least (she didn't address the others) as I knew she would end up showing her hypocrisy.
As someone who has many times read the Bible cover to cover and deeply studied it and thus used scripture for justifications for beliefs, I'm well aware that many verses can be used to counter or support ANY belief someone may have. That is why we have tens of thousands of Christian Denominations as well as branches of Judaism all using the same text to arrive at different conclusions. She would try to use a scripture to support a point and I easily called up another saying the exact opposite. She even spoke of how Jesus called out the Pharisees as not being holy enough and somehow missed the entire point that he called them out for adhering to the strict laws in the Written Word and even going above and beyond and making more strict laws because they were not being compassionate and showing love, thus making them unfit in the eyes of God. Jesus himself even broke the laws such as not working and harvesting on holy days because it was more important to show empathy for people's hunger than to adhere to a rule and gave so many parables on just that thing.
The numbers are hard to pin down as people's beliefs and how they define them are complex, but the number of people who fall on the Evangelical side is somewhere between 6-35% of Americans, so 1/3 or way less of us. For those that do read this and agree with her, I hope they truly come to know Jesus as this author clearly does not for all that she likes to call herself a Christian. I really had higher hopes for this book.

[Paige Rogge · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could only get myself to read the intro and first 2 chapters before I had to stop. As a "progressive" Christian, I tried reading this book to gain insight into the "other side's" views and really open myself to another POV. But as I was reading, this book just got more graphic (for shock factor) and more hypocritical. The author talks about how left-leaning people are demonizing the good works of Christ-loving conservatives and weaponizing empathy for their own political gain...and then literally does the same thing to the progressive bunch. Using words like "evil" and "unloving" to describe a whole group of people. This woman doesn't know me, but boldly cast judgment on me. I am a straight, white, cisgender, married woman. I am a Christian. And if you, like myself, are looking for a way to broaden your horizons, humble yourself, and see more like Christ...this is not the book for you. I'm sorry. I tried, too.

[Homopoda davidbowie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is fucking disgusting. Like this book? I suggest you NOT be a bigoted piece of garbage who can’t take accountability for the harm they do to others. I wish all of y’all a lifetime of tasteless food and sadness (even though I’m sure you well have that covered with your daily unseasoned meals and rock-hard, carnivore diet shits)

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars ⭐️ Christian Non-Fiction

As hard and emotionally draining as this week was, I decided it was time to finally read this book. At first when sitting down to read this non-fiction book, I grabbed a pencil—then my sticky tabs—then a pen—and finally a highlighter. My copy is now underlined and tabbed in lots of places now.

Growing up in a conservative Christian household and following Allie Beth for years, I’m familiar with all of these topics and conversations so much of this book wasn’t new information to me, but I greatly appreciate and value how she wrote about these subjects and how to defend them from our Biblical worldview.

As she explains, it’s not empathy itself that is toxic—it’s the manipulation of it that makes it toxic and how it’s become used against Christians and their beliefs.

Because of the topics discussed, I’m formatting this review differently from all of my other ones and will list the content within each chapter’s notes and quotes.


Introduction
This author and book have gotten a lot of flack for the title of this book by those who haven’t even read this opening chapter. If you would read it, you would understand what she means a bit better and I’ll share two parts about it here:

“That’s why toxic empathy is so persuasive. It extorts a real and good desire that most people have, which is to be, and to be perceived as, kind. But empathy and kindness are not synonymous, and neither are empathy and compassion. Kindness describes how we treat someone, either in word or deed. Compassion means to suffer with someone who is struggling. Both kindness and compassion are necessary components of love. But empathy literally means to be in the feelings of another person. Empathy by itself is neither loving nor kind; it’s just an emotion. Love, on the other hand, is a conscious choice to seek good for another person.”

“Putting yourself in someone’s shoes may help you feel their pain, but their pain isn’t determinative of what’s true or false, right or wrong.”

Content- Discusses the death of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery & the Black Lives Matter movement.



Lie 1- “Abortion is Healthcare”

We start right out of the gate with this hard, serious topic because like the author shares—it is so incredibly important. As she puts it, “Don’t let anyone tell you it’s wrong to be more concerned with abortion than other political issues. It’s literally a matter of life and death.”

