SAM’s CLUB, one on the biggest retailers in the US, has banned the latest volume of Brendan Smith’s Brick Bible – after complains that it is “vulgar and violent”.
Smith, who has been using Lego sets for ten years to reconstruct Bible mythology, tackled sexually suggestive passages from the “Good Book” in the fourth of his Brick Testament series.
According to this report, Smith said:
I have just been informed that Sam’s Club is pulling The Brick Bible from the shelves of all of their retail locations nationwide due to the complaints of a handful of people that it is vulgar and violent. This despite the book containing only straightforward illustrations of Bible stories using direct quotes from scripture.
In response to a request for comment from CNET, a Sam’s Club spokesperson said:
We offered the print version only of The Brick Bible in our clubs … Sam’s Club received numerous concerns from our members and parents about the mature content in what is perceived as a children’s book. Accordingly, Sam’s Club made a business decision to discontinue sales.
Hat tip: Jean-François Gauthier
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
November 27th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
complaints of a handful of people that it is vulgar and violent.
Duh, it’s the Bible.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
In one of Dan Barker’s books he recalls quoting nasty Bible verses on a TV discussion show. He was asked by a woman in the audience ‘what Bible are you reading from?’ because she had no clue that this stuff was in it. Presumably she thought that it was some kind of fake Bible that atheists use to try and discredit God’s Holy Word. Having read the whole thing I would say that the words vulgar and violent pretty much sum up most of it. Take out that and the infantile superstitions and there isn’t really much left.
If this little incident has made a few more people aware of what this crappy book contains that is a good thing.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
On their facebook their standard response is “we still have a wide variety of bibles available” – duh, that’s the point. Is the content offensive or not?
November 27th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Yet again conclusive proof that people who profess the christian faith have little idea what’s actually in their own holy book.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Quite funny this in a perverse way. This is god’s inerrant word and they don’t like it.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Perhaps Michael Gove will send a copy to every school in England!
November 27th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
The Brethren used to get into a right state reading publicly from some Bible passages, as I have said before, and children caused great embarrassment when they blurted out: “Why has uncle missed out part of that verse, Mummy?”.
“We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts;
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for?
“If she is a wall,
We will build on her a battlement of silver;
But if she is a door,
We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”
“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;
Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.”
(Song of Solomon)
November 27th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
If these idiots took the time to read THEIR bible, rather than cherry pick, they would realise that it’s full of quite nasty ideas and passages.
Just think, if they actually read their bible, they might just realise what a load of contradictory, racist, sexist and scientifically inaccurate bollocks it is. But, for christians, it’s so much easier to take the easy route and have their thinking handed to them on a plate rather than engage their brain cells.
November 27th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Lego is the coolest toy EVER
I never used to recreate the bible with mine though I did recreat the dropship from aliens complete with little lego APC and little lego men who I sent to die on a distant planet
November 27th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
These people complaining are the same type who think that Jesus’s message was “that we should love one another”. They have next to no idea what the Bible actually says.
November 27th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Sigh. Why is it that many adults are so stupid and set in their ways that they cannot understand a concept so simple as never judge a book by it’s cover? Just because something looks like a children’s book doesn’t mean it is one, and just because something has lots of pictures in it doesn’t mean you should assume it is for children. Unless Sam’s Club is fine with selling Playboy to children. I mean, it has a bunny on it, right?
Actually I checked, and from Sam’s Club you can buy books about The Wire (plenty of violence and foul language there) and something called Playboy 50 Years: The Photographs. That’s plenty of mature content in books that children could easily pick up, assuming children are members of the club…
In short, I don’t buy their excuse. The hypocrisy is too great; they either caved to pressure from people who were offended or someone in their management structure was offended themselves. Either way, they are apparently unable to realise that the message they just sent is that the Bible isn’t suitable for children and they don’t want to carry it. Nice job, Sam.
November 27th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Being the kind of person who can’t abide either lies or deception, I personally find pretty much everything in the bible offensive.
November 27th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I dunno, looks like someone’s upset ol god and moses. Less they’ve always got the hump. Not much evidence of a loving god for their younger viewers.
November 27th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
So let’s get this straight, our minister for education wants to supply our schools with Bibles written in obscure Elizabetan english that our kids are very unlikely to read. Child friendly lego bibles that the young are at least likely to take a look at are being banned because we really don’t want kids finding out what is actually in it.
November 27th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
More Anti-Bible bias from Christians:
A Christian Store Denied Him This T-Shirt…
November 27th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
I loved this coment, R Selkirk:
It’s out of context because it only appears in flawed printed versions of the Bible. The True Edition of the Bible, the one that only exists in people’s minds and has all the bad parts taken out, doesn’t have it.
The Plymouth Brethren still follow Paul’s instruction!
November 28th, 2011 at 9:29 am
“…Sam’s Club made a business decision to discontinue sales…” If this is well publicized then other book sellers should stock up as there will be a run on it from the curious of all religions, (or none as they say). Hmmmm I wonder if Amazon are selling it?
November 28th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Zombie Hunter:
Here’s a Lego Version of the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops.
People who’ve played the game will love it. People who haven’t will also love it, but be warned it is a bit violent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smETLCCPTVo
November 28th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Off topic slightly, but I found a link to this fella’s videos via the t-shirt story mentioned above.
He’s immense. Good to see someone so young being so thoughtful and intelligent about religion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJCg_C5dxzA
(You can subscribe to him, and loads of his other videos are on the right)
November 28th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
It was probably an inadvertant mistake, but just by looking at the front cover…it kind of reveals the bible stories in their true light…childish and silly. This is probably the reason faith heads have been getting into a stew. I for one would really like to have a closer look, just to see how they have depicted all the good stuff – genocide, rape, slavery etc, etc.
November 28th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
http://youtu.be/hjoOL5Vv6C8
November 28th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
I don’t own a copy of the OT and I’m very tempted to buy the Brick Bible, “266 pages, 1,400 images, $19.95″. Some of the images are hilarious.
Following the success of Lego StarWars, Batman and Indianna Jones… Lego Bible Tales… any takers? They could use “sins” as money tokens, perhaps.
November 28th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Amazing! I can’t believe Sam’s Club catered to a “handful” of people who objected to the “brick bible”! Incredible! How does it feel knowing a minority can dictate to a majority what can and can’t be sold by a commercial seller? Sort of like when a minority whines about a national monument in the form of a Cross that’s been around for decades.
November 29th, 2011 at 2:39 am
A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on the highway outside Washington, DC.
Nothing was moving. Suddenly, a man knocks on the window.
The driver rolls down the window and asks, “What’s going on?”
“Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they’re asking for a $100 million
dollar ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and
set them on fire. We are going from car to car, collecting donations.”
“How much is everyone giving, on average?” the driver asks.
The man replies, “Roughly a gallon.”
November 29th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
@Capt Gene
The thing about the cross is, that despite how long it’s been there, it’s illegal.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/ro.....eaked-out/
November 29th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
@ Capt Gene
Just because something has been around for decades doesn’t make it automatically and somehow right.
November 29th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Some lego on thepoke today.
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/.....s-in-lego/
November 29th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
chrsbol – thanks for those. Brilliant.
November 30th, 2011 at 11:50 am
knowing americans I bet they didn’t get past theis before complaining:
http://www.bricktestament.com/.....02_24.html
December 1st, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Marky Mark: This used to be a joke about the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
Nice to see it recycled.