Lust and Adultery

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Jesus said that if you lust after someone other than your spouse, you have already committed adultery with them in your heart. Does that mean that if a woman is wearing a low cut top and I stare, I’m committing adultery? I guess what I need to know is, what constitutes lust?:confused:
 
This is a question your should ask your priest in confession.Your actions become sinful if you give them substance. Since Lust and Adultery are subjects of grave matter it is important to discuss your actions with your priest in confession. Mortal sin requires that the sin be of grave matter and committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent. 🙂
 
… if a woman is wearing a low cut top and I stare, I’m committing adultery? … what constitutes lust?
I am not a priest, but I would suggest you consider why you’re staring at a woman wearing a low-cut top; that might help you determine if it’s lust or not. In other words, what are you thinking of when you’re staring at her?
 
Jesus said that if you lust after someone other than your spouse, you have already committed adultery with them in your heart. Does that mean that if a woman is wearing a low cut top and I stare, I’m committing adultery? I guess what I need to know is, what constitutes lust?:confused:
I believe it takes somewhat more than just a mere (“look”) for a man to commit sin in his heart by seeing a woman who is provocatively dressed to seduce a man.

It would depend on what degree of entertaining the lower nature of ones passionate thoughts by possessively wanting to have sex with the woman he is looking at.
Seeing a beautiful woman even if she looks sexually alluring is no sin in itself.
But if a man chooses to entertain his primitive thoughts beyond this point then he implicates the sin of lust in his heart. It is not the look itself, but the way in which a man looks at a woman with his heart.

("In (“Sirach 23:17-22) The soul that is heated like a burning fire will not be quenched until it is consumed. A man who commits fornication…will never cease until the fire burns him up. To a fornicator all bread taste sweet. He will never cease until he dies. A man who breaks his marriage vows says to himself: (“Who sees me?”) Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me, no one sees me. Why should I fear? The Most High God will not take notice of my sins. A man’s fear is confined to the eyes of men; because he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten-thousand times brighter than the sun. He looks upon the ways of men, and perceives even in hidden places. So it is with a woman who leaves her husband, and provides an heir by a stranger.”)
 
Also modesty from the catechism

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a9.htm#II

II. THE BATTLE FOR PURITY

2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God’s grace he will prevail
  • by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart;
  • by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized person seeks to find and to fulfill God’s will in everything;313
  • by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God’s commandments: “Appearance arouses yearning in fools”;314
  • by prayer:

    I thought that continence arose from one’s own powers, which I did not recognize in myself. I was foolish enough not to know . . . that no one can be continent unless you grant it. For you would surely have granted it if my inner groaning had reached your ears and I with firm faith had cast my cares on you.315
2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.

2522 Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It inspires one’s choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.

2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing ideologies.

2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.

2525 Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of heart brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.

2526 So called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral law. Those in charge of education can reasonably be expected to give young people instruction respectful of the truth, the qualities of the heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.

2527 "The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the ever-present attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples. It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ."316
 
Lust means having strong sexual desire, or a strong desire in general (i.e. a “lust for revenge”, etc."

Looking at a woman lustfully has NOTHING to do with adultery. Sorry, but Jesus was wrong when he said that. One can have lustful feelings but not act on them.

Cheating would be adultery, not looking at a woman
 
Looking at a woman lustfully has NOTHING to do with adultery. Sorry, but Jesus was wrong when he said that. One can have lustful feelings but not act on them. Cheating would be adultery, not looking at a woman
Matt. 5;28, Jesus clearly says “But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

It doesn’t matter what bible you read from this verse is pretty clear about committing adultery in your heart if you look at a woman lustfully,that is, to desire her. 2 Samuel 11:2, Job 31:1, Matt.15:19 and James 1:14 all are good examples/explanations of the Matt.5:28 verse.
 
I am not a priest, but I would suggest you consider why you’re staring at a woman wearing a low-cut top; that might help you determine if it’s lust or not. In other words, what are you thinking of when you’re staring at her?
Well, when I look at a woman with a low cut dress I am thinking “what beautiful breasts”. What else would one think? 😃 Unless of course they are misshapen and ugly! I don’t think it’s wrong for a man to think that a women’s breasts are beautiful. However, if he decides to act on sexual impulse and attraction, then he is lusting. Staring is bad manners and is probably a precursor to lusting.
So, don’t stare boys!! :eek:
 
Well, when I look at a woman with a low cut dress I am thinking “what beautiful breasts”.
I’m usually thinking, “why is she displaying her breasts like that in such a place?”
I don’t think it’s wrong for a man to think that a women’s breasts are beautiful. However, if he decides to act on sexual impulse and attraction, then he is lusting. Staring is bad manners and is probably a precursor to lusting.
Blessed is the man who can admire the beauty of another woman’s breasts without immediately (and lustfully) comparing/contrasting them to his wife breasts.