I felt physically ill reading what happens during the most common abortions. I knew about it, but didn’t really understand the process for sake of my sensitive heart. This chapter broke my heart in a way I didn’t think it could break again after this week. The absolute evil and corruption of the abortion industry is sickening and this chapter highlights well why it’s important as a Christian to stand for the unborn.


Content- Allie Beth describes what happens in an abortion, both aspiration abortion and D&X procedure. If you are a visual reader and picture things in your mind as you read, it will probably be graphic—because it is. She also shares the history of Planned Parenthood and their eugenics origin. A mention of DNA being created when an egg meets the sperm.



Lie 2- “Trans Women are Women”

“The history of transgender treatment isn’t built on solid science and empathy. It’s built on the eccentric ideas of perverse, powerful men who all had the goal of deconstructing traditional morals to achieve their sexualized version of how the world should be. Instead of helping kids, these “experts” hurt children by subjecting them to cruel experiments to justify their theories and play out their sick sexual fantasies.”

“I’m sure that Christians…who use "pronoun politeness" have good intentions. But it is a lie to call someone something other than his or her biological sex. Even more profoundly, using preferred pronouns signifies we think we know better than God. Are we more loving than God, who is love? (1 John 4:8). Have we a better idea of mercy than its Giver? (Ps. 55:1). Have we fooled ourselves into thinking we can outcompassion compassion's Source? (Ps. 103:13). Have we so deluded ourselves that we think we care more about lost sheep than the Good Shepherd? (John 10:10-11).
Every Christian would deny these accusations of blasphemy, but every time we use preferred pronouns we are implicitly saying that God, who created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), does not have authority to define all things--and that He is not good to do so. We’re saying we are nicer, more merciful, and more compassionate than God.”

Content- Describing what happens in transgender surgeries like vaginoplasty and phalloplasty and the side effects of them (words like genitalia, vagina, and penis are used); All about many mentions of puberty blocks, transiting kids and teens, the debate about gender vs sex, & genitalia; Mentions of Havelock Ellis defending pedophilia and his interest in childhood masturbation, another man (Alfred Kinsey) working with pedophiles to study sexual experiences of young boys, & John Money also being interested in pedophilia and making two young boys watch pornography and act it out; Mentions of pornography (including child rape); A couple mentions of sexually explicit books in school libraries.



Lie 3- “Love is Love”

“Toxic empathy says we must only consider the feelings of adults who want children and affirm their relationship by agreeing with whatever means they choose to fulfill their wants. Biblical love sees the destructive consequences of this affirmation and prioritizes the rights and well-being of the little ones who can't speak up for themselves.”

Content- All about homosexuality and “gay marriage”; Mentions of sperm and egg donations for gay couples; A mention of pedophilia (when referring to Shane Dawson who once justified it).



Lie 4- “No Human is Illegal”

“The entire purpose of the American government is to protect America and Americans. That is its number one job. As long as we have unchecked illegal immigration that undermines our sovereignty, our safety, and our culture, the government is failing at its job.”

Content- Mentions of the violent deaths of Kate Steinle, Mollie Tibbetts, America Thayer, & Laken Riley all by illegal immigrants; All about mentions of violence, gangs, crimes, criminals, & human trafficking; Mentions of rape (especially of women and girls by cartels and coyotes & other times where women and girls were raped and became pregnant); Mentions of drugs & overdoses; Mentions of children being abandoned by human traffickers and later dying; A few mentions of children dying from fentanyl; A mention of sex slaves being trafficked as well.



Lie 5- “Social Justice is Justice”

“This is what I mean when I say that social justice isn't justice: justice is about a fair and impartial process, whereas social justice is about equal outcomes. Lady Justice is blind, holding equal weights, but Lady Social Justice would have open eyes, assessing the skin color, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and other characteristics of each party and placing her thumb on the scales accordingly, in an attempt to rectify either real or perceived, past or present injustices against one party.”

Content- Mentions of murders (including of a baby & a child); Mentions of police officer violence & brutality from them; Mentions of racism & white supremacy.



Conclusion
This book was pretty powerful—especially this final chapter—as Allie Beth holds back no punches with these topics. I really appreciate how she started each of the chapters with a popular events we’ve probably all heard about from the last few years, how those that preach progressive toxic empathy view that, any history or other details to know, and then what the Bible says and shows in regards to such a topic. This conclusion was probably my favorite part of the book because she explains how as Christians, if we believe God is love, then we can’t out-love Him. Case-closed.

