Bible stories

I've previously noted that AlfredD has a gallery of the ten most beautiful Bible stories. Or at least that's the title - previously he had only four, but he's added four more. Two to go. Might I suggest the cross and the empty tomb? Those would be, really, the two key scenes, and quite appropriate to post this week.

Noah's ark


David and Goliath (I really like the sling here)


I'm not sure on this one. Maybe it is the feast at the end of the prodigal son parable? Or maybe the parable of the rich man's feast?


I originally thought this was Christ's birth when I saw the thumbnail, based on the assumption that those camels were for the magi, but when you look at the full picture it is the story of Joseph.

I will never disown you

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
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Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:33-35, 74-75

Sixf00t4 made this really interesting sculpture, I will never disown you for a 'stations of the cross' display. It may be a little difficult to read in one photo, but if you look at the photos he took from different angles you see that the quote 'I will never disown you' runs around the outside of that ring.

Missing person - HeatherLEGOGirl

Just a special note for GodBricks readers: I know that many of you who read this blog are religious people. If you are so inclined, please continue to pray for Heather and for her family in this difficult time.

If you're a regular reader of the variety of major LEGO blogs out there, you've already seen this, but I'm passing it along on the theory that at least some of my readers come from outside the hobbyist community. Heather Braaten, who you may know on various online forums as HeatherLEGOGirl, has been missing for the past week. She was last seen in Seattle, Washington. If you see Heather, or know anything of her whereabouts, please contact Lino Martins at linotopia AT hotmail DOT com , as he is in close touch with Heather's family, or directly contact the Seattle police department. Or use any of the contact information on the flyer below.

What child is this?

Viktor Persson made this nativity scene.

Mosque

Jennifer Heaton built this beautiful micro mosque. As far as I know it is not based on a specific real mosque. Thanks to Peter Hoh for the heads-up.

Lyalya Tulpan

The Lyalya Tulpan mosque in Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, is one of the most unique mosques I've seen. Built about 20 years ago, this was made to resemble a tulip (lyalya tulpan means "tulip in bloom") - the main building is meant to resemble a blooming tulip and the twin minarets are meant to resemble tulip buds. While I would have associated tulips with the Netherlands, some research into this was very enlightening. It turns out that tulips were originally native to areas including today's Turkey and Iran. Commercial cultivation began in the Ottoman Empire, where they became very popular. From there they were brought to Germany and then the Netherlands. Within Islam tulips are significant in that Shia legend holds that they spring up where martyrs die. One reference I found said that the first tulips supposedly grew when the blood of Hussein ibn Ali (Muhammad's grandson) was spilled at the Battle of Karbala. The symbol in the center of Iran's flag is the name of Allah shaped like a tulip. Viracocha built this micro rendtion of Lyalya Tulpan as an entry in the Eurobricks Architecture contest.

Monogramma Christi

The Monogramma Christi, or Christogram, is a monogram made from a combination of chi and rho, the first two letters in Χριστός, or Khristos, the Greek name from which we get Christ. This symbol, which also resembles a figure on a cross, has been used since the third century as a symbol for Christ. The story is that God revealed to the Emperor Constantine that he would lead his armies under this symbol. Today the symbol can still be found in religious art and architecture. Kevin Walter nailed this to a cross in his sculpture Crucified Chi Rho. This was an entry in the 2010 MOC Athalon contest in the 'conceptual' category.

Shoes

The Quran states that "Allah loves those who maintain purity," and "He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean." While this can mean moral purity, it also is applied to physical cleanliness. This is particularly important during religious rituals. For instance, before a Muslim prays, he must undergo wudu, or ritual washing. One must also be clean when entering a mosque, and shoes are forbidden inside the prayer hall. Skalldyr points to this in a LEGO illustration of a scene from Tintin. In this scene, Thomson and Thomson were pursuing someone who ran into a mosque, but they did not stop to remove their shoes. The German sign translates roughly (thanks to Google Translate) as "Mosque - Visitors are asked to take off your shoes."

Ludwigskirche

The Ludwigskirche is a Protestant church in Saarbrücken, Germany. It was built in the late 18th century on Ludwig's Square. It was badly damaged in World War II, and has since been largely restored and reconstructed, though still not complete. Skalldyr recently built a LEGO rendition for the Architecture contest on Eurobricks.

Pray

If you are a praying person, Asianboyprodigy has asked that you pray for his father, who has been given a very poor prognosis and is sorely in need of a liver transplant.

Bishop

In the recent Colossal Castle Contest IX, Gothano won the 'realistic castle figure' category with his custom bishop. The title of bishop comes from a transliteration of the Greek word επίσκοπος, or episcopos, found in the New Testament. In the early church there appear to have been a few specific offices. Elders were leaders of local congregations (more like house churches), and a bishop oversaw all of these different elders within a geographic region. Deacons had a role of collecting offerings and using them to care for the poor and needy. Within the Roman Catholic church, bishops hold a similar role, overseeing all of the different priests who have parishes in a particular city or area. Gothano's bishop is in traditional attire, with a white cassock (clerical robe), a stole (essentially a long scarf), a mitre (hat) and carrying a crozier (the staff based on a shepherd's staff).

The Lord is my shepherd

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2 by Bricko.

Happy Purim!

Purim started last night and runs through to this evening. Around the world, Jews celebrate the victory over Haman, which is recounted in the Megillah (the book of Esther found in the Bible). Haman sought to exterminate all of the Jews found in the Persian empire, but in the end was defeated by the strategies of Mordechai and Queen Ester. Purim is a celebratory holiday, with food and games, and when the story of Esther is read, whenever the name of Haman is mentioned, it is drowned out by noise from the listeners, whether shouts or stomping or spinning graggers. A gragger is a child's noisemaker toy that makes a clacking sound as it is spun around:



Here we come to this blog post. Joanna Brichetto has built a series of LEGO graggers that are a lot of fun. She used Technic elements for the ratchet, and has played with different ideas for the flexible piece that clicks along the gear:




By the way, I would highly recommend Joanna's blog, Bible Belt Balabusta "Hands-on, Jewy projects with kids, for parents and teachers". She writes in there a lot about using toys and fun to introduce kids to their Jewish roots, which is the same idea that I have with this blog (a little narrower in scope in that I focus on LEGO and a little broader in scope in that I'm considering all different religious traditions). A lot of her projects use LEGO, so I'm going to be delving more deeply into her blog for future posts.