Etemenanki Ziggurat

Built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley, ziggurats were great stepped pyramids that dominated the landscape. At the tops (closer to the sky) were great shrines, where sacrifices were offered to the gods. The Etemenanki Ziggurat in Babylon was dedicated to Marduk and survived until the third century BC, but their is debate over when it was built. It may have been the great ziggurat described in literature going back two thousand years BC, or it may have been built as recently(?) as 900 BC. It has been suggested that this great pyramid may have been the basis for the story of the Tower of Babel. Recently a LEGO version was unveiled by Michal Herbolt, aka gearcs:

Back to the Ark

A couple of days ago I mentioned the Harvest Bible Chapel construction of a giant Noah's Ark last year as part of their Vacation Bible School program. TFOL and Harvest member Casey McCoy was able to get me some additional photos of their final product.

More Temple

You may remember from last year that kids attending Vacation Bible School at the Harvest Bible Chapel in Illinois built a giant Noah's Ark from LEGO. This year they had another project, Solomon's Temple. TFOL (that's Teen Fan of LEGO) Casey McCoy is a member of that church and helped out, and he took extensive photos of the event.

Yom Kippur

I've been really busy lately and haven't been blogging, so I missed Yom Kippur. This day, the 'Day of Atonement', closes out the High Holy Days of the Jewish religious calendar. During the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, on this day the high priest brought a sacrifice into the Holy of Holies to ask God for forgiveness for the sins of the nation. Today's Jews observe the day with prayer and fasting. To note the day (belatedly), let's take another look at Tbone TBL's LEGO rendition of Solomon's Temple.


Including the entrance to the Holy of Holies:

Standing apart

From Equinnox:
Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

-Romans 12:2

Water into wine

According to John 2:1-11, Jesus first miracle took place at a wedding in Cana. After the wine ran out during the festivities, Jesus asked the servants to fill up jars with water, and when they tasted from the jars they were the finest wine. Minkowsky reproduced this miracle with a touch of humor in a recent MOC. You have to watch the movie to get the full effect. Be sure to look through the whole gallery for some great details.

Dissolution of the monasteries

England's Henry VIII was locked in a struggle with the Catholic Church, including over his desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon. This finally resulted in the Act of Supremacy in 1534, declaring the Church of England with himself as head. The monasteries continued to be a center of Catholic power, with the monks holding large amounts of property and acting as local authorities. The Suppresion Acts of 1536 and 1539 declared that these monasteries were disbanded, and their property was taken over by the state. SlyOwl illustrated this, winning the religious life category from last year's Colossal Castle Contest.

Kachinas

Among Native American traditions from the southwestern United States, Kachinas were spirit beings who inhabit all aspects of the world around us. Members of the tribe also dressed as Kachina to dance in religious ceremonies, and carved dolls were given to their children. Dave Shaddix presents three LEGO Kachina from the Hopi pantheon: from left to right - Talavai, who sings at the break of day, Angwusnasomtaka, or Crow Mother, the mother of the Kachina, and Palavitkuna, who participates in traditional footraces.

Happy Ramadan

Okay, maybe one of my Muslim readers could help teach me the proper greeting for this month (Blessed Ramadan? Peace be upon you?), but we are in the midst of the month of Ramadan. Muslims fast during the days of this month, remembering the initial revelation of the Qur'an to Mohammed. 1wave posted this mosque at the start of the month, and says it is the start of an upcoming diorama. So watch his account for the fuller creation to come. This is also a good place to note that GodBricks got a great review on PhiloSufi, a blog by two Canadian Muslims. Thanks to Deborah for the great review and also for pointing it out to me.

What would Jesus wear to a fan convention?

Long time readers of this blog might remember that I wrote an essay on WWJB?, or 'What Would Jesus Build?'. Someone at the recent BrickFair fan convention produced this t-shirt. Personally, I think I should get some royalties if they were selling these. Or maybe someone should send me a shirt. :) Photo credit to OmahaMH.

