The act and thought of sin - are they the same?

[nobspeople]

In many churches I've attended and religions I've been a part of that accept the christian sin/fall of man concept, they've taught (likely still do, I suspect) that the thought of a sin is just as bad as the act.

For example:
Thought: That woman is so hot - I don't care if she's married or not. I'd love to do XYZ to her! Yeah baby! = sin
Act: sex with that woman = sin

For discussion:
In your experience with your religion, are these two scenarios - rather or not the thought leads to the act or they're two separate situations - sinful or is the thought OK but the act sinful?
Or is neither sinful?

Why do you think this?

[1213]

In many churches I've attended and religions I've been a part of that accept the christian sin/fall of man concept, they've taught (likely still do, I suspect) that the thought of a sin is just as bad as the act....

I have understood sin is that person rejects God, or lives apart from God. And I think it happens first in the mind. If person in the mind decides to do sin, he has done it already. Actions after that are just results of the sin.

[Miles]

Taking homosexuality as an example, god decreed:

Leviticus 20:13
13 “If a man has sexual relations with another man as with a woman, they have committed a terrible sin. They must be put to death.

Yet he never said homosexuality itself, "the quality or characteristic of being sexually attracted solely to people of one's own sex."* is a sin. So thinking about boinking the other guy is no sin, just don't do it. But crazily enough, lesbians get a bye on the whole thing; thinking about messing around and doing it---so have at it girls. At most, god feels it's "shameful."

Romans 1:26
"So God gave them up to shameful desires. Even the women, you see, swapped natural sexual practice for unnatural;"

(Of course nowadays we know it isn't unnatural at all, just uncommon )



*source: Oxford Languages Dictionary


.