De Essaist

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@Shenxiao123971 很多外国人，尤其是带孩子旅行的家庭，选择背包是因为他们更喜欢预算有限、尽量减少奢侈享受的旅行方式。这也可以培养孩子的独立性和耐力，让他们学会如何在事先规划好的预算内探索世界。背着大包当然很累，但这种挑战本身就是旅行体验的一部分。

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@yx53834975 2/2 这些边界协议的目的，是结束长期存在的边界争议，实现国际承认的稳定边界。谈判中双方都有让步，也都有所得。这与“无数国土赠友邦”的说法完全不是一回事。讨论历史，应以条约、档案和史料为依据，而不是以情绪和政治口号代替事实。

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@yx53834975 1/2 历史需要尊重事实，而不是口号。图瓦早在1944年已并入苏联，并非1950年毛泽东“签个字”送出去。中缅边界（1960）、中朝边界（1962）、中尼边界（1961-1963）都是经过正式谈判签订的国际边界条约，而不是一句“白送国土”可以概括。

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@joanlindhout @Brandkastpodcst @CedrikVandooren Verder: laat de ondergangsfantasieën varen. Door de eeuwen heen hebben we zulke voorspellingen al talloze keren gehoord. Durf te leven vanuit liefde en genade. Dat is zuiver katholiek

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@joanlindhout @Brandkastpodcst @CedrikVandooren 2/3 Benedictus XVI: Gods Koninkrijk “is niet gebouwd op wapens en geweld.” Christus wil niet met wapens verdedigd worden, maar regeert door waarheid en zelfgevende liefde. Homilie, 25 november 2012. https://t.co/hLry9GILg9

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@joanlindhout @Brandkastpodcst @CedrikVandooren 3/3 “Mijn koningschap is niet van deze wereld… Ik ben gekomen om van de waarheid te getuigen” (Joh. 18:36–37). Jezus stopt ook Petrus’ zwaard (18:10–11) en leert: wie groot wil zijn, moet dienaar worden (Mar. 10:43–45). Zo regeert Christus.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@joanlindhout @Brandkastpodcst @CedrikVandooren 1. Als bekeerde katholiek—net als jij—moet ik je tegenspreken. Mijn bezwaar geldt niet Christus’ koningschap, maar de koppeling ervan aan politieke macht en dwang. Paulus wijst ons op Gods geestelijke wapenrusting: waarheid, gerechtigheid, geloof en heil (Ef. 6:10–17).

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 6/6
The link with the Assumption is therefore a beautiful theological meditation, but it remains speculative. The Church teaches the Assumption because of Sacred Tradition and God’s saving plan—not because embryology can prove it.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 1/6
A fascinating reflection. Science can certainly deepen our sense of wonder about the Incarnation. But we should distinguish carefully between established biology, theological doctrine, and personal speculation.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 5/6
So saying that Mary carried cells from the human body of Jesus is a reasonable biological inference. Saying she carried “God’s DNA” goes beyond both science and Chalcedonian Christology. God does not possess DNA.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 4/6
The Council of Chalcedon (451) is crucial here. Christ is one Person in two natures: fully God and fully man, “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.” His humanity has DNA; His divinity does not.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 3/6
Since Jesus had no earthly father, His true human body came entirely through Mary. That fits Christian belief. But how God brought this about is not explained by genetics; it remains a miracle, not a biological mechanism.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 2/6
Biology tells us that every human body is built in the mother’s womb from material supplied by the mother. During pregnancy, fetal microchimerism also allows a small number of cells to pass between mother and child. That part is well established.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker Have a good day with your horror. Just don’t confuse it with the Gospel, and leave the rest of us out of it.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 10/

A mature faith is not built on fear.

It is built on Christ.

Everything else—including visions, apparitions and extraordinary stories—must remain secondary.

“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 9/

If purgatory exists, it exists because of God’s mercy, not because God delights in suffering.

Justice and mercy meet at the Cross—not in an endless catalogue of supernatural horror.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 8/

Perhaps the greatest danger is psychological.

People begin to trust frightening anecdotes more than the words of Christ himself.

The Gospel becomes overshadowed by sensational stories.

That is never a healthy development.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 7/

The Catechism describes purgatory as purification for those who die in God’s friendship.

It does not define temperatures, demons, reptiles, chains, or detailed torture scenes.

Much of that comes from devotional literature, not doctrine.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 6/

Fear has always been an effective religious motivator.

But Christianity did not spread because people were frightened into faith.

It spread because people encountered the risen Christ.

Those are not the same thing.

[De Essaist @theessaist]

@riecker 5/

Another inconsistency:

The souls are said to be unable to help themselves…

…yet they repeatedly appear, converse, identify themselves, request specific Masses and even leave physical evidence.

That raises more questions than it answers.