Jesus says, “If you look at a woman with lust in your heart you have commited adultery with her in your heart.” (
Matthew 5:28).
This verse has become a bastion for teachers against pornography, soft porn, pin ups, and etc. But is it meant for that? The context of who and what Jesus is discussing is adulterey which cannot be committed unless you are married. Jesus was raising the stakes for married men whom he was talking to, but can this be used in broad way for singles too?
I lean towards using is broadly, because the message is adultery in the heart, but can you have adulterey in heart if the woman is an anime character, video game character, and etc?
What are your thoughts?
Do we use Jesus’ statement as catch all for every kind of thing even having a crush on celebrities or is it specifically for married people or in a very niche context of marriage and adultery that he was addressing then?