Stories from the Book of Genesis

My favorite part of this book is the negative feedback it has received. Just skim through them real quick and take a gander--they're hilarious! "Oh my heavens! This book depicts the Bible explicitly, and doesn't sugar coat its stories! It's therefore not for children!" Yes, because any good Christian knows that you can't be honest about Biblical stories with children because it'll scare the *hell* out of them! Or, wait; isn't that actually the point? ;P

I actually bought The Brick Testament for a friend (who is a devout Baptist) and ended up buying a copy for myself since it was so hilarious. (For the record, my Baptist friend thought it was hilarious and not offensive in the slightest) The book is essentially a pared down Old Testament, with the most critical aspects of the stories depicted entirely in Lego brick. It is quite clever! The author uses the Legos in a very creative and illustrative way. I can't help thinking that it takes a slightly twisted sense of humour to appreciate, so those who enjoy Monty Python for example, will definitely appreciate this book. And, as someone who has read the bible several times, I can say with certainty that it is a very accurate and blunt depiction of biblical tales. The people who say it is inaccurate probably have never read the bible, and the people who say it is irreverent have no sense of humour! That being said, since it is a very accurate and literal depiction of biblical stories (such as Sodom and Gomorra), this is probably not a good book for children. I would rate it at least PG-13 for sexual situations and violence (albeit the brick variety). I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great gift or a coffee table conversation starter. Lego lovers and crazy people from Baptists to atheists will enjoy this book! You will never look at Lego the same way again!

I highly recommend this book and to take a look at his website www.bricktestament.com for insight into the bible. From other reviews posted here, I can see many are living judgmental lives in the misunderstanding of their convicted faith. Good principles are tainted by inherent flaws in the man-made institution of Christian religion (i.e. a call to blind faith and ignorance. The stubborn self-righteous ideology that only you are right, no matter what, that has led to innumerable persecutions, genocide and prejudice). THIS is what this book is about. The violence and gruesome depiction here? OPEN YOUR EYES, this is exactly what is said in the bible. No imposed opinion or bias. You might be surprised. Well, surprise! The bible was written by men, not God. This book is not meant to teach Christianity to children, it's meant to teach truth and tolerance to the ignorant. Please, everyone, stop accepting this judgmental view as a corner stone of faith. Let the good ideas just be good ideas. Think for yourselves and you will discover an affinity for morality and who God really is.

Biblical scholars may debate who originally dotted the i's and crossed the t's, but it was Brenden Powell Smith who, at the command of God, illustrated and retold this collection of stories from the book of Genesis - using LEGOs. In his introduction to The Brick Testament, Smith recalls his conversation with God over a flaming burrito (that's right) and how, like many of the heroes of the Genesis stories, God used the most unlikely person to tell these stories. Combining a strong sense of visual story telling, elaborate LEGO constructions, and intentional photography, Smith has creatively "illustrated" favorites from the book of Genesis such as the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Flood, the Tower of Babel, The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and other lesser known stories. The "illustrations" are created entirely from LEGOs and presented in full-color photographs. The Garden of Eden scenes are complete with leafy trees, colorful flowers, red apples (that perfectly fit the LEGO human hands), Adam, Eve, and yes, God. Smith does take some artistic liberty and augments facial features for emotional effect. While the LEGO "illustrations" are unconventional for story telling, it is Smith's wickedly humorous objective perspective which gives these stories a fresh look. Highly Recommended.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, it's hard to deny that the bible is one of the most important books ever written. Its influence on modern life in America, and much of the world, is hard to overstate. Still, most people have not read much if any of the bible, regardless of their religious beliefs. This book is the most fun and readable bible book I've come across.I like that it's composed of verbatim bible verses, rather than narrative retelling. Many books that aim at making the bible casually readable do so by playing with the content. That is not done here. Certain verses and chapters are omitted to move things along, but the content you read is the purported word of God.The book maintains its readability by virtue of its beautifully realized images. The artwork is whimsical yet effecting. Watching these classic stories unfold visually is great fun. I would say that the bible is "brought to life" moreso here than in many other forms. In fact many of these images have become the images that I see when visualizing biblical tales!Only ten stories from Genesis are covered, but the book is substantial since each verse is on a page of its own accompanied by a beautiful full sized, full color illustration. It's a quick read, but I find myself showing it to friends and flipping through it again and again. I'll be leaving this on the coffee table for quite a while :)Whether you are a fundamentalist or an atheist (like myself) this is a great, fun little book.