“Christians are commanded to love, and empathy can help us love well. But empathy without biblical truth isn't love at all--it's hate. It’s hate, because--just as Satan did with Eve in the Garden--affirming sin means nudging someone off the edge of the cliff. It means helping them toward the thing that's going to destroy them and those around them. It means both spiritual and physical harm, leading to temporal and eternal ramifications.”

“God is love, so everything He says and does is said and done in perfect love. So His commands and boundaries are in place because of His love for us, not despite it. They are for our good. He wants joy and peace and eternal life for us. He wants to bring order to our lives. Because God is love, we cannot outlove Him. The most loving thing will always be to agree with Him. So, if we love those around us, we will be vessels of His goodness and order. That means advocating for the life of an unborn child is loving. Recognizing the beauty of the male-female binary is loving. Honoring the sacred, life-giving definition of marriage is loving. Protecting a nation's sovereignty for the good of its citizens is loving. Punishing the wrongdoer for the sake of the innocent and weak is loving. The flip side of these things murder, mutilation, perversion, lawlessness, and chaos-only yields disordered, harmful outcomes. God's ways are better; the most loving thing we can do is agree with them.”

“The world would have you believe that Christians--particularly Christian conservatives--should separate our faith from our political engagement. They call our engagement "Christian nationalism" or "Christofascism" and insist that to really love our neighbor, we must vote against our conscience and biblical principles. But this is a trick of the devil. Every single person votes in accordance with their worldview, no matter what their belief system is. We, too, have both the right and the responsibility to do the same.
Every law is based on a moral belief. The only question is ever, "Which one?" Will it be Christianity, Islam, atheism, or something else? There's no neutrality, and there never has been.”

Content- Mentions of babies and children being sacrificed to pagan deities; Mentions of children being treated as animals, abused, & sexual objects in past pagan societies.




My age suggestion-
This book is definitely aimed for adults, so because of the hard topics discussed in this book, I would recommend it for ages 17/18+. I would particularly suggest it for Christians going into college and wanting to know the Scripture base of why Christians should be for or against the things the author writes about. She backs all of her reasons with Scripture (with context taken into account). High school age students could read this book, but I would only suggest it if a.) the student is in public school or b.) on social media often and interested in defending their beliefs.



Extra content notes- Throughout the book there are mentions of affairs, alcohol, divorces, depression, drugs, eating disorders, infertility, and rape.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly awful, hateful, and judgemental
Opposite of a real Christian
Sickening

[Sam Wells · Rating 1 out of 5]

If ABS claims to be a “Christian” she should revisit the teachings of Jesus.

[Laura and Literature · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and thought provoking.

I always appreciate Allie’s take on today’s happenings. Whether it be politics, or the latest news line. Her approach always leads us back to the Bible and what would Jesus do or say. What would Jesus want us to do with this situation or how would He want us to handle it.

This book is no different. I can understand why she wanted it published before the election. She touches on serious issues facing America today and leads us back to the Bible and God’s word.

“..and in the end, He Wins.”

Release date 10/15/24!

[Becky Minter · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you need validation for your Christian Nationalism cult, this book is for you! But if you, like me, want to read this book as an attempt to understand the cult, you will be left baffled and horrified by how humans can behave like this.

According to Allie Beth, there are true Christians and fake Christians. If you disagree with her, obviously you're not a real Christian. I'm actually left feeling sorry for her, and that, I think, is my toxic empathy.

Christian Nationalism is not going away, so this book did motivate me a little more to fight against religion (of any sort) taking over government.

[Amy Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gross book. The title should be "How a Christian Justifies being Unchristian" Toxic Empathy is oxymoronic.
I wish I could give 0 stars and get my money back.

[Kelsey Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed this book! One of the reasons I have come to love Allie Beth so much over the years is her straight forward attitude. She takes me wishy-washy thoughts and makes me see that it’s ok to think these things because the Bible says so. This book was great at addressing some of today’s biggest topics, how to stand firm in our faith and with truth when speaking to others, and cited TONS of resources to support each fact. For years I fell on the side of toxic empathy when it came to gay marriage and pro-choice decisions but Allie writes this book in a way that helps me better articulate my ideas to others. She has given me the confidence to be proud of where I stand!
This book has 5 main chapters and they were all pretty quick reads. Allie Beth didn’t beat around the bush and it was so great to have MANY 2020 and sooner articles cited.
I would highly recommend to anyone who is struggling with toxic empathy and feeling like the Holy Spirit is telling you that you might have a few things to re-examine.

