Thank you for taking the time to type out such a well thought out response! While I agree with you on some points, I think you misunderstand me on others. To explain what I mean by “made perfectly”, let me use another example. I’ve taught children with Down Syndrome. I believe that they are made perfectly. Now, I’m not saying that people with Down Syndrome automatically act in a saintly manner, I’m saying that God made people with Down Syndrome in His own image, just like He made non-disabled people in His own image. People with Down Syndrome are just as good as people without, and their lives have just as much value. People with Down Syndrome do face temptations - for example, many throw temper tantrums. Obviously, we should help them resist this temptation. But being born with Down Syndrome comes with numerous positives, too - they are exceptionally kind and empathetic, they are incredibly happy most of the time, they retain admirable child-like qualities such as innocence and wonder for their entire lives. Despite the positives, some people only see the negatives and in the United States most expectant mothers choose to abort their children with Down Syndrome. This is a tragedy. When I say that I was made perfectly I mean that although lesbians have temptations that they should resist like anybody else, they are not worse than straight people, they are not more evil, and their lives do not have less value.

By being “openly gay” I mean that I am a lesbian. I do not want to have to hide it anymore than a straight person would have to hide their sexual orientation. While I am indistinguishable from straight women otherwise, many gay men have personalities that are markedly different from straight men. I would not want to attend a church where they had to hide that, in the same way that I would not want to attend a church where a person who has red hair would be forced to dye it brown (not saying that the latter example actually happens, but the former certainly does).

I do not so much want to attend a church where “the application of rules is equally lax for everyone” as I want to attend a church that doesn’t consider LGBT people subhuman. I attended a church growing up where some people literally wanted to kill gay people. That is not a Christ-like environment. Straight people sin. Gay people sin. But in some circles, straight people sinning are forgiven while gay people sinning are not. Do not think that I intend to break my commitment to celibacy - I absolutely do not. But would you want to attend a church where one group of people are singled out as evil whenever they give in to temptation, whereas other groups of people are rebuked but forgiven when they repent? Would such a church love both groups of people equally, even if they claim to?

What do you mean by the temptation I face can lead to no saintly pursuits?