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LEGO Fan Pushed Out of Convention for Graphic (but Accurate) Bible Displays

Skwim

Veteran Member
.

"The Bible is officially too offensive for a family-friendly event.


A LEGO enthusiast was pushed out of BrickCon New Zealand after the organizers wanted to censor his graphic displays based on the Bible.

The twist? He’s a Christian.

Lezle Luketina-Johnston set up perfectly accurate displays of popular Bible stories in order to honor his faith, but the violence and sex found throughout the holy book made nearly half his displays unsafe for children’s eyes.


The organisers were concerned about five of the 12 scenes that contained a naked Adam and Eve

AdamEveLEGO.png


and other naked figures with Lego-tile bricks acting as breasts. There was also a bloody scene of David’s defeat of Goliath.

DavidGoliathLEGO.png


Abraham about to sacrifice his son on an alter with a knife

Violent-LEGOS.jpg

and a soldier in King Solomon’s court about to cut a baby in half...

The show features everything from pirates and enchanted forests to rocket ships and epic recreations of movie scenes. The only limit on creators’ imaginations was to keep it family friendly.​


There you have it: Sunday School isn’t safe for kids. It’s official now.

It’s not like we didn’t know this. Just check out the Awkward Moments Children’s Bible, The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, or — because this concept is hardly original — the excellent The Brick Bible in which scenes are recreated using… LEGO blocks.

Luketina-Johnston, however, said the request to leave amounted to “religious censorship.”

“If we want to consider what we do as art, and a lot of us do, you have to treat it like art.

“You can’t say the Bible is not fit for children. The gospel is for everyone… What I’ve done is little different from religious art you can see in museums around the world.”
It’s not unreasonable for the event organizers to put a PG-13 sort of limit on displays, but that’s what plenty of churches do too. It’s ironic that depictions of Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Abraham and Isaac, and others would be standard fare for kids’ classes at church but too sexual or violent for a LEGO convention.

It’s tempting to say the censorship went too far, but perhaps churches don’t go far enough."
source
 
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dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
What I notice about the pictures presented here are the expressions on the faces of the lego figures. Am I being too sensitive?

Maybe the lego scenes were censored because the figures appear to be enjoying the violence?
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
What I notice about the pictures presented here are the expressions on the faces of the lego figures. Am I being too sensitive?

Maybe the lego scenes were censored because the figures appear to be enjoying the violence?
Boy, I didn't see any joy at all.

.
 
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Quagmire

Imaginary talking monkey
Staff member
Premium Member
Always thought of legos as more of a dharmic platform anyway, what with the emphasis on interconnection and what not.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Boy, I didn't any joy at all.

.

Ya know... I'm weird, so I could be wrong. But these two look like they are smirking:

upload_2019-6-2_19-48-45.png
upload_2019-6-2_19-50-56.png


And then the expression on Eve's face... couldn't that be a little suggestive?

upload_2019-6-2_19-52-58.png


Here's what I found when I looked up "smirk" on google.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

upload_2019-6-2_19-54-57.png



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you see what I mean? The expressions on the lego figures are "Smirking", aren't they? Smug, self-indulgence, mischief, humor, and satisfaction.

The Biblical Stories that are depicted in the lego scenes in the OP aren't humorous as they are written in the Bible. The characters are not portrayed in the Bible as smug, or self-indulgent. Because of this, it makes sense that these scenes would be offensive to some people. It's because the lego figures are "smirking".
 

siti

Well-Known Member
Maybe the lego scenes were censored because the figures appear to be enjoying the violence?
Which of course we know they didn't...1 Samuel 18:7; Judges 5 - for a couple of examples of rousing songs extolling violence in the Bible.
 

siti

Well-Known Member
Thou shalt not make thy LEGO figures smirk - especially when they are engaged in acts of gratuitous violence, illicit sexual conduct or stealing fruit that doesn't belong to them.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Which of course we know they didn't...1 Samuel 18:7; Judges 5 - for a couple of examples of rousing songs extolling violence in the Bible.
The title of the OP says that the scenes depicted are accurate. The verses you brought are not related to the lego exhibits.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Thou shalt not make thy LEGO figures smirk - especially when they are engaged in acts of gratuitous violence, illicit sexual conduct or stealing fruit that doesn't belong to them.
So I'm not the only one who sees that the Lego Figures are smirking. And that the expression on Eve's face is a little suggestive.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
I'm guessing he didn't have any models based on the Song of Solomon?
There's a video interview of the artist's reaction to the request to make changes to his work for the exhibit. The artist focused more on freedom of artistic expression than on religious accuracy.