*I received an advanced copy of this book as part of the Toxic Empathy launch team.*

[Katie Monigold · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book zero stars, I would. It was written by a privileged white woman who seems to have written an entire book just to try to argue her viewpoint (it certainly has not been proven) that as a Christian she doesn’t have to feel empathy toward people who she perceives to be living a life of sin. As if she herself does not and has never sinned. She uses this platform in an effort to justify her conservative values and white Christian nationalist ideologies. As if her podcast wasn’t enough of a platform for her to spew hate disguised as Christian love and evangelical faith. The entire book reeks of “holier than thou” beliefs and the evangelical inability to mind your own business. It gave me the ick from the very start. If you have worked through your childhood faith-based trauma and come out on the other side as a caring and empathetic person, do yourself a favor, save yourself more time in therapy, and do not read this book.

[BespectacledBookGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by Gretchen Weiners 🙋‍♀️ In short: an exercise in the dangers of Eisegesis, rather than faithful exegesis, with a little dash of trinitarian heresy thrown in.

[Nick Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should not be considered a Christian book, it’s a political one disguised as a faith-centered one.

I can’t believe I spent time reading this, but thankfully it was only about 170 pages. I’ll admit that I was sucked in by the title, and I didn’t expect to agree with any of it, but as a fellow Christian, I felt compelled to write this view.

My first thought was, what expertise is she bringing to the table to break down some of the most complex issues facing our world today? It pretty much boils down to “I have a podcast and some people are mean to me online.” I’m sorry it’s laughable to consider a book that tries to stake authoritative claims on abortion, immigration, LGTBQ rights, AND racism in less than 200 pages as any sort of final say on a subject.

Stuckey’s thesis is that Progressives use what is called “toxic empathy”, or empathy without any other considerations of laws or the Bible to justify their worldview. The problem is that it looks like Stuckey fished her mean instagram comments and then attributed that to everyone who voted differently than what she did. She cherry picks authority (citing the one Black economist that doesn’t agree with affirmative action).

She dismisses any study that goes against her worldview (I’m not sure why the Chinese Communist party would be funding a study on gay adoptive parents, but Stuckey assures us that’s the case, so we need not look into it.) And after highlighting a heartbreaking story of a woman and daughter illegally crossing the border, she does a hard pivot and says “Well, actually, they’re all murderers.” (And then doesn’t mention her again?) When presented with the fact that abortions have gone down under Democratic presidents, she doesn’t buy it and says it’s actually because most state legislature were Republican - all while offering zero proof.

She also refuses to take the log out of her own (or her political party/church) eye. Stuckey notes some horrific incidents of sexual assault caused by gender-dysphoria and says “it’s a predictable result of transgenderism.” But there’s not mention of the hundreds of abuse cases that happened at the hands of Southern Baptist Convention leaders. Nor does she make any mention of Donald Trump’s numerous sexual assault issues. She also just kinda shrugs and implies “We don’t really know if racism still exists!” without really taking any critical look into it.

Here’s where I’ll agree with the author, online discourse rarely leads to healthy and productive places. I agree with her that the “black square protest” in 2020 was ineffective and kind of dumb (in fact, most serious progressives probably do too!) And most online catch phrases fail in promoting meaningful dialogue. If she wrote a book called “How Being Online is ruining our faith” I’d probably have fewer criticisms. Stuckey alludes to nuance in these arguments, but fails to let it have a seat at the table.

This book is for white Christians who wanted to feel less guilty about voting for Donald Trump. It’s not courageous, but rather self-serving. I’d encourage anyone interested in this book to check out any of the following titles, “Tattoos on the Heart” by Father Greg Boyle; “Dead Man Walking” by Helen Prejean, and “No Future without Forgiveness” by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. These are books by Christians who’ve lived and acted with the fire of the Holy Spirit, fervently embodying God’s love, and not just interviewing some people for a podcast.

[Shaina Arb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I knew this book would be something I couldn’t agree with entirely, strictly due to how the subtitle reveals viewpoints are centered within politics. Personally, I would consider myself an independent. I hate politics and think the two party system is dumb… My personal belief is that there is not a “Christian” party that is wholly Christ like. This book already lets you know that it is pointing the finger at anyone who would or could identify as left wing, liberal, or progressive in any way.

