Marks of a Dying Church.

As I read among the blogs and facebook postings from United Methodists I can see two  different ecclesiologies being expressed. They are based on different, although not contradictory, understandings of the human condition; different theological anthropologies. 

1. One theological anthropology understands humans primarily as broken, marginalized, and excluded from God’s reign. Thus the task of the church and the basis of all its ministries is to invite, welcome, include, and heal in the name of Christ. The church is a gathering of those who have been brought back into God’s Reign. In this anthropology the language of sin and sinner is understood primarily as another language of exclusion, a way of marginalizing people are pushing them away from God’s Reign.
2. A rather different theological anthropology understands humans primarily as rebels who reject God’s rule and reign. The task of the church is to place before these rebellious people Jesus Christ, who demands faith and submission to his rule. In this theological anthropology the language of sin and sinner is a necessary part of engaging people with the reality of who they really are so they can make the choice for follow Jesus Christ.

Each of these theological anthropologies can easily be supported from scripture. And the ecclesiologies that follow from them can also be supported from scripture. The problem, it seems to me, is that both, and they do need each other, are out of touch with both the range of scriptural understandings of the human person, and our contemporary culture.