If the point of the OP is that parts of the Bible are not family-friendly; then, I agree with that 100%.
 

siti

Well-Known Member
The title of the OP says that the scenes depicted are accurate. The verses you brought are not related to the lego exhibits.
1 Samuel 18:7 is part of the 'epilogue' to the David and Goliath story...as a result of his bravery in bringing down the Philistine champion, David is appointed as a military commander and gains a reputation for killing tens of thousands which prompted comparisons with Saul which were unflattering to the King because he was said to have killed only thousands. It is naive in the extreme to assume that the Bible writers had anything but admiration and approval for these violent acts - they wrote so approvingly of them. David had brought down the giant and chopped his head off...why did he feel the need to carry the detached head and wave it around in front of people - which, according to the story in the Bible, is what he did. I'm pretty sure we are not meant to interpret this as implying he was remorseful or sorry in any way for having ended another human life. Of course it probably never really happened anyway, but I doubt the originator of this legend would have objected to David being portrayed smirking smugly as he waved the big fellas severed bonce in front of the cheering crowd. That's precisely what we seem to be encouraged to imagine.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
1 Samuel 18:7 is part of the 'epilogue' to the David and Goliath story...as a result of his bravery in bringing down the Philistine champion, David is appointed as a military commander and gains a reputation for killing tens of thousands which prompted comparisons with Saul which were unflattering to the King because he was said to have killed only thousands. It is naive in the extreme to assume that the Bible writers had anything but admiration and approval for these violent acts - they wrote so approvingly of them. David had brought down the giant and chopped his head off...why did he feel the need to carry the detached head and wave it around in front of people - which, according to the story in the Bible, is what he did. I'm pretty sure we are not meant to interpret this as implying he was remorseful or sorry in any way for having ended another human life. Of course it probably never really happened anyway, but I doubt the originator of this legend would have objected to David being portrayed smirking smugly as he waved the big fellas severed bonce in front of the cheering crowd. That's precisely what we seem to be encouraged to imagine.
Thanks for this. That's not how I remember the story, but you've inspired me to give it a fresh look.
 

siti

Well-Known Member
And that the expression on Eve's face is a little suggestive.
I don't know - I'm not an expert in reading female lego figures' body language - or even real female figures' body language for that matter. Mind you, if she is being suggestive, it seems to have passed Adam by - he seems to be completely absorbed in his apple - and whilst Eve's breasts are decidedly pronounced, he seems to have no noticeable pronouncement at all. I suppose they're not that "accurate" after all.
 

David1967

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
.

"The Bible is officially too offensive for a family-friendly event.


A LEGO enthusiast was pushed out of BrickCon New Zealand after the organizers wanted to censor his graphic displays based on the Bible.

The twist? He’s a Christian.

Lezle Luketina-Johnston set up perfectly accurate displays of popular Bible stories in order to honor his faith, but the violence and sex found throughout the holy book made nearly half his displays unsafe for children’s eyes.


The organisers were concerned about five of the 12 scenes that contained a naked Adam and Eve

AdamEveLEGO.png


and other naked figures with Lego-tile bricks acting as breasts. There was also a bloody scene of David’s defeat of Goliath.

DavidGoliathLEGO.png
Abraham about to sacrifice his son on an alter with a knife

Violent-LEGOS.jpg
and a soldier in King Solomon’s court about to cut a baby in half...

The show features everything from pirates and enchanted forests to rocket ships and epic recreations of movie scenes. The only limit on creators’ imaginations was to keep it family friendly.​
There you have it: Sunday School isn’t safe for kids. It’s official now.

It’s not like we didn’t know this. Just check out the Awkward Moments Children’s Bible, The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, or — because this concept is hardly original — the excellent The Brick Bible in which scenes are recreated using… LEGO blocks.

Luketina-Johnston, however, said the request to leave amounted to “religious censorship.”

“If we want to consider what we do as art, and a lot of us do, you have to treat it like art.

“You can’t say the Bible is not fit for children. The gospel is for everyone… What I’ve done is little different from religious art you can see in museums around the world.”
It’s not unreasonable for the event organizers to put a PG-13 sort of limit on displays, but that’s what plenty of churches do too. It’s ironic that depictions of Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Abraham and Isaac, and others would be standard fare for kids’ classes at church but too sexual or violent for a LEGO convention.

It’s tempting to say the censorship went too far, but perhaps churches don’t go far enough."
source

Notice the facial expressions on Eve, Abraham and David. They look a bit disturbed.
 

siti

Well-Known Member
Thanks for this. That's not how I remember the story, but you've inspired me to give it a fresh look.
And maybe that was the artist's point...that we should we should be circumspect in examining the basis of our faith and not simply go with the General Audience certified Sunday School version that we loved as children. The Bible is very gruesome and very sordid in places.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
And maybe that was the artist's point...that we should we should be circumspect in examining the basis of our faith and not simply go with the General Audience certified Sunday School version that we loved as children. The Bible is very gruesome and very sordid in places.
Based on our conversation, do you think that the artist was expressing his religious belief or criticism? It seems like we agree that the artist was making a statement about the stories in the bible? The scenes as they are depicted are not devotional, right?
 

siti

Well-Known Member
Based on our conversation, do you think that the artist was expressing his religious belief or criticism? It seems like we agree that the artist was making a statement about the stories in the bible? The scenes as they are depicted are not devotional, right?
I'm not sure they were meant to be - were they? It was not done for a Christian convention - it was done for a lego convention...so maybe the artist intended to "honor his faith" by showing that the Bible on which it is based has stories every bit as gripping and exciting as any story of pirates or wizards - or whatever kids find enthralling these days. Who knows? But the point is, the stories are there and violence is glorified in scripture. Would one better "honour" one's faith as a Christian by being honest about this or by pretending otherwise?
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I'm guessing he didn't have any models based on the Song of Solomon?
Now I'm wondering how many legos it would take to create all of Solomon's wives and concubines.

I can just imagine the hot tub diorama.
 
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