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The Brick Bible: The Complete Set
NOTE TO PARENTS: This book is intended for older children, teens and adults. For younger children, please search Amazon for "The Brick Bible for Kids" series of picture books.
The Brick Bible books have taken the world by storm, and now, for the first time, Brendan Powell Smith's visually striking The Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament and The Brick Bible: The New Testament are available in a beautiful hardcover box set. With over two thousand color photographs depicting the major narrative scenes of the Bible, this slipcovered set (including new material and a bonus two-sided, full-color poster) is the gift you've been wanting to give your LEGO®-loving friends and religious family members for holidays, birthdays, or just because.
Book one includes scenes from the Old Testament—the creation of the world, the temptation of Adam and Eve, the great flood, the presentation of the ten commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and more. The Old Testament is a complex text, but Smith's "brick" illustrations help bring out the nuances of each scene and will make you reconsider the way you look at the Bible—and LEGO®.
Book two offers a new spin on the story of Jesus. Smith portrays Jesus's birth, miracles, last supper, and death and resurrection with meticulous attention to detail. From the fate of Judas to the life of Paul and his letters to the Ephesians; from the first book burning to the book of Revelations, this is the New Testament as you've never experienced it before. Find a place on your shelf for this beautiful two-book collector's set and continue to be amazed at the Bible as illustrated by your favorite toy.
The Brick Bible books have taken the world by storm, and now, for the first time, Brendan Powell Smith's visually striking The Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament and The Brick Bible: The New Testament are available in a beautiful hardcover box set. With over two thousand color photographs depicting the major narrative scenes of the Bible, this slipcovered set (including new material and a bonus two-sided, full-color poster) is the gift you've been wanting to give your LEGO®-loving friends and religious family members for holidays, birthdays, or just because.
Book one includes scenes from the Old Testament—the creation of the world, the temptation of Adam and Eve, the great flood, the presentation of the ten commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and more. The Old Testament is a complex text, but Smith's "brick" illustrations help bring out the nuances of each scene and will make you reconsider the way you look at the Bible—and LEGO®.
Book two offers a new spin on the story of Jesus. Smith portrays Jesus's birth, miracles, last supper, and death and resurrection with meticulous attention to detail. From the fate of Judas to the life of Paul and his letters to the Ephesians; from the first book burning to the book of Revelations, this is the New Testament as you've never experienced it before. Find a place on your shelf for this beautiful two-book collector's set and continue to be amazed at the Bible as illustrated by your favorite toy.
576 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
6 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Brendan Powell Smith
40 books19 followersElbe Spurling (born September 7, 1973) is an American transgender artist, author, and moralist best known for The Brick Bible book series (published under her birth name Brendan Powell Smith)—an ongoing project to illustrate the entire Bible in LEGO building blocks.
Although not religious, Spurling has studied the Bible, ancient Christianity and Judaism, and is motivated by the belief that all people, whether believers or not, are better off knowing the content of the scriptures. Her unique storytelling and illustrating style has been noted for its meticulous attention to detail, and its ability to walk a fine line between humor and poignancy.
She also creates art pop music under the artist name ɘlbe and released her debut LP "gɘtting thɘre" in fall 2016.
—from the author's website
Although not religious, Spurling has studied the Bible, ancient Christianity and Judaism, and is motivated by the belief that all people, whether believers or not, are better off knowing the content of the scriptures. Her unique storytelling and illustrating style has been noted for its meticulous attention to detail, and its ability to walk a fine line between humor and poignancy.
She also creates art pop music under the artist name ɘlbe and released her debut LP "gɘtting thɘre" in fall 2016.
—from the author's website
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 19, 2016
This is a great idea done...well, poorly isn't quite right. Because for quality it is excellent. But the author seems to be taking the stories of the Bible out of context, or else reading them in the worst possible light. It's like reading the Bible through the eyes of an angry and cynical ex-Christian. Someone had a lot of fun with this book - but it wasn't the Christian parents buying it for their kids!
May 1, 2014
I was so excited when I discovered this set. I had some reservations about the content being accurate and the images being inappropriate for kids. I understood it was not geared toward children (but neither is the subject material of the bible). But come on, do you really need to show a "naked" pregnant Lego giving birth. complete with blood between her legs! Really? On the plus side our Lego kid won't go to bed to bed without asking to read scriptures. So we are carefully to read parts that we think are age appropriate along with our King Janes version.
December 3, 2014
HORRIBLY inappropriate!! NOT in the least but reflective of scripture...if anything, it mocks truth & confuses the innocent person who picks it up just to take a peak.