And more blessed is the man whose wife can believe that! 😉
 
Jesus said that if you lust after someone other than your spouse, you have already committed adultery with them in your heart. Does that mean that if a woman is wearing a low cut top and I stare, I’m committing adultery? I guess what I need to know is, what constitutes lust?:confused:
no one really asnwered the question “What is lust?” Lust is the desire to obtain what one sees,thinks etc.So by your example if you were looking at this woman with the desire to “obtain” her then it would be committing adultry.
 
Lust means having strong sexual desire, or a strong desire in general (i.e. a “lust for revenge”, etc."

Looking at a woman lustfully has NOTHING to do with adultery. Sorry, but Jesus was wrong when he said that. One can have lustful feelings but not act on them.

Cheating would be adultery, not looking at a woman
You are your own worst enemy:) So in your words having the desire to have sex with someone other than your wife is not cheating on her:confused: What you are saying here is a common beleif held by many, that being faithful only means being faithful in flesh not spiritually.What you did in this example is cheating, for your wife is not your only desire…You desired to become one flesh with this other woman.And that is called adultry.
 
Jesus said that if you lust after someone other than your spouse, you have already committed adultery with them in your heart. Does that mean that if a woman is wearing a low cut top and I stare, I’m committing adultery? I guess what I need to know is, what constitutes lust?:confused:
As my confessor is fond of reminding me, the temptation is not sin. We are constantly assailed by random (and sometimes impure) thoughts. Often times we have thoughts and have no idea where they even came from. If we reject the thought it is not sin. It’s not until you give assent to the thought and derive sinful pleasure from it that it becomes sin.

Yours in Christ
Joe
 
When a woman wears seductive clothing, she is asking to be oggled, & You cant blame a man for looking, some of these same women act seductive toward men too. After all a man is a man, & man is weak, some of these women seduce men also, after a seductive woman plays around with a man`s libido, something is bound to happen, a man can only take so much
 
The sex drive is so powerful, sometimes I think God made it too powerful, look at all the terrible horrid things that people are doing for sex pleasure terrible abuse of children , rich american men going to third world countries to take advantage of , people selling their children for sex pleasure. Rapes, incest,sex with animals etc etc
 
Suppose you look at a woman naked. She is attractive and you enjoy the sight of her. Maybe you are supposed to. That is the way God made you. Did you commit a sin? Depends, are you in a strip club? Or are you vacationing with your wife and some man or woman wants to run around naked. Being mature people I doubt if there is a sin there on anybody’s part.

People really need to grow up.This business of getting all worked up over a boob or a butt is so immature.
 
Being mature people I doubt if there is a sin there on anybody’s part.
That attitude can get you in trouble, thinking that the more mature you are (physically, spiritually, etc.), the more you can withstand occasions of sin. It can end up becoming pride in yourself (rather than trust in and recourse to God) and you might end up failing eventually when you encounter such an occasion of sin.
People really need to grow up. This business of getting all worked up over a boob or a butt is so immature.
I agree with you completely here: people do need to grow up and mature, and the pornography industry (that is, the “business of getting all worked up over a boob or a butt”) is terribly immature, and destructive to men and women, married and single, adults and children.
 
. After all a man is a man, & man is weak, some of these women seduce men also, after a seductive woman plays around with a man`s libido, something is bound to happen, a man can only take so much
i disagree with this observation. it is a gross generalisation and an affront to most men. There are some amongst men who can indeed and actually do resist the tempatations of attractive women, even when being deliberately provoked. It is called “self control” and when I was growing up I was told it was one of the “manly qualities”.

NoWhereMan’s generalisation is the perfect excuse for no morality at all, but really, there is no excuse.

Take this phrase by NoWhereMan
…after a seductive woman plays around with a man`s libido, something is bound to happen, a man can only take so much
Well surely any self respecting man is capable of saying “enough” within the first thirty seconds?!
 
The sex drive is so powerful, sometimes I think God made it too powerful, look at all the terrible horrid things that people are doing for sex pleasure terrible abuse of children , rich american men going to third world countries to take advantage of , people selling their children for sex pleasure. Rapes, incest,sex with animals etc etc
NoWhereMan is confusing two things in his post.
Firstly, there is nothing wrong at all with a strong ex drive. It is God given after all. Its strength is not the sole cause of the things (wrongs) he lists. They are another matter.
What is done with that strong sex drive is another matter. The examples he gives of misuse of that sex drive is a failure of what we call “Morality”. Morality is another term for ‘self control’. Morals, after all, are rules for behaviour. Self control is applying those rules to oneself. There are many who are allowing their moral codes to collapse. I’m sure the Good Lord will ask them why one day! The proliferation of the evils NoWhereMan lists are because people are not exercising self control. After all, strong sex drives have been with us since the dawn of time. The proliferation of the misuse of the sex drive is a recent phenomena.
 
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