Podcast Summary

The Briefing with Albert Mohler
Host: R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Episode Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Theme: Cultural Commentary from a Biblical Perspective

Overview

In this episode, Albert Mohler explores two major topics from a Christian worldview: the ongoing public and political fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal with the recent release of millions of government files, and Hillary Clinton's essay on "the right's war on empathy" as it relates to the larger landscape of American Christianity and the culture war. Mohler emphasizes the importance of maintaining moral discernment in the face of society's shifting preoccupations.

1. The Jeffrey Epstein Files Release: A Christian Worldview Analysis

The Issue and Its Moral Weight

• Congress has mandated the release of millions of items regarding the Epstein investigation after years of controversy and speculation.
• Mohler’s central question: Why did so many powerful, respected individuals maintain relationships with Epstein despite widespread knowledge (or suspicion) of his crimes?
• Highlights societal tendencies to fixate on salacious stories without real moral engagement.
• Emphasizes the biblical principle from Romans 1: individuals, and even societies, can become so enmeshed in sin that their conscience is essentially deadened.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

• Volume and Implications of Evidence

  • Recently, DOJ released around 3.3 million files—"thousands upon thousands of photographs and other forms of evidence," Mohler notes (03:05).
  • Many are now "running scared, and they deserve to be."
  • Points out that embarrassment is a minimal moral response to the evil revealed.

• Demand for Names and the ‘List’

  • Public pressure centers on identifying all “powerful men who were likely to be co-conspirators.”
  • Difficulty in satisfying this demand even with massive document releases.
  • Quote: "Even some of those who are complaining about not getting some of this information fast enough are now looking at the 3 million pages or so ... and understanding. Wow, there really is a lot here. And it raises huge worldview questions." (03:48)

• Moral Blindness of the Elite

  • Highlights pattern of elites believing themselves above moral rules.
  • Refers to a persistent belief in high society: "Those rules are for just common people ... all the rules are off [for elites]." (07:04)
  • Political aspect: both Democrats and Republicans implicated—from President Trump to Bill Clinton to Prince Andrew, showing bipartisan and international reach.

• Failure to Separate Post-Conviction

  • Mohler questions how any respected individual could remain associated with Epstein after his status as a convicted sex offender was established.
  • Doubts excuses of ignorance: "There were certain people who said, 'I thought he was kind of slimy ... but I didn't know it was that.' Well, here's something we just need to understand..." (07:47)

• Romans 1 and the Depth of Human Sin

  • Emphasizes biblical teaching: people can "give themselves over to certain sins," to the point conscience is seared (05:36).
  • The concentric circles of depravity—sin’s ability to compromise those nearby.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On cultural response: “Embarrassment is, if anything, too mild a moral response to all of this.” (03:18)
• Elite hypocrisy: "One of the things that marks many societies is you have an elite that believes itself to be above those rules, just without accountability to those rules." (07:04)
• On further revelations: "There are things still to be revealed, and Christians just have to keep our wits about ourselves morally and biblically, to understand, and frankly, to explain—even to our own children and friends—what these things mean." (16:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–05:36] Framing story: Society’s obsession, newsworthiness, and moral responsibility
• [05:36–12:40] Biblical commentary: Sin, conscience, and Romans 1
• [12:40–16:40] Consequences for elites, specific cases (Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew, Mandelson), and implications for public understanding

2. Hillary Clinton’s “War on Empathy” – Competing Christian Visions

The Essay’s Argument and Broader Divide

• Clinton’s recent Atlantic essay accuses the political right (and conservative Christians) of lacking empathy, grounded in her mainline liberal Protestant perspective.

• Mohler observes Clinton’s recurring theme: pitting “good” (liberal Protestants) against “bad” (evangelicals).

  • On Clinton: “She clearly understands that there is a radical distinction between conservative Protestantism and liberal Protestantism. She doesn’t so much name it that way as she does demonstrate it in her article.” (18:10)

• Clinton holds up liberal Episcopal Bishop Marianne Buddy as a model of “empathy,” citing her sermon to President Trump at the National Cathedral.

