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Hoffman reports that the commandment commonly quoted as "thou shalt not covet" is more accurately translated as "do not take," and that the commandment applies only to actions, not to states of mind.

Really? Then why did Jesus tell people that if they looked upon a woman with lust they have already committed adultry? Hmmmm....

Really? Then why did Jesus tell people that if they looked upon a woman with lust they have already committed adultry? Hmmmm....

I've always wondered about that. If I remember the passage correctly, Jesus said something like "If you have sinned in your heart, then it is the same as committing the sin." To me, this did not mean necessarily that if you felt the temptation, you had already sinned. Instead, I always thought it meant that if you had decided that you would do it, if you could, then you had sinned. For example, if you see another man's beautiful wife, and you think of what it would be like to have sex with her, but then put it out of your mind and walk away, you have not sinned. However, if you were to look at that man's wife and know that you would have sex with her if she offered it, then you have sinned, because you have accepted that sin in your heart, whereas in the first case you rejected the sinful thought.

As I understgand it the man was not speaking from a theological point of view, but a linguistic one. He was speaking strictly on the ten commandents of the old testament and how they are/should be translated as written.

He was not philosophying on the teachings of Christ.