Galileo's heresy

In the early 17th century, Galileo Galilei came into conflict with the Roman Catholic church. At the time, the system of Ptolemy, advocated by Aristotle, held sway, as it seemed to be consistent with some biblical passages. The Congregation of the Index decreed that people could not advocate heliocentrism, the idea that the earth orbited the sun rather than the other way around. Galileo could not stay quiet, though, and found himself in trouble.

Annie Preston shares Galileo's heresy.

Burning Bush

... and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. Exodus 3:2
Paul Vermeesch illustrates the burning bush.

Cologne Cathedral

Michael Japser made this tiny version of the Cologne Cathedral. I think this might be a scene of him showing off his micro version.

Temple of Claudius

The Temple of Claudius (here by James Pegrum) was built by Roman forces in Camulondunum, what is now Colchester, England. Here the Romans revered the recently deceased and deified Emperor Claudius as a god. Boudica, the widow of the local king, was outraged at the treatment of her and her family, and led an uprising of native Brits against the Romans, destroying Camulondunum and burned the temple, killing all of those inside.

More water walking

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” - Matthew 14:29-30.
Brendan Powell Smith illustrated this scene for his upcoming book: The Brick Bible: The New Testament. Here's his original version.

Nazca Lines

Between 400 and 650 AD, the Nazca people of what is now Peru dug a network of lines and figures in the earth covering a 50 mile distance. Some of these are geometrical patterns, while others are in the shapes of animals. While these can be seen from the surrounding hills, they are best viewed by air as Jackie Britton shows with an airplane flying over the 'hummingbird' formation. It is unclear what the purpose was, but one theory is that these were drawn to be seen by the gods in the sky. Another theory holds that these served as a type of astronomical observatory to help in the marking of certain rituals.

Pilgrim's Progress

Lego Builders made Pilgrim's Progress, the classic Bunyan allegory of the Christian life.

Rescue of the Palladium

The Palladium was a wooden image of Pallas created in her memory by her foster-daughter, the goddess Athena. This fell from heaven in answer to a prayer by Illus, the founder of Troy, and became one of that city's greatest treasures. After the destruction of Troy, the Palladium was taken by Aeneas to Italy, and became a treasure of the new city of Rome. Okay, moving from mythic origins to history, the Palladium was seen by the Romans as one of their most sacred relics and a guarantee of the city's protection. It was kept in the Temple of Vesta, and in 241 BC the temple caught fire. The famous general and Pontifex Maximus Lucius Caecilius Metellus did not fear for his own life, but bravely plunged into the flames and came out carrying the precious Palladium, as shown by -lokosuperfluoLEGOman-. Metellus survived, but was blinded, and he was honored by the Roman Senate for his heroism.

Scriptorium

In medieval times, a scriptorium (here by me) was the section of a monastery that kept the important texts, especially the Bible, and where monks copied them by hand.



My sig-fig over at Classic-Castle is the Precentor of the Scriptorium - the precentor was the monk in charge of this area of the monastery.



And here's a vignette I built to keep my sig-fig.

Monk's cell

A monk is someone who has taken vows to leave behind a life of worldly ease to focus on prayer and other religious duties. While these are commonly connected with Roman Catholicism, there are Monks in other traditions such as Protestant Lutherans and Anglicans and also other faiths such as Buddhism. Ian spacek shows a typical medieval monk's cell.

Tyndale

Ian Spacek shows us William Tyndale, a leading figure in the English Reformation. Tyndale translated the Bible into English, in violation of English law and Church edicts at the time. For this, and for opposing the divorce of Henry VIII, he was ultimately executed in 1536.

Walking on water

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said. (Matthew 14:25-29a, NIV)
Ian Spacek shows us Jesus walking on water.

Saint Perpetua

Perpetua (here by Ian Spacek) was an early third century Christian martyr. She was arrested for practicing an illegal faith in Carthage and killed in the amphitheater as part of games celebrating the birthday of Emperor Geta.

Dongyue Temple

Mount Tai in eastern China has been a site of worship for over 3000 years. There are a number of Taoist and Confucian temples, and in ages past the emperor of China came to this site to make sacrifices to heaven and earth. Dongyue dadi is revered as the god of Mount Tai, and has a number of temples around China, including this one (by Lisqr) on the mountain itself.

Samson

Ian Spacek made this great rendition of the last moments of Samson.

David and Goliath

Only a boy named David, only a little sling
Only a boy named David, but he could pray and sing
Only a boy named David, only a rippling brook
Only a boy named David, and five little stones he took.
David and Goliath by Nick V. BTW, that's not Photoshop trickery.