Biggest Buddha

HKLug members have really helped to increase the number of eastern religious MOCs on this blog. In the Hong Kong LEGO contest I've recently covered here, there were two versions of the Tian Tan Buddha overlooking Lantau Island. Schfio has a larger version of this statue, that was shown as part of a HKLug display of several MOCs highlighting Chinese culture at ACGHK 2010, the Animation Comic Game Hong Kong convention.

Evensong

Another creation on display at BrickFair 2010 was Barbara Barry's Choral Evensong (photo credit to Danny316p). Her explanation card reads: "Sung evening service. Talented and diverse minifigs perform the sublime works of composers William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, and Herbert Howells."

Solomon's Temple

Tbone tbl's rendition of Solomon's Temple was also on display at BrickFair 2010 (photo credit to Richard Schoonover).

Flight to Egypt

It looks like Mike Ripley also displayed his Flight to Egypt mosaic at BrickFair (photo credit goes to Jeremy Schultz).



From the explanation card, it appears that, like his Luther Seal in the last blog post, this was also a family fun night activity, with over 50 participants building sections that were then assembled into the whole mosaic. The subject is a woodcut by Elisabeth Reuter, 'Flight to Egypt', depicting Joseph and Mary escaping from Herod's men with Jesus and fleeing to safety in Egypt, as recounted in Matthew 2:13-15.

Luther's Seal

BrickFair 2010 was held this weekend near Washington, DC. Among the many creations on display at this gathering of LEGO fans was Mike Ripley's rendition of the Seal of Martin Luther (photo credit goes to Andrew Albosta).



Designed for Martin Luther in 1530, this seal contains many symbolic elements. The cross in a heart symbolizes Christ's sacrifice and a belief in this 'from the heart'. The white rose symbolizes joy, comfort and peace. The blue field is for a heavenly future surrounded by a golden ring symbolizing eternity. This seal has become a symbol for Lutheranism. A little bit of digging led to this explanation by Mike Ripley.



As he explains, this mosaic was designed by him as a group activity for a family fun night at his (Lutheran) church. Over 50 participants, including many kids, made 16x16 squares, that then got assembled to make the whole seal. From the video footage it looks like this was a great event, and the result is quite striking.

Bigger Buddha

Still another entry from the Hong Kong LEGO contest Michael Lau has his own version of the Tian Tan Buddha.

Big Buddha

In another entry for the Hong Kong LEGO contest, Chiukeung built a microscale version of Hong Kong, including the Tian Tan Buddha. This bronze statue, built during the 1990s, stands (well, sits) 34 meters high and weighs 250 metric tons. One of the halls beneath the statue holds a relic of Gautama Buddha, purported to contain some of his cremated remains.

Make a wish!

CREATION K.O. Creation presents the Taipo Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees. Two banyan trees are located outside a temple to the goddess Tin Hau in Lam Tsuen. A supplicant will write their wish on a piece of paper, burn incense, and hang the wish from the branches of one of the trees in hopes of its fulfillment.



This is another entry in the Hong Kong LEGO contest, which has really been a great source for LEGO creations with themes from Eastern faiths.

Now that's a lot of Buddhas

Antony Lau created another entry for the LEGO Hong Kong contest, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. Built in Shat Tin between 1949 and 1957, this Buddhist Temple (not a true monastery), is famed for housing more than 12,000 statues of Buddha, ranging from very small to very large.

Wong Tai Sin Temple

The Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong is a Taoist shrine dedicated to the great immortal Wong. Born in 338, Wong practiced Taoism and became revered as a great man during his life and was later considered a god. It was only around 1900, though, that his influence spread. This temple was built in 1921 and is a popular site in Hong Kong, both for penitents and tourists.



Visitor to the temple offer burning sticks of incense and prayers at the altar to Wong Tai Sin.



One of the traditions practiced at the temple is Kau Cim, a form of an oracle where petitioners ask a question of the gods and then shake a container of bamboo sticks until one falls out. Each stick is numbered, and the number points to a fortune that can be interpreted to answer the question (though often with the help of a temple priest).



Andy Hung's LEGO rendition of the Wong Tai Sin Temple is an entry in a contest featuring various Hong Kong scenes by several AFOLs. Seen via the Brothers-Brick.