On What Kind of Lust Jesus Condemns
It is well known that Jesus accuses people with lustful thoughts of the crime of adultery in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 5.28 (ESV) - But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Let's say someone has committed adultery with a woman in his heart. How bad is that, according to Jesus? The passage immediately after gives us a pretty good idea: Matthew 5.29–30 (ESV) - If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It’s hella bad. But how often do we human beings actually commit adultery in our hearts? Do we do so every time we, say, use porn to get off? To figure that out, we need to elucidate Jesus’ teaching by precisifying o