My husband & I were excited to see it at Barnes & Noble until we picked it up & began reading. I am SO GLAD we did not buy this one for our Lego loving boy.
Lego figures in sexual positions...including gay sex is to much for me! How in the world did this thing get published!?
My husband & I were excited to see it at Barnes & Noble until we picked it up & began reading. I am SO GLAD we did not buy this one for our Lego loving boy.
Lego figures in sexual positions...including gay sex is to much for me! How in the world did this thing get published!?
March 25, 2018
This was wild. Disturbing in places. Funny in other places. Irreverent in other places. And yet, there was one section that made me view the lesson in an entirely different light because of the way it was presented....with Legos. And I’m 43 years old.
March 19, 2023
To be a condensed version of the Bible, I understand it will not word-for-word. However, as you read this version it is noticeable that the author chose to highlight and depict every mention of violence or negativity (even those in parables) in multiple frames, yet skipped over words of love and stories of Jesus healing.
June 24, 2022
A mixed bag - the lego dioramas are often wryly amusing and occasionally showcase creative brilliance (especially in Revelation), but the edits of the Biblical text (selecting almost exclusively narratives, and mostly those with visual potential) sideline the message of love that is the dominant thread through Scripture.
January 19, 2018
It's the BRICK BIBLE how could you not read it. The great thing is I haven't even read this book yet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2015
In his introduction, Brendan Powell Smith states he started this project because many people who say they believe the Bible is the word of God and a guide to morality haven't actually read it. The Bible is definitely a difficult book to get through, so turning it into a graphic novel using LEGO figurines does make it easier to read. A lot of parts are left out (otherwise this would be thousands of pages long), but the most well known stories are here, making it perfect for people who want to be culturally literate but who don't want to spend the time to read through the entire Bible itself. Note, as the Bible contains copious amounts of sex and violence, this edition may not be suitable for children. However, LEGO nudity isn't exactly NC17 and the blood is just red blocks, so it's not as bad as prime time TV. Also, this print edition is far less offensive than thebricktestament.com website which this book is based on since a lot of parts have been left out.
Smith consulted several different English translations of the Bible as well as the original Hebrew when putting this together. All the text in this book is taken from the Bible, although like all translations, he does add his own interpretation to the text. I was disappointed that he made the sin of Sodom be homosexuality when this isn't attested to in the Bible. When the sin of Sodom is mentioned in the Bible, it's referred to as inhospitality (Jeremiah 23:14, Ezekiel 16:49-50, Wisdom 19:13-14, Ecclesiastes 16:8, Matthew 10:11-14, Luke 10:8-12). Some modern people mistakenly think it was homosexuality because the Hebrew word "yadha" (know) sometimes refers to sex, however, the word yahda is used over 900 times in the Bible and only refers to sex 10 times. When God says Abraham only have I known, he's using "know" in the modern sense, as does Jesus when he says a shepherd knows his flock. In the earlier version of the Sodom story (Judges 19), the sin of the townspeople is trying to kill the foreigner spending the night in their city (Judges 20:4-5), not trying to rape him. The writers of the Sodom and Gomorrah story did not have homosexuality in mind.
Smith's sense of humor is apparent throughout this book. When Yahweh makes leather clothes for Adam and Eve to wear, the picture shows Yahweh butchering a cow with Adam and Eve looking on in horror. When Noah and his family leave the ark, there are countless skeletons strewn across the ground from all the people who died in the flood. Inconsistencies that are easy to miss when reading the Bible stand out quite a bit when you see them illustrated. The fact that Genesis gives two different creation stories is more apparent in this version, as is the ridiculousness of Noah cursing Canaan because Ham saw Noah naked (although I think the reason for this is Ham "uncovering his father's nakedness" is a metaphor for Ham sleeping with Noah's wife, thus making Canaan a child of incest).
I admit I started to get bored with the Old Testament pretty quickly since it's mainly just one battle after another (it reminded me of the Book of Mormon in this way). The New Testament was more fun. The analogies of Jesus are depicted in modern day contexts. When Jesus says to turn the other cheek and forgive them that hurt you, the LEGOs depict a man letting himself get beaten by a criminal, who then proceeds to murder his family. In accordance with Jesus's teachings to love them that spitefully use you and let them borrow your things without expecting them to be returned, the man then gives the murderer his car. The ridiculousness of someone actually doing what Jesus says by selling everything they have and giving the money to the poor is also pictured.