  • Sermon quotes: "I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared... children of immigrant families, refugees, young LGBTQ Americans who feared for their lives. It was an honest plea suffused with a kind of love and generosity toward neighbors and strangers that Jesus taught." (20:09)

• Mohler identifies this as classic “social gospel” theology: Christianity focused mainly on broad social transformation and liberal political ends.

Sympathy vs. Empathy: Mohler’s Critique

• Mohler distinguishes between “sympathy” (the Christian virtue) and “empathy” (seen as a politicized, abstract substitute).

• Quote: “A real Christian morality is not empathy, but sympathy. And it’s feeling with, it’s compassion, feeling with, and then taking the requisite actions driven by Christian conviction.” (27:20)

• Critiques “empathy” as social posturing, not grounded in biblical action.

  • “If you buy into the empathy argument, well, you have people who immediately transfer that to identity politics and the moral revolution.” (28:07)

LGBTQ and Christian Nationalism: The Core Divide

• Clinton, leftward on abortion and LGBTQ issues, presents these as the true moral center of Christianity—a “total redefinition,” according to Mohler.
• On “Christian nationalism,” Clinton (and the NCC) warns against conservative Christians advocating public Christian values.
• Mohler counters: “If you believe that marriage should be the union of a man and a woman ... you’re going to be called a Christian nationalist. There’s no way around it.” (33:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Empathy vs. Sympathy: “It’s not so much that I think empathy is wrongly defined. It is the fact that I don’t think empathy is a thing.” (27:11)
• On calls for Christian nationalism: ‘If you are determined not to be called a Christian nationalist, you’re going to have to go along with every progressivist policy, every redefinition of marriage and sexuality. The denial of male and female as fixed and biological categories. ... Because if you say ‘I can’t do that based upon anything that’s even parallel with Christian conviction,’ well then you are just knowingly or unknowingly a Christian nationalist.” (33:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [16:40–18:10] Introduction and summary of Clinton’s essay
• [18:10–25:30] Clinton on liberal vs. conservative Christianity; discussion of “social gospel” and examples
• [25:30–29:20] Sympathy vs. empathy, critiques of “empathy” as a Christian virtue
• [29:20–34:45] Christian nationalism, morality, and public cultural conflicts

3. Conclusion and Takeaways

• The story of Jeffrey Epstein is ongoing, both in cultural and Christian analysis.
  • Christians must remain biblically grounded and morally discerning, not merely riding waves of public interest.
• The debate over “empathy” illustrates deeper divisions about the nature of Christianity’s mission and social engagement.
• Pressure is mounting for Christians to adopt progressive policies—or be labeled with accusations such as “Christian nationalist.”

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

• Mohler’s tone is urgent, analytical, and deeply grounded in biblical tradition.
• The episode delivers a detailed critique of both secular culture’s moral failures and liberal Christianity’s underlying theology.
• Key insights include the importance of conscience, the dangers of elite moral blindness, and the clarity needed when Christian principles diverge sharply from popular culture.

Key Quotes (with Timestamps & Attribution)

• Albert Mohler on the appropriate response to sin:

  "Embarrassment is, if anything, too mild a moral response to all of this." (03:18)

• On elite hypocrisy:

  "One of the things that marks many societies is you have an elite that believes itself to be above those rules, just without accountability to those rules." (07:04)

• On the public’s moral attention:

  "This tells you that the moral importance of this is not getting lower. The public’s not looking at this with lessened moral attention. It's with heightened moral attention." (14:39)

• On doctrinal drift in liberal Protestantism:

  "Predictably freed from biblical authority now, [these denominations] are also the ones who are pushing for endorsing and conducting same sex marriages." (22:58)

• On empathy versus sympathy:

  "A real Christian morality is not empathy, but sympathy... feeling with, and then taking the requisite actions driven by Christian conviction." (27:20)

• On the inevitability of being labeled ‘Christian nationalist’:

  "If you believe that marriage should be the union of a man and a woman ... you’re going to be called a Christian nationalist." (33:50)

For further context or direct listening, visit Albert Mohler’s website or podcast feed.