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Response
A thought crime is a concept derived from the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. In this novel, the highly authoritarian government that governs the nation Oceania has a department known as the Thought Police, or “Thinkpol,” which actively prosecutes individuals who harbor thoughts that contradict the beliefs of The Party, the ruling authority. The Thought Police is one of the most chilling concepts in this novel. In Orwell’s fictional world, anyone found guilty of “thoughtcrime” faces punishment.
Fortunately, the notion of a thought crime, as depicted in Nineteen Eighty-Four, remains a fictional idea, although some perceive the prosecution of hate crimes, or bias crimes, in contemporary legal systems as potentially paving the way for a real-life Thought Police. Is a thought crime a biblical concept? Is it justifiable to penalize wicked or impure thoughts?
First, let’s establish the concept of sin. Sin is any act of disobedience to God’s commands, whether in thought, speech, or deed. The Bible unequivocally states that even thoughts can be sinful. For instance, the final of the Ten Commandments prohibits coveting, a sin that occurs in the mind and heart «You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.», (Exodus 20:17). Furthermore, Jesus taught that God is concerned not only with our actions but also with the intentions behind them. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated that the commandment “do not commit adultery” applied to anyone who looks at a woman with lust in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28). Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of His time, for practicing religion devoid of compassion and genuine devotion: “You hypocrites! How accurately Isaiah prophesied about you!”I did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:7-9;ESV). Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” «And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. », (1 Corinthians 13:3, ESV). So, God cares about our thoughts and the motives behind our actions.
Is every single thought that does not line up with God’s will a sin, or a “thought crime,” in the eyes of the Lord? What about intrusive thoughts, defined as “involuntary, unwanted images, phrases, or impulses”? A study by the Mayo Clinic found that 94 percent of people report having intrusive thoughts, which can include thoughts ranging from forgetting to close the garage door to causing bodily harm to someone (Mayo Clinic, 4/13/23, accessed 1/17/24). Since these are thoughts that we do not actively choose to enter our minds, they are not sins in and of themselves. However, choosing to dwell on or take pleasure in a sinful thought is a sin.
Furthermore, there is biblical evidence that the devil can put wicked thoughts into people’s minds. In John’s Gospel, the record shows Satan putting it into Judas’s heart—that is, his mind—the idea to carry out the betrayal of Christ «And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; », (John 13:2). Judas Iscariot was certainly guilty of a “thought crime” in God’s eyes.
Paul instructs the Corinthians to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” «casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; », (2 Corinthians 10:5, ESV). With every thought that enters our minds, whether good or evil, we have the opportunity to bring it to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7), ask Him for protection from any attack of the evil one (1 John 5:18-19), and focus on heavenly things that please God and are beneficial to the saints (Colossians 3:1-2;Philippians 4:8).
Therefore, thoughts can be sinful, but “thought crimes” are beyond the understanding of mere mortals. Humans cannot read others’ minds or see their thoughts, but God knows all our thoughts, and He is the perfect ruler and judge of the universe (John 2:24-25;Psalm 147:5;Psalm 145:17;Psalm 24:1). Any sinful thought that we dwell on and contemplate in our hearts is a violation of the perfect will of God, for He is holy and perfect, and He will not ignore any sin «keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. », (Exodus 34:7). Believers in Jesus need not fear, for every sinful thought they have ever had is forgiven through Jesus’ blood.
Shed on the cross (Romans 3:23-26). Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has liberated His people to encounter a peace beyond understanding «And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.», (Philippians 4:7), and He has delivered us from the dread of judgment «There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear involves torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.», (1 John 4:18). Through God’s grace, we can contemplate God’s love and mercy for us, leading us to rejoice!