That stated, I’ll make just a few points in this review that don’t redundantly hammer on that first statement.

— I couldn’t help but notice Stuckey’s lack of recognizing grace. Common grace specifically. And many denominations within Christianity do not agree with the concept of common grace so that’s fine. But everything Stuckey claimed was so one-way-or-the-highway (completely right or completely wrong) that there was no space left for how God can and does still have His way despite our brokenness and all our ways we fall short in doing our best to create laws that glorify Him, and doing our best to follow the Bible. God is still active and moving on our behalf despite policies that aren’t perfect, despite laws that might not reflect perfect biblical principles, and despite ways we incorrectly work out our faith.

—I was surprised several times when Stuckey quoted some Christian theologians and thinkers currently well known (like Preston Sprinkle, and David Platt and Tim Keller) that she vehemently disagreed with. It revealed how Stuckey’s interpretations of scripture are unlike many very respectable and truly educated Christians.

I was actually thinking that David Platt’s book Counter Culture is a book on similar subjects that I found to be much more worth the time to read. Apparently Stuckey disagrees with this ;)

— It gave me pause when Stuckey compared progressives to Pharisees. Yes really. This is usually a name given to those who appear to be doing alllll the Christian things but have a heart very unlike Christ— people who LOOK like Christians but they have not met the grace and mercy of Jesus to transform them. I believe that Stuckey loves the Lord and wants to be like Him. But I also disagree with her statement about the Pharisees and progressives completely. That statement of hers felt like just another way of jabbing progressives and villainizing them. It honestly felt absurd to me that she would use the Pharisee accusation.

— I have literally never met anyone who (dare I use this word) empathizes with refugees and immigrants who believes we should have no laws in regards to our borders or immigration policies. Stuckey has a habit of introducing the most radical examples of progressives and getting into a rant over why whatever extreme is wrong. This is just one example. But many stories seemed to be for shock value. Like her story she chose to share about a surrogate needing to comply with an abortion, despite not wanting to abort herself, due to the gay couple she was a surrogate for not wanting a baby with Down’s syndrome. (In this story she asserts the viewpoint about homosexuality being wrong but also surrogacy itself and IVF in general being wrong too in her opinion)

— I don’t see the point in going on tangents on why non Christians don’t agree with the Christian beliefs. Essentially, that’s what Stuckey was doing in a great deal of this book. We don’t need to make mountains out of molehills. My Christian world view comes with a knowledge that another’s worldview will not match mine if theirs is not rooted in the Bible. I’ll leave it at that.

[Elizabeth Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve followed Allie Stuckey for years and appreciate her takes on culture and politics from a Christian conservative standpoint. Her second book is probably some of the best of her work—it’s articulate, incredibly well-researched (I’m the nerd who reads the footnotes in the back of the book and looks through the sources), and well written. The book covers five lies that progressive Christianity/toxic empathy tells Christians involving things like abortion, transgenderism, illegal immigration, and so on. Her chapter on abortion as healthcare was the most articulate of the entire book and probably the best explanation of how progressive thought has used our natural desire to be empathetic to twist facts to get us to believe the lies about how harmful abortion really is to everyone involved—and it’s done in such a grace-filled way. I recommend the book on that chapter alone.

The rest of the book is very good as well. The chapter on illegal immigration is very balanced; she shares heartbreaking stories on each side of the issue to show how Christians can disagree in good faith how to fix our immigration problems, while also pointing out the truths around how our country’s weak immigration policies are destroying our country and how we can truly be loving by acknowledging bad policy.

I thought the last chapter on social justice got a little repetitive; she kept saying the same thing just in different wording. I completely agreed with her points and thought they were very factual, but the chapter could have been shorter and more succinct. All in all, it’s a great book and honestly, I wish every Christian would read it before they vote this year (or any year for that matter).

[Paul Bergeron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Toxic garbage

[Morgan's Endless Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an important book! I think everyone, especially in America, needs to read it.

[Amy Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

MUST READ!

