I think you're right, JD. committing a murder IS worse than simply thinking about it. If you get angry enough and think about killing someone one evening, that is decidedly not as bad as actually doing it. An actual murder is worse for the victim, most particularly, but it is also a step further and deeper than merely thinking about it.
Except for one thing - the point Lewis was making is that the spiritual damage done to
the one that commits a sin over
a lifetime is worse than one committed in the heat of a moment.
If that doesn't make sense, better call Stanley in.
"Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there's never more than one."
Bill "The Blizzard" Hingest - That Hideous Strength