HT to the Internet Monk for this:
“Sam’s Club stores are no longer selling The Brick Bible: A New Spin on The Old Testament, which tells Bible stories through 1,400 images of toy Lego pieces, after ‘numerous concerns’ were received about some of the book’s content.”
Sam’s Clubs stores said they were responding to complaints from parents who found many of the Lego depictions of Bible stories objectionable. The Lego dioramas in the book portray nudity, sex, and violence (well, Lego nudity, sex, and violence) that many find too graphic for children.
The book’s illustrator, Brendan Powell Smith, says he was not necessarily creating a book for young children, despite the use of Lego blocks. “From the start, my goal was to create an illustrated Bible that stood out from all others – not just because it was illustrated in LEGO, but because I would be using only direct quotes of scripture to retell the stories just as the Bible tells them. I also endeavored not to water down the stories or censor them for content. If it was in the Bible, my thinking was, it was worth illustrating. That decision has meant, though, that not everyone considers The Brick Testament appropriate for all children, since the Bible is chock full of graphic violence throughout, and contains a few stories with sexual content.”
I say, funny how we get more upset over a Lego figure laying on top of another one but such tasteless trivialization of the Scripture is okay in our books... Really, like it is okay to confuse our kids with Lego fantasy displaying Scriptural truth. Hmmmm... well this is one gift I don't want under my tree. But if you cannot live without it, go for it. You can get it here if it is not in Sam's or your favorite retailer, but if you are an Amazon customer, you can order it with free shipping (if you spend enough $). Unless I am mistaken, which I frequently am, you might some other surprises in the book besides the images. It is said that this is a "new spin" on the old story and it is "told by and illustrated by Brendan Powell Smith." I do not doubt that kids would find it interesting. The only part I am worried about is how Biblical this Bible really is.
6 comments:
I have an eight year old that loves Legos and also is coming to that age of asking many questions about God and things in the Bible he is learning in Sunday School; therefore, I don't know if I think this is such a bad idea or not. I guess I will have to see the book and judge for myself.
I do know, however, that it has to be better than the Veggie-tale "Bible" books that are cute but I think often completely miss the mark in telling the Biblical story.
Desert Rat, your comment illustrates the main reason the book was pulled. It's deceptive. It's not an accurate depiction of the Bible. It was created by an atheist, attempting to trivialize the Bible. (e.g., the numerous lego sex poses; or the pic of God holding a knife with a bloody lego-cow on the ground, with Adam and Eve in the sidelines crying, etc.). The book was designed for controversy, and not a good tihng for your eight year old.
Images notwithstanding, the wording of the bible stories is not accurate.
The Lego Bible was meant to entertain (hence the shock value of the poses), and not to educate.
Sad. We have gone from Logos to Legos.
Ah, well, another reason why parents need to be doing their jobs and be watching what comes to their children.
"Ah, well, another reason why parents need to be doing their jobs and be watching what comes to their children."
Mercifully the retailers feel some sense of propriety in protecting kids and not offending paying customers. It is sad when for profit retailers have a more charitable sentiment towards kids than parents. As for those kids whose parents are not paying close enough attention, well too bad for them.
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