Allie Beth Stuckey’s TOXIC EMPATHY is a MUST read RIGHT NOW for every Christian—especially prior to the election in November (2024); however, if you don’t get to it before November, it is still an ESSENTIAL guide to living in our day and age. Allie Beth highlights heart wrenching stories that the Left uses to tug on the heart strings of well meaning people (and Christians) to get them to practice toxic empathy and advocate for policies that end up HURTING rather than HELPING people. She then looks at the other side of the argument—what the Bible says—and how we truly should think about such issues. Are there heartbreaking stories propelled by the Left? Yes! Can we love and feel for these people? Yes! But that is not the same as empathy. Empathy does not equal love. As Stuckey writes, “[Empathy] must be submissive to love.” There are SO many things I highlighted in this book, and I would spoil it if I shared them all here, but I will share one below. PLEASE do yourself a favor and read the book for yourself and then review and recommend it. We must get the word out that TOXIC EMPATHY HURTS PEOPLE, and we, as believers, are called to LOVE!

“While true empathy—bearing another person‘s burdens because you can understand their pain—can be important to loving those around us, for the Christian, it should never compel us to affirm that which God calls sinful or to advocate for policies that are ineffective at best and deadly at worst.”

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received an advanced digital copy of this book to review as part of the Toxic Empathy launch team.**

This book was well-articulated, as well as a quick read and delivered everything that Allie Beth Stuckey promised in her podcast, Relatable. She addresses 5 lies that Christian women encounter in today's society that manipulate us into what she calls toxic empathy. Stuckey explains each lie and lays out the logical and Biblical arguments that we can use to defend our positions regarding abortion, gender ideology, marriage, illegal immigration, and social justice.

Much of what she wrote in the book are stories and arguments that I have heard as a long-time listener of her podcast, but I am happy to finally have all of that information at my fingertips through this book.

[Kathryn Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author and I really struggled with finding it unnecessarily polarizing and containing a lot of anecdotal story content (instead of statistics) and many incredibly insensitive statements in an attempt to seemingly have a bone to pick with others, even targeting more moderate Christians who normally would agree on many of those same stances she was advocating for. Disappointing read (and very graphic in some places!)

[Kyrah Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO helpful regarding many hot topics! A little bit of history, statistics, and Biblical worldview all weaved together to help Christians navigate our world today. Although I don’t agree with every single thing said, I think it’s 100% worth the read! A solid foundation for many important conversations we should be having!

[Joel Burdine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to go ahead and rate this because I can see approximately where we're headed. I guess I didn't realize it was an explicitly Christian book and thought there might be actual arguments to consider, so that's my bad. The general argument boils down to empathy is toxic when it goes against the author's interpretation of the Bible, so it's the general feedback loop. Love is defined as doing what is best for someone else, and because I think my interpretation of the Bible is objectively true, anything that contradicts my interpretation of the Bible is labeled toxic empathy, you can't trust your feelings and all that. She presents as having carefully considered the best arguments from all sides, but it's the same Christian arguments we've heard repackaged over and over again. If you're already an evangelical Christian, you'll more than likely find it incredibly persuasive because you already buy into her worldview. If you're not a Christian, then this book isn't for you. She did make me laugh in the introduction when she shares her internal battle around the time of George Floyd's death, trying to decide whether to join in the protests on social media, and instead decides to share a picture of an elderly woman crying over property destruction during the riots. I feel like it's a good illustration of what you're going to find in the book. If you hear people talking about systemic and racism and police brutality, and your response is "what about property damage, though?" then this book is indeed for you. You're also probably a bootlicker and a capitalist shill. Not for me.

[Emily Germain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because a friend enjoyed it. To be frank I did not enjoy it. Her arguments are unkind and I believe do not capture the heart of Jesus demonstrated in the gospels. Furthermore the very tactic she attacks (toxic empathy) is the tactic she uses to make her argument. She simply presents heart-wrenching stories on the other side of the issues.
This book is party politics first and Jesus second. This is illustrated by the repeated use of terms like “left wing” and “liberal” which have no place in a discussion that is supposed to be biblical.
Her use of facts and data are skewed (ie data on criminal behavior amongst undocumented immigrants) and do not present a clear or full picture of the truth.
I find no evidence in scripture that Jesus calls us to guard our empathy in efforts to defend his laws. Instead it is his kindness that leads us to repentance. This book falls woefully short on kindness and reads like a modern day Pharisee defending the law while Jesus heals the sinful gentile in front of them
Woe to you…

[Genie Bryant · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw this book in line at hobby lobby and was intrigued by the title as a progressive Christian. Then I read the book jacket. I wanted to read it to see what the author said. It seems like she picks and chooses scripture to align with her ideals and same with her research.