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Lilliput and Blefuscu were intended as, and understood to be, satirical portraits of the kingdom of Great Britain (protestant) and the kingdom of France (catholic).
The book describes an intra-Lilliputian quarrel which involved a quarrel over the practice of breaking eggs. Formerly, in Lilliput, all eggs were broken on the larger end (Catholic) ; but a few generations in the past, an Emperor of Lilliput had decreed that all eggs be broken on the smaller end (Protestant).
UPDATE: To make myself more clear. No there has never been a historical argument over the issue. It all goes back to Jonathan Swifts book.
Source(s):
http://www.mahalo.com/Gullivers_Travels
http://www.mahalo.com/Jonathan_Swift
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilliput_and_Blefuscu
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I called several friends and asked about this issue.
The only thing I have ever been told about eggs in a Catholic church was on Easter Sunday when the older children hid the Easter Eggs for the younger children. I was told about ten minutes before the end of the Mass, "It is time for you to go help hide the eggs."
Your story is a complete fabrication. It ranks right up there with sacrificing babies to Satan and paying the Priest to forgive sins.
You are correct about one thing. They have had bloodlettings over things just this trivial, but this is not one of them. You have not been able to find any facts regarding your thesis because they are none.
I suspect you will not accept my answer so let me recommend you search Google for "Catholic Answers". You will find there are many Mahalo like sites that are centered on Catholic beliefs.
Source(s):
None, You can't prove a negative.
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During the time when King Edward VI reigned, there had also been years of religious disputes in progress, which continued long after his time. Whether or not there is an actual law - or some truth to it, may actually be solved by looking into literary satire - rather than history! For this, I turn to a famous writer, Jonathan Swift.
Swift authored a satirical book or "parody" of that particular period in history, in which the French and English, or the Protestants and Catholics are portrayed as royal families of the lands. In this parody, the emperor of Lilliput made a decree regarding the breaking of boiled eggs, after his son was injured while attempting to break the sharp end of the egg.
The parody? Gulliver's Travels!
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"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)
Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.
Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):
By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html
There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.
A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.
For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.shtml
With love in Christ.
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Source(s):
Plato, Shakespeare, Kant, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, ...
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M$2
March 05, 2009 04:23 PM
Do Protestants open a soft boiled egg at the big end and Catholics open a soft boiled egg at the little (sharp) end? Did they fight over it
The egg is a popular Christian symbol, best known today in reference to Easter, but used more in the past. It was adopted in ancient times from the Pagans. I have not been able to find a reference to either end mattering except in Bulgarian folklore (they put crosses on the little end) but Christian sects have had violent disputes about lesser things. I am particularly interested in whether this came up during the Reformation in England.
(this is not an opinion or poll question - just the facts please - with sources)
(this is not an opinion or poll question - just the facts please - with sources)
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1 answerers thought this was unfair.
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March 05, 2009 04:40 PM
In the book "Gulliver's Travels" (http://www.mahalo.com/Gullivers_Travels) Jonathan Swift writes about two islands Lilliput and Blefuscu. Lilliput and Blefuscu were intended as, and understood to be, satirical portraits of the kingdom of Great Britain (protestant) and the kingdom of France (catholic).
The book describes an intra-Lilliputian quarrel which involved a quarrel over the practice of breaking eggs. Formerly, in Lilliput, all eggs were broken on the larger end (Catholic) ; but a few generations in the past, an Emperor of Lilliput had decreed that all eggs be broken on the smaller end (Protestant).
UPDATE: To make myself more clear. No there has never been a historical argument over the issue. It all goes back to Jonathan Swifts book.
Source(s):
http://www.mahalo.com/Gullivers_Travels
http://www.mahalo.com/Jonathan_Swift
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilliput_and_Blefuscu
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March 05, 2009 04:48 PM
I did not ask about Gulliver's Travels, with which I am familiar. I am trying to find out if there was a historical argument over the issue.
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March 05, 2009 06:30 PM
I have been a Roman Catholic for 67 years, My father since 1915 and my grand father since 1874. I called several friends and asked about this issue.
The only thing I have ever been told about eggs in a Catholic church was on Easter Sunday when the older children hid the Easter Eggs for the younger children. I was told about ten minutes before the end of the Mass, "It is time for you to go help hide the eggs."
Your story is a complete fabrication. It ranks right up there with sacrificing babies to Satan and paying the Priest to forgive sins.
You are correct about one thing. They have had bloodlettings over things just this trivial, but this is not one of them. You have not been able to find any facts regarding your thesis because they are none.
I suspect you will not accept my answer so let me recommend you search Google for "Catholic Answers". You will find there are many Mahalo like sites that are centered on Catholic beliefs.
Source(s):
None, You can't prove a negative.
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Reply
March 05, 2009 07:20 PM
Thanks for your experience and that of your friends, although I am looking for actual documentation. It is not an anti-Catholic notion though, if anything it is anti-Protestant since they were the ones that started attacking Catholic customs for being of Pagan origin. I know there is a ton of Catholic documentation on-line, I was hoping a Catholic would be able to go through it more easily than I. So far no Protestants have answered.
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March 05, 2009 09:01 PM
I didn't interpret it as anti-Catholic or anti-Protestant. I interpreted it as more anti-human-intolerance-stupidity and an attempt at myth busting ( one of my favorite TV shows).
If you do ever find anything, I would love to hear about it.
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If you do ever find anything, I would love to hear about it.
March 05, 2009 09:20 PM
Before I had even asked this question, I found the following on a Catholic site:
"Egg: the egg is a wonderful symbol of birth and rebirth, an apparently lifeless object out of which comes life. Because of this, it is a symbol of Christ's Resurrection and is seen most often at Easter. In 2006, a necropolis under the Vatican revealed an infant who'd been buried holding an egg to symbolize his parents' hope in his resurrection, because of Christ's Resurrection.
Legend has it that St. Mary Magdalen went to Rome and met with the Emperor Tiberius to tell him about the Resurrection of Jesus. She held out an egg to him as a symbol of this, and he scoffed, saying that a man could no more rise from the dead than that egg that she held could turn scarlet. The egg turned deep red in her hands, and this is the origin of Easter eggs, and the reason why Mary Magdalen is often portrayed holding a scarlet egg.
Another level of symbolism is that the egg represents the Creation, the elements, and the world itself, with the shell representing the firmament, the vault of the sky where the fiery stars lie; the thin membrane symbolizing air; the white symbolizing the waters; and the yolk representing earth."
http://www.fisheaters.com/symbols.html
So you see, the egg is notable in Catholic symbolism, which is complex and used to be even more so, even though it doesn't come up much for day-to-day modern Catholics.
But does the end of the egg you open matter? That's what this question is about.
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"Egg: the egg is a wonderful symbol of birth and rebirth, an apparently lifeless object out of which comes life. Because of this, it is a symbol of Christ's Resurrection and is seen most often at Easter. In 2006, a necropolis under the Vatican revealed an infant who'd been buried holding an egg to symbolize his parents' hope in his resurrection, because of Christ's Resurrection.
Legend has it that St. Mary Magdalen went to Rome and met with the Emperor Tiberius to tell him about the Resurrection of Jesus. She held out an egg to him as a symbol of this, and he scoffed, saying that a man could no more rise from the dead than that egg that she held could turn scarlet. The egg turned deep red in her hands, and this is the origin of Easter eggs, and the reason why Mary Magdalen is often portrayed holding a scarlet egg.
Another level of symbolism is that the egg represents the Creation, the elements, and the world itself, with the shell representing the firmament, the vault of the sky where the fiery stars lie; the thin membrane symbolizing air; the white symbolizing the waters; and the yolk representing earth."
http://www.fisheaters.com/symbols.html
So you see, the egg is notable in Catholic symbolism, which is complex and used to be even more so, even though it doesn't come up much for day-to-day modern Catholics.
But does the end of the egg you open matter? That's what this question is about.
March 05, 2009 07:57 PM
Wow - this may be it . . . During the time when King Edward VI reigned, there had also been years of religious disputes in progress, which continued long after his time. Whether or not there is an actual law - or some truth to it, may actually be solved by looking into literary satire - rather than history! For this, I turn to a famous writer, Jonathan Swift.
Swift authored a satirical book or "parody" of that particular period in history, in which the French and English, or the Protestants and Catholics are portrayed as royal families of the lands. In this parody, the emperor of Lilliput made a decree regarding the breaking of boiled eggs, after his son was injured while attempting to break the sharp end of the egg.
The parody? Gulliver's Travels!
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March 05, 2009 08:05 PM
There were some site errors during the time I was attempting to post my answer, and I didn't know you had already discussed Gulliver's Travels. My apologies! Thought I was on to something, but you've obviously already been down that road!
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March 05, 2009 09:03 PM
Yes, this is why I picked the egg question from among the other "crazy" laws to track down in detail. If it really was a law a century and more before Swift, that would be a big deal to those interested in this classic work. If it never was a law, then future literary critics will have to be careful to avoid the bad information now floating around. The mince pie law, by the way, was basically true and due to the religious dispute. This one could have been, but was it? Keep tuned if you find this interesting.
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March 07, 2009 06:42 AM
Not to the best of my knowledge. But most of our differences are just about as unimportant. "What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)
Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.
Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):
By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html
There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.
A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.
For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.shtml
With love in Christ.
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March 08, 2009 04:13 PM
- Fact Refuted
You not only wandered off point (I was asking about a particular idea) but your answer is quite wrong about all Christians agreeing on the most important points. Discussing the whole subject would be another question(s) but in short, many Christians disagree vehemently about almost everything. Notable current disputes include abortion, gay marriage, marriage of priests, grace vs good works, and more other things than you could shake a stick at. The egg bit may be obscure and real or not, but saying the disputes don't matter is pure wishful thinking.
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March 08, 2009 04:44 PM
So far no one identifying themselves as a Protestant has answered my question. However, I have come across several sites including this one:
http://www.biblestudysite.com/resegg.htm which rant and rave about Easter Eggs being an abomination and sign that the AntiChrist is coming and the world about to end. While they do not mention anything about the ends of the egg, it is clear they get pretty worked up about eggs and could easily get worked up about something like this.
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http://www.biblestudysite.com/resegg.htm which rant and rave about Easter Eggs being an abomination and sign that the AntiChrist is coming and the world about to end. While they do not mention anything about the ends of the egg, it is clear they get pretty worked up about eggs and could easily get worked up about something like this.
April 28, 2009 06:53 PM
Right! You should look at the deepest message behind the fable of Catholic fizzy and disagreements like egg-breaking. Ideological groups get fizzed over all kinds of things. The problem is with logic and the fact that logic is always closed system and in terms of discrete variables with opposites. The message of these stories lies beyond triviality and beyond the proper selection of what is significant (not trivial). The point is that civilized conceptual reality is thoroughly fake. There is no god and there is no definable reality.
Source(s):
Plato, Shakespeare, Kant, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, ...
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