I loved thebricktestament.com website, so I was quite disappointed when I found out this collection doesn't contain everything the website does. Some of the funniest parts are left out. The Laws, Job, and the Epistles aren't here. Also, the books which do appear are sometimes abridged. The layout also is different. On the website, the scripture is written underneath the picture to make room for word bubbles in which the characters sometimes say non-Biblical things. The word bubbles don't appear in the print edition in order to save room on the page, but this takes a lot of the humor out of it. For this reason, I have to recommend people visit the website rather than buy this book.
Smith consulted several different English translations of the Bible as well as the original Hebrew when putting this together. All the text in this book is taken from the Bible, although like all translations, he does add his own interpretation to the text. I was disappointed that he made the sin of Sodom be homosexuality when this isn't attested to in the Bible. When the sin of Sodom is mentioned in the Bible, it's referred to as inhospitality (Jeremiah 23:14, Ezekiel 16:49-50, Wisdom 19:13-14, Ecclesiastes 16:8, Matthew 10:11-14, Luke 10:8-12). Some modern people mistakenly think it was homosexuality because the Hebrew word "yadha" (know) sometimes refers to sex, however, the word yahda is used over 900 times in the Bible and only refers to sex 10 times. When God says Abraham only have I known, he's using "know" in the modern sense, as does Jesus when he says a shepherd knows his flock. In the earlier version of the Sodom story (Judges 19), the sin of the townspeople is trying to kill the foreigner spending the night in their city (Judges 20:4-5), not trying to rape him. The writers of the Sodom and Gomorrah story did not have homosexuality in mind.
Smith's sense of humor is apparent throughout this book. When Yahweh makes leather clothes for Adam and Eve to wear, the picture shows Yahweh butchering a cow with Adam and Eve looking on in horror. When Noah and his family leave the ark, there are countless skeletons strewn across the ground from all the people who died in the flood. Inconsistencies that are easy to miss when reading the Bible stand out quite a bit when you see them illustrated. The fact that Genesis gives two different creation stories is more apparent in this version, as is the ridiculousness of Noah cursing Canaan because Ham saw Noah naked (although I think the reason for this is Ham "uncovering his father's nakedness" is a metaphor for Ham sleeping with Noah's wife, thus making Canaan a child of incest).
I admit I started to get bored with the Old Testament pretty quickly since it's mainly just one battle after another (it reminded me of the Book of Mormon in this way). The New Testament was more fun. The analogies of Jesus are depicted in modern day contexts. When Jesus says to turn the other cheek and forgive them that hurt you, the LEGOs depict a man letting himself get beaten by a criminal, who then proceeds to murder his family. In accordance with Jesus's teachings to love them that spitefully use you and let them borrow your things without expecting them to be returned, the man then gives the murderer his car. The ridiculousness of someone actually doing what Jesus says by selling everything they have and giving the money to the poor is also pictured.
I loved thebricktestament.com website, so I was quite disappointed when I found out this collection doesn't contain everything the website does. Some of the funniest parts are left out. The Laws, Job, and the Epistles aren't here. Also, the books which do appear are sometimes abridged. The layout also is different. On the website, the scripture is written underneath the picture to make room for word bubbles in which the characters sometimes say non-Biblical things. The word bubbles don't appear in the print edition in order to save room on the page, but this takes a lot of the humor out of it. For this reason, I have to recommend people visit the website rather than buy this book.
August 14, 2014
Definitally mixed feelings about this book. The idea itself was brilliant, and the quality of the book was great! The makers really went into great detail t make sure everything was perfect. I enjoyed reading it at age 20. The the downside was it can be misleading to some who don't really understand the Bible fully. There are some ideas that are different, and just not enough room in the book to explain everything. Which in the end leaves somethings weird, a little twisted, and no explanation.
But again, everyone will interpret the Bible differently, and this was the LEGO interpretation. :)
But again, everyone will interpret the Bible differently, and this was the LEGO interpretation. :)
January 26, 2016
See reviews for each book in the following links:
The Old Testament: ★★★★★
The New Testament: ★★★★✰
The Old Testament: ★★★★★
The New Testament: ★★★★✰
August 21, 2014
Five stars for the hard work that obviously went into making this book. Lots of creativity in depicting scenes from the Bible.
January 3, 2017
The Old Testament is hilarious and true to the book. A fun and admirable project.
November 10, 2017
It takes the Bible to a whole new generation. I am not saying it is kid-friendly but Brendan Powell Smith did an absolutely great job.
January 7, 2019
Very creative and fun book for those who like pictures and Bible stories. :)
April 7, 2017
Well, that was bizarre and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews