I completely agree. I do not believe Christianity was ever intended to be legalistic.. quite the opposite, actually, as legalism was a huge issue they were trying to move away from. I really enjoyed the book "How the Bible Actually Works" by Peter Enns, which provides arguments against legalistic thinking and teaching.

LGBTQ people are not outside of God's grace, and it baffles my mind that it's been compared to things like drug and alcohol abuse or lust (it just goes to how how little they've actually considered what they are claiming to be true). I do not think the church is aware of how many people they are pushing away from God, and I can't blame people for wanting to leave an institution that condemns a core part of them. The church really needs to step up and recant, but it seems like a new problem will always rise up. Like whack-a-mole, haha!

Thank you for your comment, it's much appreciated. I will go read your story!